Choir calls community together in Tairāwhiti

Pictured here working with Year 9 student and singer Salem (right), former Gisborne Boys’ High choir member Kereopa Ria enjoys sharing skills he learned with the boys and giving back to tutors who helped him. “I know it makes me feel good at the end of the day,” he says.

Gisborne Boys’ High School choir is a safe place where all students are valued equally.

“What I love is that they bring joy,” says choir founder Gill Armstrong.

“People love to see and hear them singing in harmony. Families who might not come to the school for any other reason will come to hear our students sing.”

History teacher, careers advisor and school choir manager Maria Jefferson agrees.

“Few people would go past boys singing. Singing brings people together.”

After bringing joy to gatherings at prize-givings, cultural events, competitions, local schools and rest homes, the choir’s concert performances were put on hold for two years when the Covid-19 pandemic hit
New Zealand.

Now, with the support of Maria, Gill, English teacher Angela Preddey, and three young tutors known as creatives, the choir is in preparation for a public concert later this year called the Tūranga Tāne Choral Group Showcase.

“After two years without a public performance, these students deserve to be on stage,” says Maria. “After Covid we’re trying to bring the school community back together through the arts.”

The concept for the showcase has since expanded to include items sung by Pasifika and kapa haka students and solos from boys who performed in the Smokefree Rockquest. The showcase will also include an exhibition of carving from the whakairo students.

“The event is a chance for people to see that schools are places where educational achievement is important and where personal growth and passion create important opportunities,” says Maria.

“Not everyone can make the top kapa haka team or be Rockquest winners, but everyone can be in the choir. We work to make it a really inclusive environment. If you come, we teach you how to sing and be part of a brotherhood.”

A choir is born

The choir began as a “vocal ensemble” of about eight in 2006 after Gill saw an opportunity to bring together the many boys at the school who could sing.

She knew the boys could sing, she says, and she knew teacher Andrew Ulugia could inspire and lead them.

“I’d heard he was good at singing and said to him, ‘I think you’re going to be my guardian angel’. He became a singing coach, and I was in a support role. I knew with the right person we’d get a great group of students and that’s what happened,” says Gill.

The vocal ensemble, known then as Da Corinthians, made its first foray into public performance when the boys took part in the 2006 inter-school Big Sing festival.

Their debut won them the audience prize.

“They take pride not just in singing but in themselves, in their behaviour and appearance. It gives them confidence many of them lacked,” says Gill.

“Choir is something they get hooked on once they’ve been once or twice, and see people care for them.”

Angela joined the team in a supervisory capacity after hearing the choir perform.

“I was amazed. I wanted to be involved. I see the difference it makes in their lives. It gives a sense of belonging, of whānau connection and of community connection.”

The choir is now made up of 20 singers across a range of age groups and backgrounds. A significant part of the choral group’s strength is due to the work of the three creatives.

After Andrew moved on, various tutors took on the role of choirmaster until former choir members Kereopa Ria, Riley Horsefield and Rongonui Kahurangi proved the best fit as tuākana-tēina for the students.

The Tūranga Tāne Choral Group Showcase will underline the value of having creatives who can help develop the boys’ singing styles, says Gill.

Young singers in the Gisborne Boys’ High choir enjoy the creatives’ guidance and the mutual support of their choral family during practice.

Giving back

Kereopa Ria, the school’s longest serving choir student, former deputy head boy and Tū Te Manawa Maurea kapa haka member, was a 10-year-old Manutuke School student when he joined the choir in 2010.

“I got in through my brother,” says Kereopa. “He was part of the choir in 2008. He babysat me after school and took me to rehearsals. I’d been going since I was eight or so and learned the songs. Maria heard me sing and got me to join them.”

Twelve years on from joining the group his role as creative involves taking the singers through voice warm-ups and breathing techniques to help hold notes and scales.

When the choir learns a new song, they begin with the basses and from there build the tenor and soprano parts, says Kereopa.

“Before practice I generally have an idea of what I want the song to sound like but if the choir begins with another sound that is a bit different, I work with that.”

Kereopa sees the showcase as an opportunity to give back to the students and others.

“The students won’t get that experience anywhere else. It’s something to look forward to at the end of the year and an opportunity to give back to the community.”

Riley is another former school choir member with a strong background in music and kapa haka. He and Kereopa have worked in schools in a voluntary capacity as tutors, teacher aides and guitar-accompanists for
kapa haka groups.

A Year 7 Awapuni School student when the choir performed at his kura, Riley was inspired by the singers.

“A couple of boys stood out for me in the way they sang, their presence on stage, the way they presented themselves – I wanted to be that.”

A year later he got his chance when he enrolled at Gisborne Boys’ High and joined the choir.

Initial contact with secondary school was overwhelming, says Riley.

“When I got to Boys’ High and saw all the talent, I didn’t know where to fit in but the choir was a good start.”

A brotherhood of support

The choir is a brotherhood, says former Boys’ High student and choir member, Riley Horsefield (left). Now a creative with the choir, he is pictured here working on a song with his younger brother, Tobias.

Riley says he feels nervous before and during performances, but he is happy and at ease afterwards.

Choir has also been “a coping mechanism” for other parts of his life.

Riley was 15 years old when lost his father. He was unhappy, and left school during his final year.

“I went down a rough track and bunked school for my last two years. But in my last year Miss Jeffo got things together for me. I went back and carried on for a couple more months to get credits.”

Music took a back seat while Riley focused on his tertiary study in hospitality, hotel management and tourism. On completing a year of study, he returned to Gisborne and, while dropping his brother Tobias off at choir rehearsal, saw Maria.

“She asked if I’d come back, and I fell back into it.”

The choir is a brotherhood, he says. All his best mates are in the group, and he enjoys the sense of support and inclusivity.

“When you come to choir, you’re trying to sing. There’s no shame in being flat or anything. We don’t put people down. If someone hits a bad note we’re there to support each other.

“With choir you connect with others. Barriers dissolve.”

He believes the September showcase will have an impact on both the singers and the community.

“When people come and see what the choir does, they’re blown away. It’s the expression on their faces that makes our boys and tutors feel they’ve done something worthwhile. They get that positive vibe.”

An incentive to learn

Now a teacher aide in te reo Māori and tikanga, Rongonui Kahurangi was also inspired as a primary school student by a Gisborne Boys’ High choir concert at his kura.

“I told myself, I’m going to be in the choir when I go to Boys’ High.”

Because some friends ahead of him at Manutuke School had already enrolled at Boys’ High, and joined the choir, the transition was easy, says Rongonui.

After leaving Boys’ High in 2018 he returned four years later as a teacher and choir creative.

Choir incentivises the boys to attend to their schoolwork, says Rongonui.

“Maria is adamant if you want to stay in the choir, stay on top of your studies. She always has time for the boys. It helps the boys be more onto it because they don’t want to disappoint Miss.”

The showcase will give back to families of the choirboys, says Rongonui.

“It’ll show their own whānau what they’ve achieved. We take their sons away for two hours a week and they’ll see what the fruits of their labour is.”

Now a teacher aide in te reo Māori and tikanga, and choir creative at Gisborne Boys’ High, former choir member Rongonui Kahurangi (left) walks Xavier through some finer points of his part.

Welcoming and open

Among students in the creatives’ care is Tobias, a Year 13 student with tertiary study in music in his sights.

Tobias was a Year 9 student when he started singing with the choir.

“When I started, my brother Riley was in his last year. I’d always wanted to be in the choir. I was a bit nervous walking into a room with all those talented singers but they all knew my brother so that was good.

“When I started, I was in lead notes. This year I stepped out of my comfort zone and into the tenor part. It’s made me project my voice more. When I started I was quiet. Now my voice is fully out there.

“What I’ve learned is everyone is different. Getting to know the Year 9 boys in the choir, I loved that they were so open and honest. We welcomed them in.”

Year 9 student Salem was introduced to the choir through his brother’s involvement.

“He was like the best singer in the group. I like singing and learning ways to get my voice better. When I come offstage now, I can’t stop smiling. Choir has boosted my confidence.”

A one-off funding package has given the school an opportunity to present the Boys’ High choir to the world again, but the aim is to make the group sustainable, says Maria.

“My hope is the showcase will act as a reset so the choir will go on. We need to continue to promote the arts, and sport. It connects students and leads to better outcomes. We can all be part of a group that has a purpose.” 

Singers from a range of age groups and backgrounds enjoy the sense of brotherhood and shared love of music.

Whānau feedback

“Keanu and Akira feel safe with, and supported by the tutors, who have high expectations, and clearly believe in the abilities of these rangatahi,” says the Year 10 boys’ mum, Janelle Bartlett. “They enjoy the relaxed and positive atmosphere of the weekly choir sessions. The practice of tuākana-tēina is strong, and my sons are surrounded by good role models. I always look forward to their performances.”

Katie Mackey, mother of a former choir member and a current Year 13 choir member, says choir builds on the young men’s natural talent.

“This leads to confidence in our boys. Our whānau have been privileged to be part of the choir whānau for more than 10 years. The teachers and tutors find that special something in each student and encourage them to bring out that natural talent. It’s beautiful to see and hear.”