Exaudi takes home gold at the World Choir Games in Auckland (and soaks in hot springs)

Exaudi had a fantastic week exploring Aotearoa-New Zealand over the July break, including plenty of singing, hot-springing and exploring the sights of the North Island.

In the first half of the week, we spent time in Rotorua and surrounds, enjoying shared concerts with the Hamilton Civic Choir and Taupo Choral Society, and our own concert hosted by St Luke’s Anglican Parish in Rotorua.

In between rehearsing and performing, we fit in some fantastic sight-seeing trips including:

• Whakawerawera – Living Māori Village, where we learned about Māori culture, life in geothermally-active areas, and how to cook food in hot pools!

• Waimangu Volcanic Valley, where we hiked through some stunning volcanic landscapes

• A couple of pre- and post-concert soaks in the scenic hot springs of Rotorua and Waikite Valley

Then we made our way back up to Auckland to experience our first ever World Choir Games

This was four days of performing and watching choirs from around the world. We took part in a “Friendship Concert” in an aviation museum, and performed in two competitive categories within the Open Competition (for choirs without a history of competing at the Games): Music of Spirit and Faith and Mixed Choirs

Exaudi gave it their all and came out winning both their sections and achieving the highest score across all categories in the Open Competition. Congratulations Exaudi!