On June 6, our school competed in the New Zealand Choral Federation's Big Sing Competition. Schools all over from Otago came to the town hall, and each performed three pieces, ranging from pop to classical. There were 20 school choirs, who all shared a common interest regarding the love of music.

Otago Boys' High School had three choirs compete - the Boys' Choir, the Combined Choir with OGHS, and the Wairua Puhou Choir. All the boys had put much effort into learning the pieces and practising together as a group. The Boys' Choir would meet at 7 pm on Thursday and practise for an hour and a half, while the Combined Choir practised for 2 hours on a Tuesday evening.  All the students from our school were dedicated and were willing to make personal sacrifices to attend the Big Sing, which meant missing a whole day of school and giving up hobbies for the sake of choir. It was a frosty and snowy morning, yet the boys managed to battle through the slippery streets and make their way to OGHS before 8 am. From 10 am to 5 pm, we enjoyed the performances of other schools' along with performing to them. At 7 pm we performed at the Gala, which involved each choir singing one song of their choice among the three pieces they have practised. Our choir conductor, Ben Madden, had put countless hours into making sure that we would execute the music to the best of our abilities.

This year we had a lot of senior newcomers to the choir, which is always great news. Although they did not have much musical experience, they were willing to work hard and dedicate themselves to a whole new aspect of life. I am incredibly proud of them, as they have committed and embraced the opportunity of a choir. Although the Boys' Choir did not win any awards, the Combined Choir were awarded a Commended Certificate. It was a significant disappointment to the boys; however, I am sure that this will drive us to do better next year. Otago Boys' High School will do what it does best - having boys reach their full potential, and I am confident that we will do better next year.