Labour Congratulates NZ Youth Choir On World Win
'These outstanding young singers are incredible ambassadors for Aotearoa New Zealand on the world stage,' Rachel Boyack said.
'They have a large following here in New Zealand and internationally, due to their unique blend of Māori waiata and kapa haka with traditional choral repertoire. New Zealanders should be very proud of their success.
'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, and it is incredible to see how much they've achieved. I am hugely proud of every one of them,' Rachel Boyack said.
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11 hours ago
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Labour Congratulates NZ Youth Choir On World Win
Labour Arts, Culture and Heritage spokesperson Rachel Boyack has congratulated the New Zealand Youth Choir on winning the prestigious 'Choir of the World' competition at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales. 'These outstanding young singers are incredible ambassadors for Aotearoa New Zealand on the world stage,' Rachel Boyack said. 'They have a large following here in New Zealand and internationally, due to their unique blend of Māori waiata and kapa haka with traditional choral repertoire. New Zealanders should be very proud of their success. '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, and it is incredible to see how much they've achieved. I am hugely proud of every one of them,' Rachel Boyack said.
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11 hours ago
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NZ Youth Choir Wins CHOIR OF THE WORLD
The New Zealand Youth Choir has won CHOIR OF THE WORLD at the 2025 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. This follows their massive win at the European Choir Games in Aarhus, Denmark, earlier this week, where they won the Grand Prix of Nations with a score of 97.5 in the Folklore category, In Wales last night, New Zealand Youth Choir director David Squire also won 'Most Inspiring Conductor'. Choirs Aotearoa CE Arne Herrmann, who is travelling with the choir, commented, 'We are so proud of our mahi and our art earning this recognition on a global stage. Our waiata are a taonga we have shared with audiences around the world, and the judges called them 'the true spirit of Aotearoa'. For us, coming from the other side of the world, representing our beautiful country and the people of Aotearoa … this win is just unbelievable.' MORE ABOUT DAVID SQUIRE 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. His ensembles have won many awards at local and international music festivals, such as the NZCF Big Sing. His Rangitoto College mixed-voice chamber choir, The Fundamentals, won the platinum award at the 2008 NZCF Big Sing Finale in Wellington – the first time for a mixed-voice choir. David's upper-voice choir from Kristin School, Euphony, was third in the open female choir competition at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales, in 2013. In 2019, Euphony represented New Zealand at the Budapest International Choral Festival, winning the Youth Choirs of Equal Voices category, coming 3rd in the open Musica Sacra category and was invited to compete for the Grand Prix. David's Westlake Boys High School lower-voice choir, Voicemale, won the Grand Prix at the 2nd Leonardo da Vinci International Choral Festival in Florence in 2018, and David won the award for best conductor at this event. David has been music director of the Westlake Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, and it has won more gold awards at the KBB Music Festival than any other ensemble. In 2014 the orchestra was placed first equal at the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in Vienna. David is also the director of the Auckland Youth Choir, Vice-Chair of the New Zealand Association of Choral Directors, is a national conducting advisor and tutor and was a governance board member of the New Zealand Choral Federation for 9-years. He completed his undergraduate study at the University of Auckland, with an emphasis on conducting and composition, later graduating with a Master of Music degree with first class honours in choral conducting. He studied singing with Isabel Cunningham, Glenese Blake and Beatrice Webster, and conducting with Karen Grylls and Juan Matteucci. He has sung with many top choirs in New Zealand, including the Auckland Dorian Choir, University of Auckland Chamber Choir and the New Zealand Youth Choir. He was a founding member of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir and the V8 Vocal Ensemble. David has previously led the New Zealand Youth Choir on four international tours, including the USA and Canada in 2013, which featured performances of the War Requiem by Britten in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, as well as concerts in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York and Washington DC. In 2016 the choir gave concerts in Singapore, the Czech Republic, France and the UK. Tour highlights included singing high mass at Notre-Dame in Paris, a lunchtime concert at Windsor Castle, and producing a live DVD recording of a well-received concert at St Johns Smith Square in London. The choir also participated in the Festival of Academic Choirs in Pardubice, Czech Republic, winning every category it entered, as well as the prize for outstanding vocal culture, and then going on to win the Grand Prix. At the end of 2019 the choir embarked on a Pacific tour aboard the cruise ship MS Maasdam, taking in Tonga, Niue, Fiji, New Caledonia and Sydney. In 2022 the choir toured Australia, presenting performances in Tasmania, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and at the Sydney Opera House. As a freelance musician, David has conducted several local ensembles, including the Auckland Philharmonia and the St Matthews Chamber Orchestra. He was the assistant musical director of the New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir, founding musical director of the Auckland Youth Big Band, chairman and administrator of the KBB Music Festival, and a live performance reviewer for Radio NZ Concert. David is often involved in session and recording work, particularly as a conductor, adjudicator, clinician and singer and was choir director on the recent New Zealand film, Tinā. He has also served as the choir director for Synthony, and is the chorus master for the International Schools Choral Music Society based in China.
