Case study 2: THE BIG SING

by Merryn Dunmill, National Facilitator, Music – Primary, Ministry of Education

In 2003, 20 school choirs participated in the National Finale of the annual THE BIG SING festival, which was held in Wellington during the August holidays. While nearly 800 students participated in this final event, they were less than 10 per cent of the total number of students who took part in the first round of regional festivals that were held throughout the length of New Zealand.

Why?

THE BIG SING festivals have been staged by the New Zealand Choral Federation (NZCF) since 1988 to provide an opportunity for secondary school students from all over New Zealand to experience the buzz and challenge of performing choral music in a large venue to a large audience.

What?

Ten regional festivals are held throughout June, with 6–8000 students from Whangarei to Invercargill presenting a wide range of vocal repertoire though many different performance styles.

Selected choirs then go on to perform at the National Finale, where awards are presented for the best performances and the best original composition.

During the four days of the national festival, each choir performs three songs in a series of eight concerts. The finale culminates in a gala concert on the last night, in which each choir presents a 10-minute recital and there are two pieces performed by the massed choirs.

In their recitals, the choirs are required to perform a maximum of six vocal pieces, including two of the pieces they had performed at their regional festival, and at least one New Zealand composition.

Who?

This case study focuses on one of the choirs who participated in the 2003 finale of THE BIG SING – Bel Canto, an all-girls' choir from Burnside High School in Christchurch. At the Finale, they won the Hutt City Trophy for the best performance of a New Zealand composition, and were also the only recipient of a Gold Award.

This established girls' school choir was trained and conducted by their itinerant vocal tutor, Jean Cumming. For the BIG SING, the choir consisted of six first sopranos, seven second sopranos, eight first altos, and nine second altos. Their accompanist was Burnside student Jenny Cho.

Senior students, known as student leaders, assist Jean with conducting rehearsals, and with the organisation and management of the choir. Jean and two of these senior students were interviewed and filmed during rehearsals. In this case study, they share their choral/vocal routines and techniques, and their views, expertise, and passion for choral singing.

next: Participants