Manurewa High School’s Rewaken Polycation Choir is one of 24 choirs to compete at the Big Sing secondary schools choral finale later this month.
It’s the ensemble’s second time in twenty years to make it into the finale and last year, they took home silver.
With their return, Rewaken Polycation Choir are excited to be given another shot at gold.
“To gain silver was huge! For me, it was already gold,” says Choir Director Lea’aesola Vuna.
“Some of the students were kind of disappointed but I advised them that the good thing about getting silver is you get to do it again. And if we make it into the finale again, let’s go for gold and here we are.”
The competition requires the qualified choirs to perform three songs from three different categories. The first category is either a New Zealand or Pasifika song, the second category is art music, and the third category is the director’s choice.
In preparing for the competition, the choir members had to adapt to balancing multiple commitments at once.
“We had a little bit of a few setbacks especially because we had Polyfest in term one,” says Choir Leader Charlie Muapopo Miller.
“But even with Polyfest we were able to pull through for our first Big Sing performance. But right now, we are gonna be just putting our all into our practices because we have the World Choir games as well. I feel like we have what it means to take on any opportunity, any risk that we can take.”
For Charlie, the finale is all about expression.
“We don’t think of it as, like, more of a competition, we think of it more as, like a form of expression,” he says.
“All we have to do is express our feelings, express our emotions and express our culture.
“Most of the songs we ever use is just mainly Pacific songs, because the Pacific is who we are, it runs through our blood, so we want it to run through our voices.’
And with the choir consisting of 45 students from Auckland, it’s going to cost a lot to take the ensemble down to Wellington.
“We’re still seeking sponsors. If there’s any help out there, do give us a thumbs up and help us out in the next couple of weeks to take us all the way to Wellington,” Lea’aesola says.
“For a camp site, [it’s] about 30 grand. If you want us to, we would love to stay in a hotel but probably cost us possibly 50 to 60 grand, maybe a couple millions, I don’t know. But that’s how much we’re worth.”
Choir leader and school Head Boy Filimone Vuna believes they are ready for the final showdown.
“It’s always normal to feel nervous, but it’s also an exciting experience. I know that we’re prepared and we’re ready,” he says.
“I have faith in us and once we get up on that stage, we’ll just let the music take us away.”
With confidence and a strive for gold, audience members can expect an experience of “raw, indigenous sound.”
“You’ll experience a lot of energy coming from this group. Bringing a Polyfest style onto a platform that is not really familiar with [the] authenticity of the way we sing and the way we perform,” Lea’aesola says.
“There is a saying called mafana in Tonga, which is a mixture of the vibe, the climax and your emotions, and that’s what we’re going to bring on that stage, which is the mafana.”
Catch the Rewaken Polycation Choir at the Big Sing 2024 finale from August 29 – 31 at the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington.
