> Palmerston North Concert

Manawatu Standard | 6 September 2006

NATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR PERFORMS A CONCERT TO SAVOUR

Reviewed by Stephen Fisher

All Saints' Church, Palmerston North. Tuesday 5th September

With an already established international reputation as being among the best in the world, any concert by the TOWER New Zealand Youth Choir has much to live up to. The present choir is partly the choir that achieved such high regard in 2004. It has some new members, including several members of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, which achieved similar success overseas in recent months, but there is no doubt that this choir is still in excellent voice, well living up to all of the accolades.

Under the leadership of Karen Grylls, the choir has gone from strength to strength. She is a conductor who makes enormous demands of the choir then works tirelessly to ensure the choir achieves. The result is exceptionally rewarding. Although she is superb at encouraging the very best from the choir, she also makes very careful choice of the music, including stunning arrangements such as a Samoan anthem arranged by choir member Steven Rapana, Shenandoah arranged by Erb and our own David Farquhar’s Toia Mai Te Waka.

Last night’s performance was a concert of considerable variety, with a religious theme running through much of the first half including arrangements of Psalms by Kodály and Ferrario, along with a Russian version of the Lord’s Prayer arranged by Schnittke, all stunning in performance, these works alone showing the great emotional power of which the choir is capable.

The second half, which opened with a marvellous rendition of Stanford’s Beati Quorum Via with the choir spaced around the altar, then allowed the choir to relax as we listened to some more traditional songs from around the world, including some very moving action songs and a welcome to Manawatu in Te Iwi E.

The variety was impressive, but at every turn the choir sang with beautiful tone, wondrous expression and superb diction. There was no doubt among the audience that a choir that sings with such joy, conviction and sincerity deserved the standing ovation so enthusiastically given. A concert to savour indeed!