MasterSinger, Winter 2005 By Janet Lincé In the past, New Zealand was recognised by its European cousins more for its remote beauty and the prowess of its sportsmen than for its cultural heritage. During the past 20 years, however, New Zealand has rapidly been developing its own unique identity as a nation with a broad ethnic spectrum and a valuable cultural history. This ethnic diversity is well represented in The Graduate Choir, NZ, from Auckland which made its debut tour of England in August this year. It is one of the few choirs in New Zealand that can be said to be truly representative of New Zealand's multi-racial society of today. Its wide ethnic composition comprises Asian, Pacific Island and Maori singers as well as those of European origin, known as Pakeha. The choir has been in existence only since 2001 when conductor Terence Maskell, responding to the enthusiasm of former choir members of the Aorere College where he is director of music, decided to form a new choir comprising singers from all parts of South Auckland. Although the age of the singers ranges from 15 to over 50, the membership consists mainly of younger singers who are either undertaking tertiary education or working at a variety of jobs. A few members are still at secondary school. The Graduate Choir, NZ, so named because many of the singers graduated from Aorere College choirs to this auditioned choir, currently numbers around 35 singers. The choir rehearses once a week, with occasional extra rehearsals, in the Aorere College hall, a venue which is local for a significant number of the members. This means that some choristers who live elsewhere in Auckland have to travel quite large distances across this sprawling city to attend rehearsals, and this puts considerable pressure on their lives. Rehearsals last for 2 1/2 hours and there is always a refreshment break to allow for some social interaction which Terence Maskell feels is important for the choir's togetherness. When auditioning prospective new members, Terence primarily seeks people with a sense of responsibility and a commitment to the aims of the choir. Here, the polynesian lifestyle and concept of time and punctuality can sometimes be frustrating. Vocal quality naturally plays a part in his selection criteria in that he seeks voices that will blend with the existing group. Musical skills are also taken into account, but here there is a difficulty. Although Auckland is the principal city of New Zealand with a population upward of 1.5 million there is only a limited pool of capable singers to draw on with a significant number of other experienced choirs competing for the more able choristers. Terence says: "ideally, I would prefer a choir where all singers were good sight readers... it is something of a juggling act to keep all the fluent readers happy whilst attending to the inadequacies of those who don't read so well." Terence works at achieving a broad canvas of colours in the sound of The Graduate Choir, NZ. He explains: "my challenge is to create some homogenity, some unity, as well as some differentiation and contrast when it is called for." He aims, for example, to teach the choir to perform renaissance repertoire with a clean timbre, bringing out the polyphonic strands of the music, and also negro spirituals, which demand a rich and resonant sound. In respect of the latter Terence is thankful to have singers such as Samoan bass Francis Mealamu in the group. Francis tells us: "I was thirteen and put straight into the bass 2 section. My very first impression of the choir was, wow what a cool way of singing!" A strong motivational factor for Terence in his educational role is championing those who come from underpriviledged backgrounds, and offering them the opportunity to achieve at the highest level. In the choir situation he chooses repertoire that will not only stimulate the members, but will educate them about different genres, will challenge them vocally and musically, and will excite and move them too. To give an idea of the diversity of the choir's repertoire, their tour programme included English folk song arrangements and part songs by Finzi, Moeran, Pearsall, and Rutter; works by Brahms, Bruckner, Debussy, Mendelssohn, and Saint-Saens; New Zealand music by Dienes, Griffiths, Marshall and Mews, and a newly commissioned work by Hamilton as well as Maori and Pacific Island music. As can be seen from this selection, Terence is deeply concerned with language, which to him is the starting point when tackling a new piece. Many listeners have commented on the amazing clarity of diction he elicits from his choir and one of the Altos, Julia Smith, says of the different styles and languages: "[it] keeps us on our toes". She tells us, her favourites on tour were Katherine Dienes' setting of Ave Veum Corpus, David Hamilton's newly commissioned work Karanga and the two negro spirituals. The presence of the choir in so many pacific islanders, with their widly divergent natural response to harmony, makes an unusual impact on the tuning within the choir. This is a subject that fascinates Terence and, as a reward for the time-consuming process of making the singers more acutely aware of the effect of small changes of pitch on real harmony, he is frequently gratified by the choir's responsiveness in this area. One reason that Terence was so pleased to have the opportunity of bringing The Graduate Choir, NZ, on tour is that for three weeks the members would not be subject to the pressures of their daily life and would be able to focus totally on being with and performing with the choir. For most of the singers the UK tour was a meaningful experience. Maugapaia Ropeti-Iupeli, Tenor, told me: "singing (Bruckner's motet Locus Iste) in places like St Paul's Cathedral and King's College Chapel, places where pieces like this are meant to be sung, really made me love it even more." Melissa Absolum, Alto, one of the two Maori singers in the choir, has a post-graduate diploma in music and has already had some experience of touring overseas with the NZ National Youth Choir. She expressed amazement that a choir from the less privileged area of Auckland can get to sing such a wide range of music from all over the world, she recognises that much of the choir's success is largely down to Terence's skill as a musician and motivator. There is little doubt that The Graduate Choir, NZ is a unique group and deserves to attain wider recognition for its vital performances, its beautifully rich and varied sound as well as its exciting repertoire. Little of this could be achieved without the leadership of its truly committed and charismatic conductor Terence Maskell. Lets hope that the choir continues to flourish in future seasons. |
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