Our final engagement and performance of 2024!
This is your last chance to see the incredible Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir, right in the heart of the capital city!
Our bright young singers are ready to show you what they’ve got!
Our final engagement and performance of 2024!
This is your last chance to see the incredible Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir, right in the heart of the capital city!
Our bright young singers are ready to show you what they’ve got!
The World Choir Games will be landing in Auckland in July 2024!
The Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir will have the chance to partake and compete in the games – if you’re attending, look out for out iconic blue shirts!
We’re so excited to meet choirs from all over the world and engage in a bit of friendly competition!
Our flagship concert in Whangārei will delight you and your friends and whānau!
See the talent of NZ’s best young singers in a summer spectacle of choral magic.
Before the upcoming concert with the NZ Youth Choir, Gondwana Chorale and the Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir, we will host a conversation with Music Directors David Squire, Carl Crossin, Elise Bradley, Rowan Johnston, Paul Holley and more. This is your chance to dive into the music with a chance to kōrero, ask questions, and learn a bit about the process behind these national youth choirs.
David Squire – NZ Youth Choir
David Squire is one of New Zealand’s most prominent conductors, and Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir. Chair of the New Zealand Association of Choral Directors, he is also a national conducting advisor and tutor, and a governance board member of the New Zealand Choral Federation. He is also a national conducting advisor and tutor, and in 2016 he led the NZ Youth Choir to win the Grand Prix at IFAS in the Czech Republic.
Carl Crossin OAM (Adelaide, SA) – Gondwana Chorale
Carl Crossin is an Australian choral conductor, educator and composer. He is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the University of Adelaide. He was director of the Elder Conservatorium of Music in the University of Adelaide in 2010-14. Crossin founded the Adelaide Chamber Singers in 1985, and as director he has toured with them to Britain, Europe, North America and South-East Asia, won several awards for performance and CD recordings, and represented Australia in international choral and music education symposia and festivals. As well, Crossin and the Adelaide Chamber Singers have embarked on a program of commissioning and presenting new choral music. Over his career, Carl has conducted the Adelaide Symphony Chorus, the Intervarsity Choral Festival, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, the Melbourne Chorale and Gondwana Chorale.
Paul Holley OAM (Brisbane, Qld) – Gondwana Chorale
Paul Holley is a choral conductor and music educator. His personal warmth and passion for choral music have inspired many singers to discover and develop their skills as choral musicians. With over 25 years of teaching experience in schools and many years of working with instrumentalists and singers Paul knows how to connect with people of all ages and enjoys collaborating with them in the music making process.
Presently, Paul is the Artistic Director of Voices of Birralee a community youth and children’s choir organisation based in Brisbane. He conducts two of the signature choirs the Birralee Blokes and Resonance of Birralee. Both of these ensembles have toured nationally and internationally, won several competitions, made numerous recordings and supported community events. He is also the co-conductor of the national youth choir Gondwana Chorale. In addition to these roles, Paul is a workshop presenter, choral clinician, guest conductor and mentor to younger conductors. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in January 2016 for his services to choral music.
The internationally awarded national choir for secondary school singers is back in Dunedin! Bringing their “infectious joy for music-making” to St Paul’s Cathedral, the choir will present a wide range of music from classical choral to gospel, jazz, modern, and music from New Zealand and the Pacific. This is Dunedin’s first chance to see the brand new 2023 choir!
The choir of 53 singers, selected at nationwide auditions, join for a two year cycle.
“The repertoire that we sing in this choir is so diverse and fresh. It’s not that choral music you’d expect. The choir is one of the best sounding in Aotearoa, and we have so much fun performing the pieces. Anyone who sings in choirs or just for fun as a hobby should come and hear us perform”– NZSSC singer
Bring the whole family – under 12s are free, and concessions available.
“The audience was enthralled and totally absorbed in everything they heard and saw, from start to finish. … Little wonder that the audience was on its feet at the end in a prolonged standing ovation in appreciation of a superb concert where all the singers continually projected the pleasure they gained from singing and sharing this with an appreciative audience.” – Hawke’s Bay Today
Supported by
The internationally awarded national choir for secondary school singers is back in Timaru! Bringing their “infectious joy for music-making” to Craigshead Auditorium, the choir will present a wide range of music from classical choral to gospel, jazz, modern, and music from New Zealand and the Pacific. This is Timaru’s first chance to see the brand new 2023 choir!
The choir of 53 singers, selected at nationwide auditions, join for a two year cycle.
“The repertoire that we sing in this choir is so diverse and fresh. It’s not that choral music you’d expect. The choir is one of the best sounding in Aotearoa, and we have so much fun performing the pieces. Anyone who sings in choirs or just for fun as a hobby should come and hear us perform”– NZSSC singer
Bring the whole family – under 12s are free, and concessions available.
“The audience was enthralled and totally absorbed in everything they heard and saw, from start to finish. … Little wonder that the audience was on its feet at the end in a prolonged standing ovation in appreciation of a superb concert where all the singers continually projected the pleasure they gained from singing and sharing this with an appreciative audience.” – Hawke’s Bay Today
Supported by
The internationally awarded national choir for secondary school singers is back in Christchurch! Bringing their “infectious joy for music-making” to St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, the choir will present a wide range of music from classical choral to gospel, jazz, modern, and music from New Zealand and the Pacific. This is Christchurch’s first chance to see the brand new 2023 choir!
The choir of 53 singers, selected at nationwide auditions, join for a two year cycle.
“The repertoire that we sing in this choir is so diverse and fresh. It’s not that choral music you’d expect. The choir is one of the best sounding in Aotearoa, and we have so much fun performing the pieces. Anyone who sings in choirs or just for fun as a hobby should come and hear us perform”– NZSSC singer
Bring the whole family – under 12s are free, and concessions available.
“The audience was enthralled and totally absorbed in everything they heard and saw, from start to finish. … Little wonder that the audience was on its feet at the end in a prolonged standing ovation in appreciation of a superb concert where all the singers continually projected the pleasure they gained from singing and sharing this with an appreciative audience.” – Hawke’s Bay Today
Supported by
Experience an unforgettable musical union as two national treasures unite on stage!
Witness the magic unfold at the much-anticipated joint concert featuring the prestigious New Zealand Youth Choir and esteemed Gondwana Chorale, Australia’s national youth choir.
These two choirs of national significance are coming together to showcase their unique artistry and cultural richness in separate performances before combining to perform together.
This will be Auckland’s first chance to see the 2023 NZ Youth Choir, and both choirs can’t wait to sing for you.
Opening the concert will be a performance from the brand new Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir, an ensemble of 80 singers with the aim to grow alongside the other national choirs towards choral excellence.
Tickets available now
About Gondwana Chorale – Australia’s national youth choir
Australia’s national youth choir, Gondwana Chorale, was established in 2008. Its members come from throughout Australia and range in age from 17 – 26. They perform music that is close to their hearts: new Australian works which capture the mystery and grandeur of our land and display the cultural diversity of the Australian people. The work of the choir is a powerful expression of the determination of young Australians to work together to create extraordinary musical ensembles.
The sound of Gondwana Chorale is vibrant and energetic, indicative of their intensive rehearsal process and the joy of being together. The choir has performed nationally in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tasmania. International tours have included New Zealand (2011) and UK and France (2013). In 2015 the choir formed the Gondwana Centenary Chorale with young singers from and Turkey, France and New Zealand to commemorate the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign, giving the world premiere of James Ledger’s War Music with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
In 2017 Gondwana Chorale toured the USA for the first time, collaborating and performing with host choirs USC Chamber Singers, Redlands Chapel Singers, Stanford Chamber Chorale, Temple University Concert Choir and Boston City Singers. In 2019, the choir toured to England, presenting a recital in the Chapel of Trinity College Cambridge and to the Baltic States, collaborating with E Stuudio in Estonia, Koris Maska in Riga and Choras Ažuoliukas in Vilnius. In 2022, the choir appeared at Festival of Voices in Hobart to present a program of Australian works.
The choir is conducted by Paul Holley OAM, Artistic Director of Voices of Birralee (Queensland) and Carl Crossin OAM, Head Vocal, Choral and Conducting Studies at the Elder Conservatorium of Music (South Australia).
About Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir
Founded in 2017 as an extension of Choirs Aotearoa’s ‘Reserves’ initiative, the Aotearoa New Zealand Academy Choir traces its roots to the fostering of exceptional vocal talents narrowly missed by the NZ Secondary Students’ Choir or NZ Youth Choir. From its inception, the Reserves program united these singers, cultivating their vocal prowess and musicianship through dedicated training, and enriching their artistic journey with a diverse repertoire. In 2021 they sang alongside our other national choirs on a triumphant public presentation of Carmina Burana.
Drawing members from all corners of Aotearoa, this new ensemble offers participants opportunities for vocal and musical development. The singers are guided by accomplished conductors, vocal coaches, and specialists, the Academy Choir’s members also gain access to an array of online learning resources. The culmination of their journey is a year-end concert, showcasing the culmination of rigorous training, expertise, and artistry that aligns them with their fellow national choirs.
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