NZ Youth Choir: International Tour Farewell Concert
June 2025
Repertoire
NZYC Programme Notes
He Tamaiti ō te Ao Tukupū* - Takerei Komene, Ngāpuhi and Te Whānau-a-Apanui (b. 1999)
He Tamaiti ō te Ao Tukupū was written for choir and organ in 2023 for David Squire and the Auckland Youth Choir. In this song, composer and current choir member, Takerei Komene combines a whakataukī (Māori proverb) with an original pepeha (a Māori form of greeting that includes family, tribe, ancestors and land) that brings people together reminding them that they are loved and have a place in this world.
I am alive. I am loved.
Love is my mountain,
Melancholy is my river
Yearning is my canoe
The family of light are my tribe
The stars are my clan
The skies are my home
The heart is my birthplace.
Seek the treasure that you value most dearly,
if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.
Gaudeamus Omnes - Marek Raczyński (b.1982)
Gaudeamus Omnes by the Polish composer Marek Raczyński was inspired by a Gregorian chant of the same name. The words celebrate the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and meditate on the joys of humanity intertwined with the voices of the angels.
Let us rejoice in the Lord
On this festive day
In honour of the blessed Virgin Mary.
In whose assumption the Angels rejoice
And give glory to the Son of God!
Alleluia!
Os Justi - Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
This four-part motet was composed by Bruckner in 1879, the year he began his Sixth Symphony. Written in the Lydian mode, it displays Bruckner’s deep understanding of renaissance polyphony. Dedicated to his friend Ignaz Traumihler, a follower of the Cecilian movement, Bruckner wrote this motet according to the movement’s tenets where everything is required to be diatonic. Os Justi treats us to lush harmonies and soaring lines without using a single sharp or flat.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom
And his tongue speaks what is just.
The law of God is in his heart
And his feet do not falter.
Alleluia.
Psalm 37: 30-31
Das ist meine Freude - Johann Ludwig Bach MJS
J L Bach was a third cousin of the illustrious Johann Sebastian Bach, and served as Kapellmeister at Meiningen in central Germany. This piece for double choir is a joyful setting of the final verse of Psalm 73, featuring a quirky stuttering motive at the opening and much antiphonal dialogue between the two choirs.
Das ist meine Freude, daß ich mich zu Gott halte und meine Zuversicht setze auf den Herren.
This is my joy, that I cling to God and set my trust in the Lord. This is my joy.
Text: Psalm 72:28
Kyrie from Cantus Missae, Op.109 - Josef Rheinberger MJS
Arguably Liechtenstein’s most famous musician, Rheinberger spent most of his career as court composer in Munich and as a notable composition teacher (Richard Strauss was one of his students). Aside from a tremendous output of organ music it is for his sacred choral music that he is particularly famed, notably the beautiful Abendlied and the Cantus Missae, his mass for double choir. The “Kyrie” is a perfect assimilation of renaissance polyphony and romantic harmony.
Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Beata Virgo - David Griffiths* MJS
David Griffiths is one of New Zealand’s finest choral composers with an impressive catalogue of mostly sacred a cappella works. “Beata Virgo”, taken from the set O Magnum Mysterium (1974) is perhaps his most frequently performed and recorded piece. It is sumptuously scored for twelve-part choir, using overlapping and phasing techniques to create a mystical ambience.
Beata Virgo cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum.
O blessed virgin, whose womb was worthy to bear the Lord Jesus Christ.
Text: Matins responsory for Christmas Day
The Battle of Jericho - arr. Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
Moses Hogan was a composer celebrated for his arrangements of spirituals. His vibrant and energetic setting of The Battle of Jericho is a song of protest that professes faith and celebrates the breaking down of walls and obstacles.
Hymne au Soleil - Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
The celebrated French Composer Lili Boulanger, whose life was sadly cut short at the age of 25, composed this piece originally for mezzo-soprano solo, female chorus, and orchestra in 1912. An early work, it shows Boulanger’s impressionist style full of the harmonic innovations that led her to be the first female to be awarded the Prix de Rome in 1913. Hymn au Soleil, set to a poem written by Casimir Delavigne, celebrates the power of the sun at dawn with radiant harmonies evoking images of the sun being drawn by horses across the sky.
Du soleil qui renaît [bénissons] la puissance.
Avec tout l'univers célébrons son retour.
Couronné de splendeur, il se lève, il s'élance.
Le réveil de la terre est un hymne d'amour.
Sept coursiers qu'en partant le Dieu contient à
peine,
Enflamment l'horizon de leur brûlante haleine.
O soleil fécond, tu parais!
Avec ses champs en fleurs, ses monts, ses bois
épais,
[La] vaste mer de tes feux embrasée,
L'univers plus jeune et plus frais,
Des vapeurs de matin sont brillants de rosée.
Let us bless the power of the reborn sun.
With all the universe let us celebrate its return.
Crowned with splendor, it rises, it soars.
The waking of the earth is a hymn of love.
Seven rushing steeds that the God scarcely holds back
Ignite the horizon with their scorching breath.
Oh, vivid sun, you appear!
With its fields in bloom, its mountains, its thick
forests,
The vast sea set ablaze by your fires,
The universe, younger and fresher,
The vapours of morning are glistening with dew.
Poem by Casimir Delavigne (1821)
Cocks Crow and There’s a Time, Childhood - Jenny McLeod (1941-2022)*
Jenny McLeod ONZM was a well known New Zealand composer and long time professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington. Childhood (1981) has always been a favourite of the New Zealand Youth Choir. Set to poems written by the composer, McLeod takes us on a journey through the joys and frustration of childhood. “Cocks Crow” is a rhythmic ode to the childlike excitement of starting the day and “There’s a Time”, based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, is a lullaby assuring us that there is a time and place for everything.
In Youth is Pleasure - Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
In Youth is Pleasure, is a madrigal by British composer Herbert Howells. It was composed in 1915, the day after his twenty-third birthday. It talks of youthful high spirits and indulgence.
In a harbour grene aslepe whereas I lay,
The byrdes sang swete in the middes of the day,
I dreamed fast of mirth and play:
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.
Methought I walked still to and fro,
And from her company I could not go—
But when I waked it was not so:
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.
Therefore my hart is surely pyght
Of her alone to have a sight
Which is my joy and hartes delight:
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.
Text: Robert Wever (c.1550)
How do you keep the music playing? - Michel Legrand (1932-2019)
arr. Alexander L’Estrange (b.1974)
How Do You Keep the Music Playing? was composed by Michel Legrand, with lyrics by Alan And Marilyn Bergman for the 1982 film Best Friends, and was nominated for Best Original Song in the 1983 Academy Awards. This arrangement is by well-known British choral composer Alexander L’Estrange.
Karanga - Patricia Te Ariki & Tuirina Wehi*
This karanga (call) was written for the 2020-2022 NZYC in 2022 by Patricia Te Ariki and adapted by Tuirina Wehi for the 2023-2025 NZYC. The words greet all gathered from near and far to witness the choir, this taonga (treasure), welcoming them in.
Ko ngā waka ēnei - Traditional mōteatea*
This mōteatea (chant), celebrates the great waka that travelled from Hawaiki, the traditional and spiritual home of the Māori people, to Aotearoa.
Kua Rongo - Ngāpō (Bub) Wehi*, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāpuhi & Te Whānau-a-Apanui (1934-2016)
This waiata (song), was written by Ngāpō (Bub) Wehi, and gifted to the NZYC by Te Whānau Wehi. It calls all the peoples of the world to come together in this spirited song that ends with a haka.
Ua Fetausunu’i Ao Traditional Samoan - arr. Igelese Ete*
Former NZ Youth Choir member Tuilagi Dr Ingelese Ete arranged this piece for the NZYC in 2023. His arrangement of the traditional Samoan song Ua Fetausunu’i Ao uplifts and celebrates with gratitude and appreciation the people and islands of Samoa.
Isa Isa Vulagi Lasa Dina Traditional Fijian/Tongan- arr. Siliva Gaugatao*
The Fijian farewell song, also known as Isa Lei, was arranged for NZYC by the choir’s cultural consultant for the 2019 Pacific Tour, Tofilau Niulevaea Dr Siliva Gaugatao. The origin of this song is disputed. Some believe it is a Tongan love song written in 1915 for Princess Sālote. A visiting Fijian Sergeant heard it, and took it back to Fiji, changing the words into the Fijian song we know today. Others believe it was written by Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba, father of the first Prime Minister of an independent Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara in 1916; however, the manuscript suggests it was 1918. Whatever the origin, Isa Lei is loved and performed worldwide.
Aotearoa - Tuirina Wehi*
Aotearoa is the first waiata written specifically for the NZYC. This waiata ā-ringa (action song) was written by Tuirina Wehi, granddaughter of Ngāpō and Pimia Wehi. The cultural leaders of the NZYC met with Turina and it was decided that the theme of this waiata should be one of hope and kotahitanga (unity, and solidarity). Aotearoa acknowledges that the land is our home and a taonga (treasure) and asks us to look after the land for future generations.
He rau noa au nō Te Waka-a-Māui e takoto ake nei e!
He unahi noa au nō Te Ika-a-Māui e ngāueue ana e!
Ko Aotearoa tōku kāinga
Ōna kakara, ōna Mārietanga!
Tōna mauri, kāore he ātaahua i kō atu
Aotearoa
Kura whakahirahira - ko koe tēnā!
Taku tūrangawaewae! Taumata okioki!
Te ihi, te wehi, te tapu, te mana - ko koe tēnā, Aotearoa!
Te Tai Tokerau
Tāmaki Herenga Tāngata
Tāmaki Herenga Waka
Tāmaki Makaurau!
Karanga rā!
Hauraki-Waikato
Te Tai Hauāuru
Waiariki
Ikaroa-Rāwhiti
Te Tai Tonga!
Aotearoa! Karanga rā! (Interjection: Haere mai!)
Ko te wai te toto o te whenua
Ko te whenua te toto o te tangata
Toitū he whenua, whatungarongaro he tangata
Kia whakarongo te taringa ki te waha o Tāne e kō i te ata.
Ko Aotearoa te whenua taurikura
Kauria ai ngā wai aroha nō te itinga
Ngā kura mahara ka pūmau rā
Aotearoa – karanga rā!
Takahia! Takahia te nuku o te whenua!
Hī! Hā! Hī! Auē! Hī!
I am but a feather of Te Waka-a-Māui lying here beneath me
(The Waka of Māui = South Island)
I am but a scale of Te Ika-a-Māui that is trembling!
(The Fish of Māui = North Island)
Aotearoa is my home
Its pleasant fragrances, its peacefulness
Its life force, there is nothing more beautiful
(Than) Aotearoa
Magnificent treasure - that is you!
My place to stand! My great resting place!
The excitement, the awe, the sacredness, the mana - that is you, Aotearoa!
The North Coast
Tāmaki, the gathering place of many people
Tāmaki, the gathering place of many waka
Tāmaki of many lovers!
Call to me!
South Auckland - Waikato
West Coast
Bay of Plenty
Eastern North Island
The south coast!
Aotearoa! Call to me!
Water is the blood of the land
The land is the blood of the people
The land is permanent, people disappear from sight
Let the ear listen to the mouth of Tāne chirping in the morning
(Tāne = god of the forest)
Aotearoa the prosperous land
Always swimming in the waters of love from childhood
The precious memories, remain permanent (hold fast to them)
Aotearoa - call to me!
Walk! Walk the extent, the length and breadth of the land!
Ka Waiata ki a Maria* Richard Puanaki, Ngāti Kahungunu (1949-2021)
This waiata (song) has become central to the choral canon of Aotearoa New Zealand. This prayer to the Virgin Mary describes her as becoming the house of mankind and the mother of the world.
Ka waiata (I sing)
Ki a Maria (To Mary)
Hine i whakaae (The woman who agreed)
Whakameatia mai (To bring forth life)
He whare tangata (From her womb the house of mankind)
Hine purotu (Woman who acquiesced)
Hine ngākau (Woman of passion)
Hine rangimārie (Woman of peace)
Ko te Whaea (She is the Mother)
Ko te Whaea (She is the Mother)
O Te Ao (Of the world)
Programme notes by Dr Morag Atchison and Michael Stewart.
About the choir
The New Zealand Youth Choir (NZYC) has achieved considerable success since its formation in 1979. Performances in New Zealand and thirteen international tours including visits to the UK, Europe, Canada, USA, Australia, Singapore, Russia, the Republic of Korea, China and the Pacific Islands have firmly established its reputation for consistency, energy and excellence. The Choir is comprised of around fifty 18 to 25-year-old singers and operates on a 3-year audition cycle.
Artistic Staff
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. He 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.
MICHAEL STEWART is one New Zealand’s leading choral conductors and organists. He is Organist and Director of Music at the Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul, Deputy Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir, and Music Director of acclaimed early music choir The Tudor Consort. Michael holds a Bachelor of Music degree with First Class Honours from the University of Canterbury and a Master of Music degree from McGill University. He has recorded for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and is a frequent contributor to Radio New Zealand Concert. Since becoming Music Director of The Tudor Consort in 2007, Michael has led critically-acclaimed performances of Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt and J S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and has prepared them for several performances of Handel’s Messiah with the NZSO. In 2021 Michael prepared Voices New Zealand for a performance of Brahms’ Schicksalslied. He is a past member of both the New Zealand Youth Choir and Voices New Zealand.
Dr Morag Atchison has firmly established herself as one of New Zealand’s leading sopranos, pedagogues, and choral educators and studied at the University of Auckland and the Royal Academy of Music (London). She has sung roles with NZ Opera, Auckland Philharmonia, the NZSO, English Touring Opera, and Aspen Festival Opera. Concerts have taken her throughout NZ, the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Kenya, and Seychelles. Recent engagements include Verdi Requiem with Auckland Choral, Britten War Requiem with Orchestra Wellington, and a recital in Tunisia as part of the celebrations for the new Bishop of North Africa. Later in 2025 she will sing with Voices NZ on their European Tour. In 2022 her debut CD The Distance: Songs of David Hamilton was released on the Atoll label. Morag is a Senior Lecturer in Voice at the University of Auckland, works with the New Zealand Youth Choir and the Auckland Chamber Choir. In 2019 she was elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM).
History of the choir
1979: The ‘National Youth Choir’ of New Zealand is founded by Guy Jansen. As Music Director he invites Peter Godfrey as Guest Conductor.
1982: NYC performs at Wembley with Kiri Te Kanawa during their first international tour.
1983: Prof Peter Godfrey is appointed Music Director.
1988: During the 2nd international tour to Europe NYC wins Best Choir at the International Festival of Youth and Music in Vienna and two second places at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
1989: Karen Grylls became Music Director.
1999 NYC celebrates its 20th anniversary in Wellington with a concert with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
One of the Choir’s greatest achievements was winning the ‘Choir of the World’ title at the International Music Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. A week later they won the ‘Grand Prix Slovakia’. The tour also included Ireland, the Czech Republic, Vienna, London and Singapore.
2001: Now renamed New Zealand Youth Choir, the Choir undertook an international tour to Texas, USA.
2004: On their tour of Europe, the NZYC achieved highest marks in several categories at the 43rd Int. Choral Competition in Gorizia, Italy. The Choir recorded a new CD, Gaude, which was released to critical acclaim in June.
2005: Gaude was nominated as finalist in the Best Classical Album category at the 2005 NZ Music Awards.
2007: NZYC returned from an award-winning tour through Canada, the UK and Spain, having taken podium placings at two International Choral Competitions in Llangollen, Wales and Cantonigros, Spain, including winning the Mixed Choir category.
2009: was NZYC’s 30th Anniversary. The Choir toured to Invercargill, Gore, Dunedin, Kapiti, Palmerston, Wellington, Warkworth and Auckland, reinforcing its truly national nature.
2010: On its international NZYC performs at the World Expo in Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney.
2011: David Squire became Music Director.
2013: At the end of 2013 the Choir undertook a much acclaimed three-week tour of the USA and Canada performing in Los Angeles, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York and Washington.
2014: In February NZYC performed in the NZ Festival in Wellington – ‘…this concert was a timely reminder of the quality of choral singing we have in this country.’ Dominion Post
2016: During its 2016 European Landmark Tour, NZYC won the GRAND PRIX at the 2016 IFAS in Pardubice Czech Republic and also all four categories it competed in.
2019: 40th anniversary celebrations including joint anniversary concert with National Youth Orchestra, anniversary concert with Voices New Zealand. Release of double CD 'Hokorua' – 40 years of NZYC.
Pacific Tour to Fiji, Tonga, Niue, New Caledonia and Sydney.
2020: This NZYC starts its three-year cycle
NZYC sings at the Prime Minister’s reception at the state opening of parliament.
2021: Tour of the north and south of NZ, including Whangārei and Greymouth.
2022: Performances with Eric Whitacre, Carmina Burana with the other national choirs & concerts around the country.
Tour of Australia.
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