Voces Luce takes talent to Whanganui

Voces Luce was selected to participate in the exciting festival, Cadenza. This year’s festival was held in Whanganui from 12 to 14 August at the Royal Opera House and featured 12 choirs from the lower North Island, six of which were from Wellington.

During this festival, each choir sang two sets of music with two songs in each set. Timothy WayneWright, the former member of the world-renowned The King’s Singers, was the judge for the festival. In addition to the two sets of music performed, the choirs participated in three big rehearsals involving about 350 singers from the 12 choirs.

Voces Luce sang with a stunning tone, underlying excitement and energy, and presented their songs with poise and confidence at both performances. They were definitely a standout ensemble at the festival, and we were excited to be sharing our music and gifts with the other choirs.

There were many opportunities for the students to have fun, interact with the other singers, and finish our weekend with a Gala concert, followed by a student dance. One of the highlights for me as their conductor was the pride I felt as they led the charge for group involvement between sessions and at the dance. We all want our students to shine while demonstrating their talents, but it is an amazing feeling when they can interact, feel comfortable, and be leaders. At the conclusion of the Gala concert on Saturday evening, there were participation awards, and then the judge presented different levels of recognition. The levels were distinguished by a range of scores given by the judge.

The three awards were:

Tui – the highest level of achievement (former gold medal)

Bellbird – the next level of achievement (former silver medal)

Korimako – the next level of achievement (former bronze medal)

We were very honoured to receive the Tui award, and the singers were thrilled with the weekend, the spirit of the event, their performances, and the many new friends they met.

We feel very fortunate to have sung at this festival, especially considering lockdown came shortly after and the other two Cadenzas and the Finale were cancelled. Our students are lucky to be at a school that is so supportive of the Arts and encourages their growth artistically. Voces Luce has had a fantastic year with several highlights, and we look forward to 2022!

Mark Stamper Director of Choirs