Laura here with a final note for the tour, which officially ended yesterday.

Thank you to everyone who tuned into the concert on Friday night live from Sydney. It was so special to have such a great audience of friends and family there on the night and to know that many more were listening on the airwaves and over the internet. 

We had a huge amount of fun during the concert but, as anticipated, there were a few tears at the end. Singing pokarekare ana was emotional but a good way to say goodbye to the 2008-2010 choir.

It was an amazing tour and a fantastic three years. I know I will hold it as one of the best experiences of my life. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to have sung in the choir and to have learned from the amazing people both in the choir and out the front. I have to thank James Tibbles, Robert Wiremu, and Morag Atchison for their time, friendliness, and expertise. And of course Karen Grylls, without whom the New Zealand Youth Choir would not be what it is.

I am just getting ready to listen to the repeat of the Sydney concert on RNZ Concert. I hope it sounds as fun as it felt. 

I wish all the members of the 2008-2010 choir all the best, and give my warmest wishes to the choir's future members and staff. What a beautiful thing it is to sing.

Ka kite,

Laura

Canberra was excellent and the events included a High Commission
reception and concert - our sincere thanks to HC John Larkindale and
Liana Dobson. The next day we rehearsed and sang in the Wesley Music
Series at the Wesley Uniting Church. It was by far and away the worst
of Canberra weather, and about the worst that I ever knew living there
- so bitterly cold and wet. The church was a lovely acoustic and the
concert was well received.

The next day, the choir sang at the Australian War Memorial. What a
special day that was. All were impressed with what they saw, and
proud of the way the ANZACs were united and honoured. One had the
very real sense that this magnificent museum was part of New Zealand
as well.

Then on the bus to Sydney with a quick lunch stop in Bowral so the
cricketers could go to the Bradman Museum.

And now we are in Sydney and there is a quietness amongst the choir
for this their final performance. Once we return to New Zealand,
auditions will be held and a new choir formed - but I am pleased to
say that this tour has been such a great experience that just about
all of those who are still eligible because of age (under 25) want to
re-audition. The experience they will bring and what they will share
with the newcomers, cannot be underestimated.

My sincere thanks to our Artistic Team - Karen Grylls, James Tibbles
and Robert Wiremu. You are often the unsung heroes but without you we
know this choir would not be what it is today. To our management
team, Emma, Janice and Geri, you guys are quite simply, AWESOME. An
honour and a privilege to travel with you.

And to the choir. What a spectacular array of talent, warm hearts and
beautiful people. Forever remembered for the contribution you have
made and the friendships we will all carry with us. We'll see you in
the Alumni choir, if not before!

Thank you to the people who supported us with sponsorship, donations,
lunches, kindness and goodwill. Thank you to our Board of Trustees
whose faith in our ability to be cultural ambassadors for New Zealand,
has made all the difference. We thank also our radio partners here in
Sydney and in Wellington - ABC Classic FM and Radio New Zealand
Concert - John and Roger - arohanui.

And when the choir sing Ka Waiata this evening, there will not be a
dry eye in the house.

Ka kite ano
Barbara

Well, here we are in Canberra! 

I must apologise for having had a break from posting - our stay in Shanghai was amazing, but access to certain internet sites was Auckland. 

I will forever be grateful to the choir for giving me the opportunity to visit China. The city that was once the Paris of the East is now an amazing mix of east and west. Our time there was spent rehearsing (a feat in itself against the heat and humidity), performing at the World Expo. We were lucky enough to enjoy a lunch specially catered for us by Ruth Pretty in the New Zealand pavilion - New Zealand beef and lamb has never tasted so good!

Then there was the sightseeing: we visited the Shanghai Museum, bargained our way through the markets, and some of us even got a taste of Chinese opera. The trip to China was brief but we left feeling we had made the most of our visit.

As we are getting ready to leave Seoul tomorrow morning for Shanghai I can't help feeling a little sad to be going.

Our few days in Seoul have been amazing. We've all really enjoyed getting some time to do some sightseeing and shopping, and have - I think - all mastered saying "hello" and "thank you" in Korean. Our mime skills have certainly improved as well! 

Touristy things aside, we have had such a great time musically in Korea. The World Vision Korean Children's Choir (whose slogan is "a voice for the voiceless") gave us a warm welcome and impressed us with their commitment, musical ability, and enthusiastic dance moves. We had a great concert with them yesterday for invited guests and we enjoyed getting to listen in on their pieces. We've now nailed some of their dance moves!

The choir gave us a wonderful dinner after the concert, which provided a good opportunity to chat (or mime) with some of the young choristers and even give some poi lessons to some of the keen ones, although most were quite shy. 

In fact, everyone here seems fascinated with our poi, often asking us what they are when we have our uniforms on - they get the idea when we start performing!

After another morning of being tourists today we stepped back into a bit of New Zealand with an embassy reception for Prime Minister John Key. We performed the national anthem, arranged by our own Andrew Baldwin, and a selection of Maori pieces, including pokarekare ana, much loved both in NZ and Korea. 

We got to meet and chat to Mr Key, who was warm and friendly and promised he would play our CDs in his crown car! 

Having filled up on NZ beef and lamb and pavlova we headed back to the hotel (and back to the air conditioning) and are now getting ready to leave for Shanghai and the World Expo bright and early tomorrow morning. 

Gamsa hamnida to all the wonderful people who have made us feel so welcome in Korea. We can't wait to be back again soon.

Ka kite,

Laura

(download)

Click here to download:

untitled-FdqlzJCHuEeygwEAhoho.zip (7.14 MB)

Just a quick note to say we are safely in Seoul and having a marvelous time. 

We were all sad to leave Singapore as we had had such a warm welcome there, but the welcome in Seoul just blew us away. There were teary eyes aplenty when we met and heard the fabulous World Vision Korea Children's Choir. I cannot do them justice here, except to say that their discipline, joy, and musicianship were simply first class. It was a very special evening.

We will be performing with them tomorrow - but for now it's a day of shopping and sightseeing. 

More photos to come,

Ka kite,

Laura

Wow! What a day! 

We began it by setting off on some sightseeing adventures and ended it with a wonderful concert with the Singapore Youth Choir Ensemble Singers - such a great experience. 

(download)

Click here to download:

farewell-to-singapore-yAFElatoDzDCvptbJrIs.zip (7.4 MB)

We really enjoyed sharing our music with the audience, not to mention the SYC members themselves - there'll certainly be some "Facebook friend" adding when we get back home (click through the gallery to see photos of me with Siewwoon Choy, and me and Amanda Oorschot with Fish Lim). 

The audience seemed to enjoy the performances - especially the kapa haka items, which, of course, we love performing. I have to admit I got a bit emotional singing Anthony Ritchie's "This Sea We Cross Over", thinking of home and of family. I was proud to be able to share a bit of the ANZAC spirit with such a warm and welcoming audience, 

Singapore has been a great first stop to the tour - as you will see from the photos those of us who spent our free morning taking a bus tour around the city enjoyed seeing the different sights of the city.

I had better get some zzz's before we head off for South Korea in the morning.

Ka kite,

Laura

Hi everyone. Just a quick update from me before another great day in Singapore. 

We had, as Barbara has already mentioned - a wonderful day yesterday. What a great place. Singapore is lush, clean, and beautifully hot! Certainly makes a change from the cold weather back home. 

The highlight for me yesterday was rehearsing with the Singapore Youth Choir. Making friends with the singers in that choir was such a lovely experience. The alto sitting next to me, Woon, has studied media and communications like me, and had just visited Auckland, where I live, so we had plenty to talk about. The women were eager to learn the poi and were picking it up quite quickly during the breaks. I'm very much looking forward to the concert with SYC tonight. 

On the agenda for today is a tour around Singapore, including Chinatown - having made my way to the flashy and fabulous Orchard Road for some retail therapy (not to worry Mum, everything was a bargain!), I'm looking forward to seeing another side of Singapore.

It really is a great city and it's a special privilege to be singing here.

Ka kite,

Laura

PS - I hope to put some photos up later today - better be off to breakfast now!

But what about the singing? Yesterday the choir travelled to the
Bukit Panjang Government High School and gave a performance to around
380 school students. Principal Lee and other staff members made us
very welcome and there were two opening acts from the school: The
first was a group of girls singing "Tutira Mai Nga Iwii" and the
seceond was a group of boys performing a haka, complete with moko
drawn on and piu piu (grass skirts). It was a wonderful gesture and
clearly there was much excitement about our visit. When the choir
sang its kapa haka pieces, particularly the ones with the haka and
poi, the kids went wild. This was the New Zealand they were expecting
to see and they were not disappointed!

Our gracious hosts at the school and our NZ Deputy High Commission
Jacqui Caine and consular officer Marie Hunt, ensured our trip was
memorable.

Today we perform with the SYC Ensemble Singers at the NUS. We have
now met our friends here who have helped us - particularly Albert Yeo
and Jennifer Tham. We were pleased to be able to give Albert a World
Rugby t-shirt - apparently rugby may be even more loved than singing!

We'll let you know how the concert goes. Meanwhile, we are enjoying
the sights, sounds and food of Singapore.

Ka kite ano, Barbara