Young Māori and Pasifika singers are being encouraged to step forward as auditions open for the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir, offering rangatahi the chance to develop their voices and perform on national and international stages.
The New Zealand Secondary Students Choir, or NZSSC, is Aotearoa’s national choir for singers aged 13 to 18, with auditions held only once every two years.
National auditions for the next 2027-28 choir will run across the motu from 25 September to 10 October, with successful singers gaining access to leading vocal coaches, intensive musical development and performances alongside talented rangatahi from throughout the country.
For Māori and Pasifika rangatahi, organisers are making a particular effort to ensure the pathway into the national choir is accessible and welcoming.
A dedicated Māori and Pasifika audition workshop will be held at the Ōtara Music and Arts Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau on 12 September from 2.30pm to 5.30pm.
The workshop will be led by former NZSSC members Kheilas Reti-Pereira and Lotosina Tavui, who are now studying voice at the University of Auckland.
Rangatahi attending will be able to learn what happens during an NZSSC audition and receive practical advice from singers who have successfully been through the process themselves.
The initiative is also about ensuring Māori and Pasifika perspectives are represented within national music institutions.
Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand Pasifika Navigator Will Kingi says the experiences and world views of Māori and Pasifika singers are an important part of the organisation’s approach to making music.
That kaupapa was demonstrated by the current 2025-26 choir during its recent international tour.
The singers performed at the Voices of the World International Choir Festival in Singapore and the World Choral Festival in Hong Kong, taking repertoire from Aotearoa and around the world onto the international stage.
Importantly, that repertoire included waiata and pese from Aotearoa and the Moana, giving international audiences an opportunity to experience music reflecting the cultures of the Pacific.
Membership of the national choir is a significant commitment.
The choir comes together for up to a week during school holidays for rehearsals and concerts, before completing the two-year programme with an international tour.
For some young singers, that experience has become the beginning of an international career.
Former members include acclaimed performers Pene Pati, Johnathan Lemalu, Christopher Bruerton, Anna Leese Guidi, Madeleine Pierard, Simon O’Neill and Benson Wilson.
Auditions begin in Hamilton on 25 September, followed by Auckland from September 26 to 29, Wellington on October 5 and 6, Palmerston North on October 7, Christchurch on October 8 and 9, and Dunedin on October 10.
Places are limited and applications are being taken online.
For Māori and Pasifika whānau, the message is particularly important.
Rangatahi do not necessarily need to see themselves as future opera stars before putting their names forward. The first step is having a passion for waiata, a willingness to learn and the confidence to give the audition a go.
With the choir increasingly recognising waiata, pese and the cultural knowledge Māori and Pasifika singers bring with them, the next great voice from Aotearoa could already be singing at a kura, church, kapa haka practice or around the whānau table.
Now is their chance to be heard.
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