Bel Canto is the senior auditioned treble choir at Burnside High School, consisting this year of 36 girls from Year 11 to Year 13 and led under the direction of Naomi Hnat.

2022 has been a difficult year for Bel Canto as for the rest of the country. From starting the year masked and rehearsing outside, to socially distanced rehearsals and concerts, it has certainly been a journey for us all.

This year Bel Canto kicked off with The Big Sing Regional competition in June, performing two of our many pieces to a live audience for the first time in a record-long time. This recital earnt us the ‘Best Performance of a New Zealand composition’ award for our performance of Mihi by David Hamilton, which Burnside has now won for three consecutive years.

The Big Sing National Finale in August was undoubtedly a challenge for all of us, especially considering that this was the first time any member had attended a Finale. Fortunately, Finale was finally able to take place after two years of cancellations due to Covid. Being held this year in our hometown, Christchurch, for the first time since the earthquakes, this was, needless to say, a particularly special event for us all. And despite all the Covid disruptions throughout the year, we still managed to come away with a Silver award and countless memories.

Bel Canto finished off the year with our last performance at Burnside Voices, performing a recital of three pieces, summing up all our work for the year. This concert also saw the farewell of our Year 13 students and wrapped up Bel Canto for 2022.

As we warmly welcome back our choral director, Sue Densem, for 2023, I want to say a huge thank you to Naomi Hnat for all her work and direction with Bel Canto this year. It has been a pleasure working with you and we wish you all the very best for the future.

As the student leader and conductor of Bel Canto, it has been an incredible year working alongside this exceptional group. I am extremely grateful to have been a part of this Bel Canto family for the past three years and it has been an absolute pleasure seeing this group grow and advance each year. Bel Canto is truly a memory that will last beyond my time at Burnside.

To my Year 13s, thank you for an amazing three years together and best of luck for all your future pursuits.

And finally, to all my Bel Canto girls, I wish you all the best for next year and I hope that Bel Canto will bring you as much love and joy as it did to me.