- 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.
