3… 2… 1… lift off!

After many weeks of rehearsing and planning, our launch event “First Light” was held at St Matthew’s-in-the-City on Sunday 23 May 2021. It was a resounding success (pardon the pun)!

To get some context of how we decided to launch a women’s choir, we need to rewind to 2020, when Vanessa Kay studied towards a MMus in conducting. As part of the assessment, she put together a mixed-voice chamber choir for a recital assessment. The singers were old friends who had sung with Vanessa in various choirs, and had a great time singing together. After the recital, a couple of the women suggested that we continue, but maybe as a women’s choir. Many of the women that sang in the recital don’t sing regularly in a choir, for different reasons. Most sang at a very high level when they did sing in choirs, but life, children, careers and so on had been their priority for the last 10 years or so. There were also some women in the recital choir that did sing with other choirs, but many of those choirs were mixed-voice choirs and they were keen to sing in a women’s choir.

Meetings were held, and lists were made. A committee was formed, members were invited. Venues were sourced, repertoire was set, and sheet music obtained. On 15 March 2021, our very first rehearsal was held at the music department at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School.

From the beginning, our rehearsals were filled with laughter (and our bellies were filled with shared supper), and of course there was excellence in music-making as well. The singers came from backgrounds with a high level of choral training, including members of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, current and former members of the New Zealand Youth Choir, former members of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, University of Auckland Chamber, professional-level ensembles and choirs overseas, and top-level high school choirs. Amongst our members, we have a Starship paediatrician, an optometrist, a film producer, accountants, university lecturers, lawyers, music teachers, insurance specialists, orchestral musicians, personal assistants, stay-at-home mums, and more.

This high-calibre group came together very quickly to form a new creation. We had a secret shortcut to our success - our efficient rehearsals and cohesive sound came about because we already shared a common language and way of working. Almost all of the singers in the launch group had come through choirs directed by Dr Karen Grylls and/or Elise Bradley. Our shared whakapapa of choral training and practice meant that even though we didn’t all know each other, it was as if we had all sung together before. At the event, Karen and Elise were in attendance, and we hope that they feel proud of their lasting legacy in the choral world in Aotearoa - their impact has moved beyond their direct involvement and into influencing new groups such as ours.

The committee wanted to host a social event alongside some music-making; to properly celebrate our launch with our audience, friends and family. When the plans for an alcohol licence fell through, we turned lemons into lemonade and got on board three fantastic non-alcoholic beverage sponsors: AF Drinks, Edenvale, and Daily Organics. A caterer was organised, branded cupcakes ordered, and helpers arranged to set up and serve food and drinks. There was more to organise than we had ever considered - marketing, ticketing, a photographer, a sound engineer, as well as pianist, guitarist, french horn, and a kaikaranga!

After opening the event with a beautiful, beaming karanga from Amohia-Ngāwaiata Afeaki, the choir presented a varied 45 minute programme (see below for details). Utilising the spaces at St Matthew’s and singing some pieces from different configurations, the choir showed off their range and versatility. As one audience member put it, the beauty of the female voice shone through:

“I just closed my eyes and went, ‘aah’”.

The repertoire list for the launch concert included the world premiere of a piece written especially for us by renowned and well-loved New Zealand composer David Hamilton, featuring piano and french horn (played by David Kay). The theme of “light” wove through the pieces we chose for this launch. Pianist Cathy Bennett played beautifully and sensitively, and we were also joined by Deane Siakimotu on guitar for the two waiata.

A reflection on Immerse and Indulge by Luminata Voices

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