College Kentoris Performances Underway

The College Premier Choir, Kentoris, gave its first public performance of the year at the College Open Day with a remarkably polished rendition of Jesus Gjor Meg Stille, sung in Norwegian, with Lili Taylor and Jamie Hofer taking the solos. Choral Director, Mr Lachlan Craig, believes it was a faithful rendition, but was quietly hopeful there was no one from Norway in the Chapel!

This early in the year, our music groups and choirs are generally reforming, with new members joining to replace the students who left at the end of the previous year. To sing such a polished performance so early on is to be commended!

At the start of term, over 120 students auditioned to sing in a variety of College choirs. Once the places in our Premier Choir had been confirmed, Kentoris spent the weekend in a ‘crash course’ on Choral Music to ready them for this first performance.

The students went through workshops on aural skills, sight singing, harmony, theory, phonetics and vocal technique run by the choirs’ musical team of Lachlan Craig and Gracie Francis. The students were also treated to a lecture and presentation by London based NZ composer Andrew Baldwin.

Andrew has written many pieces for the College including ‘I Lift My Eyes to the Mountains’ for the 60th Jubilee last year. It is a rare chance that anyone gets to meet, let alone work with composers of the music they sing and this was an extremely rewarding experience for our students.

The choir also spent time working through their large base repertoire which encompasses music from the 1500’s right through to the present, singing in several different languages and styles.

The choral programme at the College has expanded further this year with the establishment of two more vocal ensembles; an elite octet for the very top ensemble singers and an all-inclusive Year 7 choir which takes the number of students involved in singing to over 250 this year.

Kentoris comprises the top singers and musicians at the College and was selected to attend the New Zealand Choral Federation Big Sing National Finale last year, something they hope to replicate this year. Individual members also excelled at the New Zealand Aria competition, another goal they have their sights set on this year.

Choral Director, Lachlan Craig has also been selected to present vocal pedagogy research he has undertaken with adolescent male voices, at the New Zealand Choral Federation Choral Connect Convention later this year.