- Christmas Carols
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Date Posted: Wed, 11 Dec 2024
The chorus, with director Richard Harker at left, performing at West City Mall in Henderson.
For most of us, Christmas carols – second only to nursery rhymes, perhaps – are our earliest memories of singing. They conjure up happy memories of childhood: of the jollity of Jingle Bells and Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer; of the innocent sweetness of Silent Night and Away in a Manger; or the full-throated celebration of O, Come, All Ye Faithful. Carols are among our first experiences of group singing.Perhaps that’s why the annual series of “sing-outs” (at which the City of Sails Barbershop Chorus presents a selection of Christmas carols in public places throughout the Auckland region) is a favourite among members. Shopping malls are a regular venue but this year has seen the choir in action at Sky City, MOTAT and as part of the warm-up entertainment at the Santa Parade. A first was a show at Mitre 10 Mega in Westgate, at the invitation of a member who works there.
Barbershoppers, when asked for their feelings about the Christmas events, speak enthusiastically of the pleasure they get from them.
“We spend a lot of time rehearsing and polishing our repertoire,” says one. “Honestly it can be hard work and tedious, but I have found that at some point in the middle of yet another sing-out, the Christmas spirit hits, and it makes all the hard work worth it. It is a special thing that we can do for our community, and is truly rewarding.”
The faces of enchanted children bring a special joy, but it’s also striking to see shoppers, frazzled by the demands of Christmas preparations, visibly relax as they stop and stare and – as commonly happens – sing along. The thought that we might provide an oasis of joy in a desert of stress gladdens the heart.
A particularly special event for us was the annual trip to Auckland City Hospital, where the chorus was one of five ensembles spreading a bit of Christmas cheer through the wards. The patients sometimes leave their beds to watch us from their doorways, but we know that our singing in the corridors is reaching the rest and hope it brings them some joy at a challenging time of year. The hard-working staff, who reach for their phone cameras to capture us on video, plainly enjoy the show!
Many of us have a fond memory of a moving moment last year, when the family of a patient close to death asked if we would sing to her. Only a handful of us could fit into her small room, and we sang her one of our quietest and most ethereal numbers. There was no visible sign that she could hear us, but we all liked to think that our music eased her on her way. It was an experience none of us will forget.
So keep an eye out for the City of Sails Barbershop Chorus at your local mall this Christmas season – and if you fancy joining in the seasonal fun next year, be sure to get in touch.
- Meet Joseph
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Date Posted: Thu, 14 Nov 2024
Barbershop singing may be something of an old-fashioned genre, but more and more young people are falling for its charms.One of the newest members of the City of Sails Barbershop Chorus is North Shore 23-year-old Joseph Peyroux, who joined in July after hearing the chorus perform at the choral get-together known as VoCo and at the World Choir Games in July.
A workmate who was present and singing encouraged him to give us a go.
Joseph is far from a newcomer to singing: he enjoyed belting out the hymns in church as a kid, though not from the choir stalls. “just down the back” and he and his sister sang along with the musical classics such as The Phantom of the Opera and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, which he watched repeatedly. He also spent several months with the Takapuna-based community choir Stellar Singers.
But he particularly enjoys the subtle, shifting harmonies of barbershop music and is taking to the new repertoire like the proverbial duck to water.
“The blends that we get together are really cool,” says Joseph. “It’s so surprising that you can create something that sounds like a musical instrument, but isn’t; it’s just four people – or four groups of people – singing in harmony.”
Joseph says he really enjoys the camaraderie of the chorus rehearsals on Monday evenings. “I love the way we sing happy birthdays each week. I’ve found them all very chummy, a nice group of people.”
In the few weeks he’s been in the chorus, when we speak to him, he has not learnt many of the songs, but he says he loves our version of John Denver’s Annie’s Song very beautiful and reckons we give a good account of The Eagles’ Desperado. “But I just like the sound of people singing together so I’m not very picky.”
The chorus’ musical director, Richard Harker, says it is wonderful welcoming newcomers such as Joseph, who typically pick up the repertoire quickly and with enthusiasm.
"It was inspiring to see him on stage with us at the recent BHNZ convention, after only two months with the chorus.”
Richard stresses that the chorus always welcomes all new members.“It’s been encouraging to see some younger people giving barbershop a try, or coming back to it after singing at school. They bring a real energy – not to mention much-needed social media skills, which help get the word out.”
Newcomers might feel intimidated by the demanding and repetitive drilling needed to bring some numbers up to standard for competition performance but Joseph says there is no need for stress.
“I think it’s as difficult as you want it to be. If you don’t want it to be too demanding you can just hang out and have a good time and have supper together and enjoy singing with other people. But if you do want to challenge yourself, you can go into competitions.
“It’s your choice and that choice is respected. But what’s important is just to enjoy singing.”
- City of Sails Wins Bronze at National Champs
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Date Posted: Sun, 20 Oct 2024
City of Sails Wins Bronze at National Champs
The City of Sails Barbershop Chorus has achieved a third-place finish at the 2024 Barbershop Harmony New Zealand men’s chorus contest, held in Wellington on 28 September.
The chorus sang two songs, the Frank Sinatra classic You Make Me Feel So Young, and the Eagles’ Desperado, both arranged in classic four-part barbershop harmony.
Musical Director Richard Harker was thrilled with the result.
“The guys put their heart and soul into the performance. We had so many positive comments from the judges, and the audience, and it was a joy to perform at the historic St James Theatre. The bronze medal was the cherry on top!”
Richard noted the chorus’ rich history of success in BHNZ competitions.
“This is our seventh consecutive medal in the men’s contest, and our 23rd medal overall. To maintain a consistently high quality over so many years is particularly pleasing, and is testament to the dedication and hard work put in by all our members.”
The chorus was pipped for second place by The Plainsmen of Christchurch, with Mighty River Harmony from Hamilton taking the men’s chorus title. The overall chorus champion was Pacific Connection, a mixed chorus from Porirua.
The chorus’ performance can be viewed on the BHNZ YouTube channel.
- Signature have touched down!
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Date Posted: Mon, 23 Sep 2024
The International Champion quartet Signature have arrived in Aotearoa and dropped in on our regular rehearsal tonight. They are here to take part as the headline quartet for our annual BHNZ contest being held in Wellington this month. YouTube Video URL:
- Olympian Harmonies
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Date Posted: Tue, 3 Sep 2024
The World Choir Games in Auckland in July brought singers from around the world.
A fortnight before the Olympic Games opened in Paris, Auckland hosted an Olympics for singers. Some 11,000 of them made up 250 choruses from more than 40 countries as diverse as Denmark, Germany, China, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, the US, Croatia and Hong Kong. Our own City Of Sails Chorus was among the New Zealand groups who took to stages around the city, hoping to impress the judges, or just to delight audiences with a range of free “friendship” concerts.
The July event was the 13th edition of the World Choir Games, which were first staged in Linz, Austria in 2000. The aim was to bring people together through singing in peaceful competition, and was based on the Olympic ideal – indeed, the games were initially called the Choir Olympics.
Just like the Olympics, this choral competition had opening and closing ceremonies, held at the Spark Arena, where every team, each with its own flag-bearers, marched into a packed arena to cheers and tumultuous applause. Later, a Parade Of Nations along the Auckland waterfront was a wonderful display of friendship and camaraderie as the representatives of each choir and country, all resplendent in their custom dress and, again, flying their flags, paraded with fun and great pride. The joy on the faces of the participants and onlookers was clear for all to see.
Making music is the perfect way to erase geographical and cultural differences and the wonderful side of human nature came to the fore through the medium of singing in harmony. There were kids’ choirs from Africa, seniors from Chinese Taipei and teenagers from the UK. All had worked so hard in their home countries to achieve their goal – to come to the other side of the world to joyfully express their talent in song. The gathering gave them the chance to meet many like-minded people from all over the world.
The closing ceremony, in particular, was an astounding occasion as participants, complete with their flag-bearers, and the crowded arena were greeted by a 650-voice choir backed by the Auckland Philharmonia. Songs from past World Choir Games, traditional songs from competing nations and a rousing pop medley rounded out the evening.
It was a privilege for City Of Sails chorus to be involved in such a great event. We sang in competition mode at Q Theatre and also at a Friendship concert at the cavernous Aviation Hall at Motat. In both our outings we shared the programme with visiting ensembles.
The idea behind the games is to create “bridges of encounters”, organisers say. Participation resolves prejudices, opens eyes and hearts for friendships and lays the groundwork for a vibrant and peaceful togetherness that reaches beyond music.
In preparation for the World Choir Games, we worked hard to produce a great sound. Our two competition songs at Q Theatre and four songs at the free Friendship Concert were received with wonderful acclaim. We particularly enjoyed the “home advantage” of having plenty of locals in the audience at our theatre concert.
City Of Sails have a great mixture of singers of all ages and ethnicities, from absolute beginners to seasoned singers and being in a chorus makes learning a fun process. We all learn in different ways and these are all catered for in our learning process.
We are fortunate to have a very accomplished musical director in Richard Harker and we benefit from the input of occasional guest coaches: a recent one was the renowned countertenor Tim Wayne-Wright formerly of the famed King Singers of the UK (who are well worth a YouTube viewing).
City Of Sails welcomes new members. If you like to sing (whether you think you can or not) come along and say hello. Listen and join in if and when you want. You will be warmly welcomed.
Better still, by simply joining the City Of Sails chorus you’ll enhance your health, improve your voice, develop new friendships – and best of all, you’ll be contributing to our small part of the campaign to promote peace and harmony.
- The Health Benefits of Singing
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Date Posted: Wed, 28 Aug 2024
But that’s all changed: in community centres and schools, in local halls and sports clubs and, yes, in suburban churches, the rafters ring to the sound of people getting together to raise their voices in song.
The website of the New Zealand Choral Federation lists more than 60 choirs in the greater Auckland region alone. Only four are affiliated with churches and a few more than that are professional ensembles. But for most modern choristers – whether they gravitate to barbershop, gospel, world music or good old rock’n’roll, getting together and singing is about so much more than music.
Repeated studies, such as this 2015 research by two experimental psychologists at Oxford University, have shown how group singing quickly forges social bonds, broadening social networks beyond the alienating world of X and Instagram.
Doubtless boosted by the phenomenal success of X Factor and other talent shows, group singing is strongly linked with improved physical and mental health as well. Singing has been shown to improve breathing, posture and muscle tension. It lowers cortisol, the stress hormone, boosting the immune system. It has also been shown to lessen chronic pain (perhaps due to the release of neurochemicals such as the endorphins felt after intense exercise).
Above and beyond these physical rewards, regular choir members report cognitive stimulation, a boost to memory function and improvements in their sense of happiness and wellbeing. Research backs this up: people feel more positive after actively singing than they do after passively listening to music or even chatting about positive life events. It also increases our sense of social closeness with others and offers opportunities to expand our social group.
We know that our ancestors used music as part of ritual and social activity, but for far too long we left in to the talented few, protesting that “I can’t sing”. Now, the ballooning number of community choirs attests to the old truth that if you can talk, you can sing. (One famous Finnish choir yells all the way).
Returning to the origins of communal musical behaviour offers a chance to push back against loneliness and social isolation that is a chief malaise of our age. We seem to be returning to an interest in connecting with one another through singing, be it bossa nova, blues or the Beatles. And if you’re into the timeless charm of making barbershop harmonies, we’d love to hear from you.
- Chorus and Quartet Draws
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Date Posted: Sat, 2 Sep 2023
The Pan Pacific Quartet and Chorus Competition Orders of Appearance have been released. Also available is the information for contestants. Please read these and familiarise yourself with what will happen on the day of your contest appearance.
Quartet Contest Order of Appearance
Chorus Contest Order of Appearance
Quartet Contest Information for Contestants
Chorus Contest Information for ContestantsFor more information, see: convention.barbershopharmony.nz/
- The COVID Years
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Date Posted: Tue, 6 Jun 2023
If 2020 was a year of surprises, 2021, 2022, and 2023 were even more so!
After celebrating our 40th birthday year (2019) with a win at the national competitions we were looking forward to hosting an Auckland Pan-Pacific in 2020.
As the NZ champion chorus in 2019, we would stand down from competition for the following year - which suited us, as we had a big convention to organise.
Covid had other ideas.
We moved to Zoom rehearsals but did manage to sing at a few rest homes (one gig was canceled twice because of lockdowns, but we got there in the end on our third attempt!).
We finished 2020 with our usual carols at Auckland Hospital, and a punishing (but enjoyable) set of 15 2-hour carols sessions at West City Mall in Henderson, where we set a world record (not yet ratified) for the number of performances of "Joy to the World" in one day.
2021 saw a multitude of cancellations or postponements - numerous sing outs at rest homes, along with key events in the barbershop calendar such as the National Convention, Harmony Education Aotearoa, carols in the malls, carols at Auckland Hospital, and VoCo all fell victim to the pandemic.
In 2022 it was the turn of the Pan Pacific Convention to fall victim to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We did manage to squeeze in successful HEA weekends at Waikanae and Christchurch.
2023, and who would have predicted that we would call off a rehearsal because of the weather!
- Another Gold Medal for the Chorus
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Date Posted: Tue, 4 Oct 2022
It was September 2019 when we were last able to take the competition stage. National contests in 2020 and 2021, and the Pan Pacific in 2022 were all casualties of the pandemic. A good part of the intervening 3 years was spent in rehearsals over Zoom, and even in-person rehearsals brought with them the requirement to safe-distance and wear masks when singing.
So Palmy 2022 was a big deal - not only because it was the end of a 3-year drought - but also because it was the first time the contest had included mixed and womens' choruses and quartets. City of Sails took first place in the Men's Chorus contest, repeating our success in 2019.
For more on the competition weekend, visit this page, which includes photos, detailed results, and a video of our competition songs.
- It's back to the (Zoom) Future
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Date Posted: Sun, 13 Mar 2022
The Covid-19 Omicron outbreak high case numbers have ended our short stint of in-person rehearsals. So we have moved back to Zoom rehearsals.
- If you are interested in joining the online rehearsal, you are welcome to do so. Please email us for the link.
- Rehearsals resume again 5th June 2020
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Date Posted: Mon, 8 Jun 2020
The move to Level 1 has opened the door to physical rehearsals once again. These will resume on 15th June 2020.
- Covid-19 Cancels Chorus Rehearsals
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Date Posted: Sat, 21 Mar 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns and travel restrictions have forced us to cancel::
- the two Harmony Education Aotearoa weekends in March.
- the annual shows at Howick and Orewa in May.
- the Pan Pacific convention in September.
- Carols in the Malls
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Date Posted: Sun, 8 Dec 2019
- Photos from Christchurch Convention
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Date Posted: Fri, 4 Oct 2019
- GOLD for City of Sails!
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Date Posted: Sat, 14 Sep 2019
Richard Harker took the City of Sails Chorus to first place in the 2019 Barbershop Harmony NZ Competitions held at Christchurch over the weekend.
We scored 70.6 %, taking the gold medal for the first time since 2012, Might River Harmony and Canterbury Plainsmen were close behind - tied for second place with 68.2%.
City of Sails quartets QED and Block of Flats placed 10th and 8th respectively.
- Neil Etherton
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Date Posted: Sat, 8 Sep 2018
Neil Etherton
Neil died on Friday. Neil was a past president of NZABS (the forerunner to our national body BHNZ) and the last surviving member of “Prime Time” quartet - Neil, Roy Wilkins, Buster Mowbray and Frank Lamont.
Neil also had served as the Leads section leader for the chorus.
- Bledisloe Cup Singout Details
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Date Posted: Fri, 24 Aug 2018
When: Assemble at 3.40pm, already warmed up
Where: 198 Great North Rd, Newton outside the NZ Defence Force Office.Sing: At 4pm, 5pm and 6pm, we will sing a 20-min bracket. The Navy Band will complete the rest of the hour.Dress: Smart dark jeans or similar, black shoes, white shirts - open neck, chorus blue jackets.
- Funeral Service for Ed Nicholls
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Date Posted: Wed, 30 May 2018
A service to celebrate Ed's life will be held at The North Harbour Chapel of Dil's Funeral Services, 185 Schnapper Rock Road, Albany on Thursday 31 May at 1pm.
- Ed Nicholls 1931-2018
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Date Posted: Tue, 29 May 2018
The chorus is sad to announce that Ed Nicholls, past member of the chorus, passed away today, aged 87 years. Ed was a much loved member of our chorus, the epitome of the gentleman barbershopper. Our thoughts are with Sharon and the family at this time.
More details will be posted here when we know them.
- City of Sails and Franklin Road Lights
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Date Posted: Sat, 6 Jan 2018
As part of a promotion Skinny Mobile were running to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House, we were filmed singing a few carols for the crowds that walk up and down Franklin Road looking at the light shows the residents have become known for.
No risers, no costumes. Pretty easy gig really.
- Blast from the Past - "Praise Be", March 2005
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Date Posted: Tue, 2 Jan 2018
The chorus has recorded songs on more than one occasion for the devotional series "Praise Be". This song - Daddy Sang Bass - is probably one of the more unusual choices for the program. The chorus was directed by Phil Skaggs. ("Praise be" was the longest running program in TVNZ history when production stopped in 2017 after 30 years of progammes).
- Christmas Carols Concert with the Waitakere Auckland Brass Band
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Date Posted: Mon, 11 Dec 2017
- Carols at Auckland Hospital
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Date Posted: Mon, 11 Dec 2017
We have provided carol singing to Auckland Hospital for the last 25 years or so. There are always a half dozen or so choirs involved and we each get a couple of floors to do. This time for us it was Neurosurgery and The High Dependency Unit (lots of machines that go "ping"!).
- Farewell Tony and Sue Roberts
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Date Posted: Tue, 26 Sep 2017
Tony and Sue Roberts say goodbye to City of Sails tonight after 38 years with the chorus (well, not quite - Tony is travelling to Sydney this week with the rest of us to compete in the Pan Pacific Competitions). They are moving to the sunny east coast. The chorus will miss his gravel voice, quick smile, and irreverence (and Sue's baking).
- CoS 2017 Quartet Competition
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Date Posted: Sun, 16 Apr 2017
Congratulations to the quartet QED (Sam Turner, Richard Lewis, Andrew Cox, Bryce Turner) who scored 398/600 (66.3%) to become the Peter Gasston Competition winners for 2017. Second place went to Vocal Addiction (Richard Lewis - hang on - wasn't he in the other quartet?), Tony Roberts, Bryce Turner (umm... wasn't he...), Junji Kawai. Third Place to No Strings Attached (John Denton, Tony Roberts, Robert Kurz, Neil Binnie).
QED - 1st
Vocal Addiction - 2nd
No Strings Attached - 3rd
- The Christmas season has started
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Date Posted: Sun, 20 Nov 2016
We kicked off the 2016 carols season this weekend with three singouts at Westfield shopping malls across the city. Lots more to to come - ten in total - catch us at Newmarket, West city (Henderson), Albany and St Lukes. The upcoming dates are shown on the home page of the chorus website in the right-hand column.
- Third place at Blenheim
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Date Posted: Mon, 10 Oct 2016
The 2016 competitions were held at Blenheim for the first time in NZ barbershop competition history. We came in third - our first gong in a few years - beaten by Mighty River Harmony by less than a percent!
Blenheim was good to us, fine weather (mostly), warm temperatures (mostly), friendly folk (always).
And good coffee!
- City Of Sails At The Inaugural VoCo Concert
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Date Posted: Tue, 27 Sep 2016
- Kim Vaughn Coaches City Of Sails
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Date Posted: Thu, 28 Jul 2016
We had three valuable coaching sessions with Kim Vaughn in July. She is one of only eight women to have won an international gold medal both as a chorus director and a quartet singer.
