May 4, 2011

Six Tauranga members of well-known Waikato four-part harmony group the Waikato Rivertones are celebrating winning New Zealand’s national harmony competition, held in Wellington this weekend.

The group of 80 women of all ages from throughout the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, King Country, Rotorua and Auckland scored 644 points in the contest, well ahead of second-placed Wellington City Chorus and the second highest marks ever scored in New Zealand. They will now represent New Zealand, competing against the world’s best in Denver, Colorado in October 2012.

The Rivertones has won the New Zealand competition in 2001 and 2008, and also won gold at the invitation-only international Harmony Classic contest in San Antonio, Texas in 2007 – the first time the trophy has left the United States. The Rivertones last represented New Zealand at an international contest in Nashville in November 2009.

The Bay of Plenty members car pool to get themselves to Hamilton each week for rehearsals and often spend their weekends In Hamilton having coaching from international coaches in Hamilton.

Musical Director Barbara Smith said the chorus had worked hard on a new package of songs for the contest, working for several months in weekly rehearsals and weekend coaching sessions with the chorus’s American voice and choreography coaches.

“We had kept details of our performance and visual plan under wraps so we could wow the audience in Wellington, and the judges’ remarks were full of praise for our imaginative and spectacular performance.

“We’ll be working hard on our package for Denver and plan to do New Zealand proud. We’ll also be looking for new members to add to our big sound. We’ll be having an open night and offer training for good singers who want to join us on our journey,” she said.

ENDS

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