The Big Sing Finale Gala Concert 2023

The Big Sing Finale showcases more than 800 talented young singers across three days of competitive recitals in a vibrant celebration of youth and song. Twenty-four of New Zealand's top secondary school choirs perform a wide range of musical styles, from waiata to classical, gospel, jazz and pop.

FINALE 2023 AWARDS (listed alphabetically by choir)

CHOIR	SCHOOL	AWARD
Altissime	Samuel Marsden Collegiate School	GOLD
Bel Canto	Burnside High School	GOLD
Bel Suono	Waikato Diocesan School for Girls	SILVER
Blue Notes	Tawa College	GOLD
Cantare	Westlake Girls' High School	GOLD
The Centennial Choir	Mt Albert Grammar School	GOLD
Choralation	Westlake Girls'/Westlake Boys' High Schools	GOLD
Con Anima	St Patrick's College	BRONZE
Euphony	Kristin School	GOLD
Femme	Southland Girls' High School	BRONZE
Fortissimo	Dilworth School	SILVER
Grammarphonics	Auckland Grammar School	BRONZE
Kentoris	St Kentigern College	SILVER
Leonessa	Takapuna Grammar School	GOLD
Ngā Korimako	Wellington Girls' College/Wellington College	SILVER
Paradisum	Epsom Girls' Grammar School	GOLD
Rāwhiti	Wellington East Girls' College	BRONZE
Resolutions	Rangi Ruru Girls' School	SILVER
Rewaken Polycation Choir	Manurewa High School	SILVER
Saints Alive	St Cuthbert's College	GOLD
St Cecilia Singers	Diocesan School for Girls	GOLD
Takapuna Grammar School Chorale	Takapuna Grammar School	SILVER
Voces Luce	Queen Margaret College	SILVER
Voicemale	Westlake Boys' High School	GOLD

SPECIAL AWARDS:

SOUNZ-NZCF Te Reo Maori Choral Composition Award: Bella Allan-Moetaua (Westlake Girls' Grammar School)

NZCF-SOUNZ Choral Composition Award: Matilda Faamausili (Westlake Girls' Grammar School)

Auahi Kore  Award for Best Performance of an Item in Te Reo Māori: Choralation, for I Te Timatanga.
Hutt City Trophy for Best Performance of a NZ Composition: St Cecilia Singers, for Iustus Es by Kitty Milner.
Tour Time Cup for Best Performance of a piece of Choral Art Music: Cantare, for She Weeps Over Rahoon & The Centennial Choir, for Dirait-on.
Youth Ambassador Award for the choir that the Committee thinks most demonstrates outstanding engagement with all elements of the Finale: Grammarphonics.

At the end of the Gala Concert, the choirs joined for a massed item

 

For the Finale, international judge Lauren Hannay joined Brent Stewart and Dr Siliva Gaugatao, with Ataahua Papa judging the Auahi Kore Award. Read more about the judges on the NZCF website

 

The Big Sing is a regional secondary schools choral festival that takes place in 10 centres involving around 8,000 students from over 200+ schools, supported by their families and communities.

Run by the New Zealand Choral Federation, The Big Sing has been taking place for over 30 years and is New Zealand’s largest choral event with singers entering regional competitions held in Northland, Auckland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Taranaki, Manawatu/Whanganui, Wellington, Marlborough/Nelson, Canterbury/West Coast, Otago and Southland.

The New Zealand Choral Federation also provides a list of all sorts of choirs around the country, which you can see here.