A Capella Singers celebrates 50 years

1 Jul 2026

Over King’s Birthday weekend, past and present members of Invercargill’s A Capella Singers gathered to celebrate 50 years of singing together.

They gave a gala concert in First Church to a capacity audience of around 300 on the Saturday night, followed by a celebration lunch the next day.

The first half of the concert comprised music from previous performances over the years. In the second half, guest soprano Rebecca Ryan performed three songs before joining the choir and the Invercargill Symphonia for a performance of Vivaldi's Gloria, conducted by Christine McLeod. The choir’s founder, Ron James, conducted Cantique di Jean Racine by Gabriel Fauré, accompanied by Sheryl Walker, and the concert ended with the audience joining in on John Rutter’s Celtic Blessing.

Ron James travelled from Sydney to attend the reunion and was delighted to have been invited. He recalls the beginnings of the choir 50 years ago. 

"The A Capella Singers was established in 1975. The 30 members were gathered together by Isabel Walsh and Pat Berridge. I was invited to be the group’s first conductor. The name chosen was “A Capella,” not the usual spelling, but I was intrigued by “capella” being Latin for she-goat! I envisaged that much of our repertoire would be unaccompanied, hence the name. Indeed, the first few concerts comprised madrigals and part-songs. One of the first major works to be performed was Haydn’s Nelson Mass, which was repeated a few months later with the Terrace Strings of Wellington. This performance remains with me as the highlight of my time with the choir.

The regular accompanist was the very capable Sheryl Walker, but for the major works we relied on organ accompaniment provided by Russell Cowley. On occasions, soloists from outside the choir were invited but there was a wealth of talent within the choir’s ranks.

In my time we made trips to Gore and Dunedin. We combined with the Dunedin choir for Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Zadock the Priest.

I mentioned my highlight with the choir. But there were many occasions when I was supported by each individual choir member to produce choral music of a high standard for Invercargill audiences. Fond memories remain of concerts by the A Capella Singers."

Ron James was the Director of the choir from 1975 – 2000. He was followed by a number of guest conductors, then Paul Goodson from 2002 – 2004, Di Lenihan 2004 -2018, with the current Music Director Christine McLeod taking up the baton in 2019.

Di Lenihan was not only a stalwart of choral music and musical theatre in Invercargill, but she also made a significant contribution to NZCF on a national level. In a 2017 interview with Stuff she said the following about the A Capella Singers:
"As a community choir, there were a range of different skill levels, some could read music, others could not, but the collective work ethic made for a strong group. They all work really hard … so we're able to tackle quite challenging pieces. Whether it be madrigals, masses, or religious text. It's the joy of making music really. It's amazing what we've got locally."

Current Music Director Christine McLeod says: "The anniversary concert is definitely the highlight of my time conducting the choir – my first time conducting an orchestra and choir together, with one of my favourite works (the Vivaldi Gloria), as well as singing the Laudamus Te duet with Rebecca Ryan. I was very busy that night!  The anniversary concert was a true celebration of the choir’s 50 years, with items from concerts over the decades as well as the Vivaldi. 
Having Ron present as founder was so special and we had a record attendance which included the Mayor of Invercargill. The lunch the next day was a wonderful sharing of memories and catchups with members past and present."

A special mention should be made of Sheryl Walker who has been the sole accompanist over the years. She has just retired after 43 years of service. Before she started as the accompanist the choir sang unaccompanied.

Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell commented on how much he enjoyed the concert, saying: “It was an inspirational evening.” A feeling undoubtedly shared by all involved.

Congratulations A Capella Singers and best wishes for the next 50 years!

 

Back to News