Nayland College’s three choirs participated in The Big Sing on Friday the 16th of June. The annual regional event, held at Old St John’s on Hardy St, included choirs from as far afield as Picton. 

All three choirs received positive feedback on their performances from the adjudicators, with the combined boys’ and girls’ choir, NayCol Chorale, gaining Highly Commended overall and a Runner-up placing in the Other Styles Category. Adjudicator James Tibbles commented on their “performance of flair” and  “fantastic sense of style.”

The boys’ choir, AugMENted, and the girls’ choir, Sotto Voce, were also singled out for being “sensitive [and] musically committed” and having a “very good variety of tone and expression” respectively.

Sotto Voce member Rebecca Werensteyn said the venue’s nice acoustics and the enthusiastic audience helped the choirs to perform to their full potential. “You could tell they were so into it,” she said. “When you’re practising, it can get tedious but on the day we sung it the best we could.”

It was a long day for the choirs’ fifty or so members, accompanied by choral directors Nigel Weeks and Zoe Bennett, music teacher Jodie Freeman and performance coordinator Sarah Luton. As well as the daytime competition, an evening concert was held in the cathedral that was open for the general public.