11 Jul 2011
The New Zealand Choral Federation is pleased to announce that it has entered an agreement with Rugby New Zealand 2011 to provide choirs to sing the national anthems at all 48 World Cup matches in New Zealand during September and October of this year.
Accordingly, singers are invited to attend one of 12 nationwide anthem workshops and on the same day to audition, if they wish, for one or more NZCF Rugby World Cup match-day choirs.
To ensure a uniform quality of performance throughout the country, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and a specially-formed NZCF choir have separately recorded all 20 anthems, with the choral arrangements supplied by prominent Dunedin composer, Anthony Ritchie. These recordings have now been mixed together and are intended for radio and internet use and as a fail-safe at each venue, although the two anthems on each occasion will be also performed live on the field.
In order to introduce some of the participating countries’ anthems to singers in each region, and to the local community at large, National Anthem Workshops will be held in each of the 11 match centres (Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin, Invercargill) and Christchurch, all during July. Each workshop will be led by a prominent New Zealand choral conductor and will air a selection of anthems, including those to be sung at matches in that centre.
On the day of the workshop, singers will also have the opportunity to audition for a place in the 30-strong choirs that will perform at each Cup match in September and October, singing the two relevant anthems on the field before the game. Note that while workshops are being held only in match centres, singers from anywhere in New Zealand are welcome to register for and attend a workshop, and offer an audition. While selection will be based on merit, both RWC and NZCF want to reflect the age range of New Zealand’s choristers, as well as the cultural diversity of each match region and, where possible, of the two teams playing.
RWC Choral Workshops
Workshop attendees will be provided with songbooks, containing all 20 anthems, as part of their registration. There is a difference in the running order for Saturday and Sunday workshops.
- Saturday: 10.00 am to 1.00 pm – workshop; 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm (approx) – auditions
- Sunday: 10.00 am to 12.00 noon – auditions; 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm – workshop; 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm (approx) – auditions
Auditions
Anyone interested in singing at any of the local Cup matches will need to attend a workshop and pass an audition. Owing to pressure of time, it is anticipated that the audition will consist of one verse of the New Zealand national anthem and a very brief voice test only – the whole process should take no more than 1 or 2 minutes. Singers will be informed of the result of the audition by email as early as possible in August. Details of the audition process document are on our website (main news section).
Cost
There will be a small charge for the workshop, to cover the songbook (yours to keep) and incidental costs. Please bring exact change and pay on the day.
Full – $10
Concession (students, NZCF individual & ACD members) – $5
Anthem Scores
The anthem scores and lyric sheets will soon be available on the NZCF website (www.nzcf.org.nz – News and Rugby World Cup Choirs sections), as will pronunciation guides and the mp3 files of the anthems themselves, as recorded by a nationally-sourced 24-voice NZCF choir (conductor: John Rosser), accompanied by the NZSO.
Further information
Please click here for more information including:
- Mp3 recordings of the anthems.
- Workshop venues.
- Audition process.
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs) – updated regularly.
New Zealand Choral Federation www.nzcf.org.nz
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