On the 10th of August, Magna Voce, Burnside’s senior non-auditioned mixed-voice choir, travelled to Timaru to perform in The Big Sing Cadenza. The choir, directed by Charlotte Ensor, had competed in The Big Sing on June 9th against different choirs from schools across the South Island, managing to score high enough to make it to Cadenza. 

At Cadenza, we performed four songs; on the 11th, we performed 'Ad Astra' as well as 'And So It Goes', and on the 12th, we performed 'Hine E Hine' and 'Anything You Can Do', receiving a standing ovation from the crowd. Magna Voce’s Performance was awarded with a Tui award, an award given to choirs that scored 85% or higher overall! This year, only three choirs achieved a Tui award, and we are all beyond proud of this amazing achievement!

As a part of Cadenza, we all had the wonderful opportunity to attend multiple workshops led by Andrew Withington, one of the adjudicators for the event and a long-time choir director. these workshops focused on important fundamentals of singing, such as vocal fold closure and vowel pronunciation, which we worked on while learning ‘The Cicada’, The New Zealand National Anthem, and ‘I Vow to Thee My Country’, which we then performed as a massed group at the gala on Saturday. Mr. Withington explained many concepts in ways that were simple and easy to understand, thus allowing both experienced and novice singers to gain valuable information from the workshops. It was truly wonderful getting to sing with and meet new people and choirs from all across the south island, and making new friends along the way.

Personally, my experience in Magna Voce has been truly extraordinary. Throughout my time singing with them, I’ve seen myself improve and grow from a timid and quiet singer to someone who is proud and confident in their voice. My fellow singers have been an absolute wonder to sing with, and despite this being the last year for some of us, I couldn't ask for a better one. Thank you to all of the choir, for such an unforgettable experience, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you all.