After months of preparation, the day of The Big Sing finally arrived. 

Wednesday saw 22 choirs from around the Otago region compete for a place in the national finale held in Dunedin later this year. We had a number of boys involved in both the Otago Boys’ High School Choir, and the combined choirs with Otago Girls’.

There was a wonderful variety of pieces selected by the different schools, with an entertaining balance of classical, contemporary, and cultural. We enjoyed a musical journey around the world, hearing pieces in German, Spanish, Māori, Italian, Latin, and Samoan. The Pacific Island choir “Cultural Chords” brought a wonderful energy and movement to the competition and will be the guest performers to open the national finale.

It has been a very busy time for the boys, with many representing the school in the production, kapa haka, sporting teams, interschool fixtures, and academic assessments and tutorials. It has been really pleasing to see the variety of boys who join the choir, and we are looking forward to bolstering the numbers to build again toward the 2017 Big Sing.

It was a really enjoyable day for the participants and audience with an entertaining gala concert in the evening. Although it was a long day for the boys, they managed to put it all together for a powerful performance for the public concert. It has been fantastic seeing the support from parents and teachers and the boys really appreciate the encouragement, as well as the academic support during a time when many of the boys have had time out of class.