The Big Sing
The Mount Hutt College Choir participated in The Big Sing this past Friday in Christchurch to thunderous applause! Twelve students from Years 7-12 hit the stage at the Christchurch Town Hall, performing two pieces they have been working on since Term 1. Conducted by Choir Director Kath Woodley, the Choir performed Kusimama, a piece with Swahili text translated as “Stand Tall.” This piece is meant to reflect the joy, inner strength, and resilience of young people. In addition to singing, the Choir brought the energy to this piece with body percussion (stomps and claps). Kusimama also featured a solo vocal part performed beautifully by Year 11 student Peyton Fews.
Their second piece was The Railway Train - another upbeat song about taking a train ride through the mountains. This piece included vocalisations meant to represent the sound of a train going down the tracks.
The Choir was set up for success in this event partly due to a “Fine Tuning” session in which a professional vocal coach sat in on a rehearsal and offered feedback to the group. Their vocal coach was Rosemary Turnbull. Rosemary was also able to connect the Choir with a professional accompanist, Sarah Kang, as the Choir is without an accompanist this year.
As Head of Music, I can confidently say that this was the best performance the Mount Hutt College Choir has put on at the Big Sing since I started here, and I couldn’t be more proud of their mahi. Bravo!
Sam Luddy