On Tuesday 18 June, 46 girls represented our school at the Auckland Regional New Zealand Choral Federation’s annual singing competition, The Big Sing.
The Big Sing is one of the highly anticipated annual events where the festival brings all choirs together from various regions, schools and communities to perform and compete, sharing an enjoyable and supportive experience. Carmel’s Senior Choir, Carmelites, took part, as well as our joint choir with Rosmini, Carmini. We have practised hard from the start of the year learning a range of repertoire. For the competition, each choir had to perform three pieces, with each piece being from a different category (New Zealand Composition, Choral Art Music and Director’s Choice).
The Carmelites performed ‘Balada Amarilla’, ‘O Love’ and ‘All That Jazz’, which included dance moves that captivated the audience. Carmini performed the songs ‘May God Bless You’, ‘You Do Not Walk Alone’, and the traditional spiritual song, ‘I’m Gonna Sing’ which also included dance moves.
The annual regional competition is attended by a variety of choirs from all over Auckland who all share a passion and love for singing. All the choirs had such a fun time, listening and supporting each other and being able to make new friends in between performances and during the Gala Concert.
In the evening Gala Concert, each choir performed one song chosen by the adjudicator of the day. This was performed in front of parents, families and other choirs from both the morning and afternoon sessions. The shared passion for singing from all the choirs made the Gala Concert a memorable event.
We’d like to thank our choir director, Robert Howell, and our accompanist, Amanda Yap, for all their hard work and dedication. We’d also like to thank the student musicians who accompanied us – Klarion Tablizo (Cello), Pruna Lee (Bass), Helena Lee (Clarinet), Anya Poe (Trumpet) and Siobhan Fialho (Drums).
You can view the performances on the Carmel Music Department Youtube page:
Isabella Dultra & Victoria Sutrisna, Year 12
I have been participating in the Big Sing Choral Festival for four years and truly enjoyed the experience alongside our choir, Carmini and Carmelites. All the Monday and Wednesday after school practices, rehearsing in the weekends and performing in various of events, I am proud of being a part of that.
Natalie-Rose Widjaja Saputra, Year 9
As a Year 9 student and only starting out with Carmini and Carmelites, I truly enjoyed my experience at the Big Sing Choral Festival. Early in the day the competition was exciting, seeing our Auckland Schools” and Choirs performances and pieces. Later in the evening, the annual Gala Concert was held, where parents and friends were able to watch and sing along. I am so excited to be doing this event in the upcoming years and I can’t wait to see the upcoming shows and pieces!
Chelsea Gardner, Year 13
The Big Sing has always been a key event to add to my calendar each year. I look forward to absorbing the atmosphere every year as it is such an inspiring environment to come to and see other schools performing their hearts out too. I am always so proud of how both Carmelites and Carmini perform, and 2024 felt especially rewarding as it was my final year performing in a high school choir. I will most definitely miss the choir atmosphere and the friends I have made along the way – doing choir at Carmel will always be something I will take with me throughout life, no matter where it leads me.
