The Big Sing Cadenza and Finale wrap-up
1 September 2022
The month of August was very much dominated by high school choral singing – and what a celebration it was after two years in a row without being able to carry out the full Cadenza and Finale offerings!
Cadenza 2022
Cadenza festivals were held in Timaru (12-13 August), Whanganui (15-16 August), and Rotorua (21-22 August), and each one featured the 12 choirs from their area (South Island, Lower North Island, and Upper North Island) ranked immediately below those selected for Finale. They sang in competitive sessions, as well as enjoying workshops on massed choral items with adjudicator Elise Bradley.
Congratulations to all of the talented young singers, choir directors, support staff, and whānau for all the work they put into their impressive performances.
The Cadenza awards are named after three of New Zealand’s iconic singing birds and are (in ‘pecking’ order from the top): Tūī, Korimako (Bellbird) and Wharauroa (Shining Cuckoo).
Click here for a full list of awards from all three Cadenza events.
Finale 2022
The Christchurch Town Hall was buzzing from August 25-27 for three days of singing from the 24 selected choirs. Click here to download the full festival booklet, which not only names all the singers and choral directors, but also thanks our many sponsors, supporters, and volunteers who make an event like this possible.
Congratulations to all the participating choirs – our adjudicators were hugely impressed with the high standard of performance and were blown away by the passion and commitment of all the singers, conductors and instrumentalists involved.
Click here to see the full list of awards presented at the gala concert
You can watch videos of all the choir’s performances at The Big Sing Finale 2022 on the NZCF YouTube channel, with thanks to JX Live and RNZ Concert.
We also encourage schools, teachers, and parents to have a look at the professional photography from Finale, taken by the brilliant Horizon Images, and consider purchasing a package of either digital or print copies. We are grateful to Horizon Images for supporting this event, and hope families and schools may enjoy these more close-up memories of what was a spectacular celebration of singing. View the online gallery (Access Code: tbs22)
Image credit: Horizon Images
We were thrilled to feature on TVNZ’s One News on the opening day of Finale – watch the clip here.
You can also hear from one of the Finale adjudicators Igelese Ete, and Rangi Ruru Girls’ School’s Helen Charlton and Millie Trusttum, who featured on RNZ National’s Standing Room Only the day after the gala concert. Listen to the interview here.