After achieving two back to back National Championship titles in the Young Singers In Harmony Barbershop Competition, this year Malestrom decided not to compete.

Instead we focused on improving our sound, and broadening our repertoire for Burnside’s South Island Choral Tour earlier this year. Numbering at over one hundred men ranged from year 9-13, Malestrom this year was the largest it has ever been, and without a doubt the best it has ever been. 

One of our many highlights of the year was Burnside’s Choral Tour, where Malestrom and the other senior choirs Bel Canto, Senior Chorale, and Magna Voce, toured around the South Island performing at a number of venues, and showcasing the work we had put in to make great music. We performed in cities such as Wanaka, Alexandra and Dunedin and showed what we were capable of as a choir. Along with our own repertoire, Malestrom this year teamed up with members of Senior Chorale, Bel Canto, and Magna Voce to perform the Requiem composed by Gabriel Faure at Knox Church in Dunedin. This year was the first year for any Burnside Choir to tackle a major work, which turned out to be a very rewarding experience for Malestrom having the opportunity to sing with such a large group of mixed voices.

We believe Malestrom would agree with us in saying that the most significant highlight of our year was having the opportunity to meet the Westminster Chorus, and being invited to perform as one of the guest choirs at their New Zealand Tour concert held in the Aurora Centre in Christchurch. The Westminster Chorus have been International Chorus Champions of the Barbershop Harmony Society in recent years, and were announced Choir of the World in 2009. When Malestrom were first introduced into singing barbershop in 2015, we idolised the Westminster Chorus, spending countless rehearsals watching their videos and listening to their recordings to understand the barbershop sound we wanted to produce as a choir. Watching them perform live and having a workshop with the Chorus’ leader Justin Miller was a huge boost to our choir’s love and passion towards performing together, and it was an extreme privilege for us to be given this opportunity.

It has been an extreme honour to be a part of this precious choir since year 9, and we cannot thank the Malestrom family enough for our life changing experiences. A huge thank you to our directors Mr Hurley and Mr Atlas for pushing us to reach our maximum potential and truly bringing out the best of each individual of the choir, we could not have done it without their incredible help and leadership.

Sam Burt and Sam Yun