06-05-2025
Review: Choir Games goes inside ‘the Olympics of choral singing' on home soil
Choir enthusiast Ben Fagan reviews a new local documentary series following what happens when the biggest choir competition in the world comes to Aotearoa.
New to Sky and Neon this week, director Leanne Pooley's Choir Games follows the journey of two choirs, one local and one American, as they prepare for 'the Olympics of choral singing' for the very time in Aotearoa. Held last June, the World Choir Games attracted 11,000 singers, 250 choirs, from 42 countries to perform, compete, share their culture and, in all cases, sing some songs.
From Aotearoa we meet Dr Opeloge Ah Sam, musician, teacher and choir director of the Kaitaia Community Voices, a singing group from Northland. Opeloge has entered them in the big competition to expand their horizons and challenge the group, which has the full spectrum of ages and backgrounds. He has been driving five-and-a-half hours from his home in Auckland to Kaitaia to lead their monthly rehearsal, and their appearance at the World Choir Games will be his final concert with the choir.
Their journey unfolds alongside a crew from the Big Apple. The Young People's Chorus of New York City is led by Francisco Núñez, founder and artistic director, alongside his wife and the choir's creative director Elizabeth Núñez (I've often wondered the difference between an artistic director and a creative director, but unfortunately this is not addressed). Francisco, Elizabeth and their team are preparing their inner city choir of 95 (!) teenagers for their big trip to Auckland. They're the ones to beat, having won gold at the previous games in South Korea.
Across Choir Games' four episodes, the many barriers to being in a choir on both sides of the world are laid out. Apathy, grief, overcommitments, weather, rising costs, logistics, sickness, family pressures. In live performance, sometimes it feels like the whole world conspires against people coming together to make a thing happen. 'Bringing YPC to New Zealand is going to cost over a million dollars', Núñez says at the start of their fundraising journey, wide-eyed like he can't quite believe it.
Being a Canadian-New Zealander, director Pooley (The Topp Twins: Untouchable, Beyond the Edge) is well placed to balance the scenes from North America with the characters from Northland. There are some real gems from the Kaitaia singers in particular: 'I'm not serious about many things. But I'm actually serious about music and cars', says 17 year-old singer and self trained mechanic Kees.
Over the series the two choirs work their way towards the big show, rehearsing while keeping their grades up or getting leave from work, all the while experiencing personal breakthroughs. The energy and commitment of the two choir directors, Núñez and Sam, made me tired just watching them. Working hard both musically and administratively to keep the show on the road, while being mentor to their singers, we see them take the time to follow up personally with those who need extra support.
Research quoted on the games website boasts the local tourism spend above average for an event its size, with $20 million going into the local economy, $14.5 million of which into the Auckland region. But as with all arts-based competition, some vibe with it and some do not. While the event was happening, local chorister and academic Dr Gregory Camp questioned why choral music couldn't be championed without picking winners and losers. 'But what message do we want to send to our young singers', Camp asks '…that music is a competitive space with concrete awards in monetary or social capital?'
As the documentary shows, the competition clearly focuses the minds of all involved, and the series finds its strength when it compares the two choirs so closely that you feel they could be just down the road from each other. 'Singing together brings nations together' is the motto of the organisation running the games, and the latter episodes are full of wholesome scenes of singers bigging each other up after the concerts.
When the singers have a meaningful connection to the music, group singing is next level, and Choir Games beautifully charts the personal stories playing out behind the scenes. You could sum the show up like an understated Kaitaia teen reviewing a life changing concert: 'It come out alright. People seemed to enjoy it'.
