Gisborne Choral Society celebrates 60th

4 Jun 2026

This year the Gisborne Choral Society celebrates 60 years. They are marking their anniversary with the performance of an old favorite, a weekend Festival of Choral Music with local choirs, and a celebration concert at the end of the year.

Records show that there was a Gisborne Choral Society active in the 1880’s and ‘90’s. Performances at that time included Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah, but little is known about what happened to the choir.

In September 1966, the Gisborne Herald reported that a Gisborne Choral Society was being established. Their first performance was Handel’s Messiah, held on 1 December 1966. It must have been a great event, with a choir of 100 voices, conducted by John Waugh, the Gisborne Civic Orchestra (directed by Wilfred Kohn) and an exceptional lineup of soloists – Angela Shaw, Heather Begg, Revel Rice and Maurice Taylor.
A local newspaper reported:
“Singing magnificently before a capacity audience in the Opera House, the Gisborne Choral Society made an auspicious public debut… Weeks of constant practice ensured smoothness and unity in the performance, and the society is to be commended for starting such a venture which can only be of benefit to the city's culture.”

John Waugh was to direct the Gisborne Choral Society through to 1973. He was followed by Marios Sophocleus, David Vine for four years, and then Frank Darcy for a year. In 1979 Gavin Maclean became the Music Director, and he has held the position ever since. The rehearsal pianist for the first 30 years or so was Lucy Brook, who played well into her 80’s. She was succeeded by Margaret Manuel and Trish Tattle and Coralie Hunter has been the rehearsal pianist since 2002.

Other significant people in the promotion of the choir have been an impressive list of patrons, including Sir James Wattie, Peter Cooper, Dame Bronwen Holdsworth, Meng Foon, who filled the role for nearly 20 years (2001-2019) and Gisborne’s current mayor, Rehette Stoltz has been patron since 2020. All have been active supporters of the choir’s efforts, for which the choir is very grateful.

There have been many highlights for the choir over the 60 years:

• In 1969 for the city’s Cook bicentenary events, the choir, with orchestra and the Turanga Pastorate Cultural Group, presented Our Endeavour, which told in music and song the story of Cook’s voyage and the development of New Zealand. 
• In November 1972 they performed Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in the War Memorial Hall. Local basses Derek Allan and Tom Oates were joined by visiting soloists Patricia Lawry, Mary Gavin and Michael Burch. 
• Early in 1993, along with the Tongan Choir and a combined churches Māori group, the Gisborne Choral Society was invited to take part in the TVNZ’s Praise Be.  Filming took place in St Andrew’s Church and Manutūkē Marae.
• In November 1997 the Gisborne Choral Society was joined by the New Zealand Festival Choir and associates to perform the Verdi Requiem, a massive work requiring two choirs. The 130 singers performed under the baton of the festival choir’s John Knox, in St Andrew’s Church.

The choir started an association with the Hastings Choral Society in 2008 for a performance of the Beethoven Mass in C. Hastings’ Susan Melville conducted, with the Hawkes Bay Youth Orchestra. This was one of a number of collaborations with the Hastings choir where they could prepare and perform larger works in both Gisborne and Hastings. Conductors Gavin Maclean (Gisborne), a tenor, and Joe Christensen (Hastings), a bass, took turns conducting and singing.

In 2015 the choir was joined by singers from the district’s high schools to sing Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man, Mass for Peace at the opening of the refurbished War Memorial Theatre.

Over 60 years, the choir has performed Masses, Passions, Glorias and waiata, sung in operas and learned songs by George Gershwin and Cole Porter, Neil Finn and Lennon and McCartney, not to mention 15^th century motets and madrigals. It has all been, and continues to be, a source of joy and delight to all in the choir.

The Gisborne Choral Society started their 60^th anniversary year with a sold-out performance of Handel’s Messiah – a work they have performed 17 times over the years.

They are looking forward to holding a Festival of Choral Music over the weekend of 13 & 14 June at St Andrew’s Church. They’ll be working and performing with a number of school choirs from local intermediate and secondary schools, and with a newly formed community choir. Each choir with have a solo spot and then they’ll join together for massed items.

Sadly, as well as celebrations, 2026 poses some challenges for the Gisborne Choral Society. For nearly 40 years St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church has been the choir’s rehearsal home and much-loved performance venue, but the parish will close at the end of June. St Andrew’s Church has a wonderful acoustic, and the choir will miss it greatly. They were pleased to be invited to join a thanksgiving service at St Andrew’s in May.
 

A further challenge is that Music Director Gavin Maclean (QSM) has announced that he will retire at the end of the year after an extraordinary 47 years of service. Gavin and members of the Maclean family have been stalwarts of the choir. Gavin’s wife Catherine Macdonald, also a QSM, has sung in the choir and as a soloist for many years. Gavin’s sister Coralie Hunter has been the rehearsal pianist and accompanist since 2002.
 

Undoubtedly, the final concert of the year will be a huge celebration, not only of 60 years of fine choral singing by the Gisborne Choral Society, but also in honour of the great contribution and leadership that Gavin Maclean has given since 1979.

Congratulations Gisborne Choral Society on 60 successful years and best wishes for the future.

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