The New Zealand Youth Choir has walked away with a huge win on the world stage - taking out Choir of the World at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales.
Made up of 50 talented young singers aged 18 - 25 years old, the group mixes classic choral with waiata and kapa haka.
The judges called the winning piece, which was specially commissioned for the NZ choir, the “beauty and spirit of Aotearoa”.
To celebrate the win, the choir performed a powerful haka from the stands and received a standing ovation and roaring cheer from the audience.
This was also a bit of a full-circle moment, with the choir last nabbing the big title back in 1999.
Plus, it marks the final tour for music director David Squire, who’s been leading the charge for the last 15 years. What a send-off!
David has taught music in schools for 35 years and in 2011 won a New Zealander of the Year Local Heroes Medal for services to music education.
Labour’s Arts, Culture and Heritage spokesperson Rachel Boyack reckons the choir are “incredible ambassadors for Aotearoa.”
"I watched their winning set this morning after waking up to hear this very exciting news. I've been lucky to see the choir perform this year, including at Waitangi on Waitangi Day."
It is incredible to see how much they've achieved. I am hugely proud of every one of them.
Kiwis have been praising the choir for their talents and success, with one Facebook commenter writing: “Beautiful music and singing, makes life all worthwhile to hear. Proud to be a Kiwi, NZ Youth Choir, you're so amazing.👏👏👏❤️."
“Glorious! How wonderful that this beautiful waiata and others will be shared with the world,” said another.
A Third added: “Can see why they won best in the world.”
This isn’t their only recent win. Just days before, they took out the Grand Prix of Nations at the European Choir Games in Denmark, scoring a whopping 97.5 in the Folklore Category.
Huge congrats to all involved, Aotearoa’s extremely proud!
