Timaru will once again host the South Island secondary schools Big Sing Cadenza this month.
The two-day festival of choirs will be held at the Craighead School Auditorium and Sacred Heart Basilica tomorrow and Saturday.
The New Zealand Choral Federation holds three Cadenza festivals held each year — one in the South Island and two in the North — showcasing around 1000 students.
Choirs are chosen following the regional Big Sing Competition and represent the next highest-scoring choirs after those selected for the national finale, which will be held in Auckland from August 25-27.
South Island Cadenza coordinator Wayne Pahl said the Timaru event would feature 12 choirs and about 310 students from Invercargill, Dunedin, Timaru, Christchurch, Blenheim and Nelson.
The only South Canterbury choir to be selected is the Craighead Diocesan School Choir, directed by music teacher Catherine Anderson.
Mr Pahl said that over the two days there would be four competitive sessions, with each school presenting two recitals.
The 2023 adjudicator is Dr Andrew Withington, former artistic director of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, recently returned from the United States where he was assistant prof at Westminster College, Pennsylvania with responsibility for choral performance.
The South Island Cadenza will culminate in a gala concert in the Sacred Heart Basilica at 7pm on Saturday, where each choir will showcase an item from their recitals and will join at the end in a massed performance.
‘‘All sessions are open to the public and we look forward to hearing some very high-quality choral music during the festival.’’
Tickets are available from Newman’s Musicworks Timaru.
