For the past fortnight acclaimed Napier opera, blues and soul singer Laurence Munday had to keep biting his lip to prevent letting a secret slip.
"I was sworn to absolute secrecy," he said of being selected to sing yesterday not just for his country and royalty, but for the world.
Mr Munday,
dressed formally in what he described with a chuckle as his "best black and whites", had been chosen as part of the vocal guests and stepped forward to sing at the widely televised national memorial service for Christchurch.
"An absolute honour," was how he described it.
"And quite humbling."
After arriving in Christchurch just after 8am on Thursday, he described what he saw as "unbelievable". It strengthened his resolve to sing as passionately as he could - to do his part in lifting the hearts of the people of Christchurch.
Born in Hastings but with links to Ngai Tahu in the South Island, and having lived in Christchurch for 11 years before settling back in the Bay, Mr Munday said the invitation to perform before an audience including the Prime Minister and Prince William meant more than he could put into words.
He said the sheer emotion and importance of the event had brought about some nerves, but his main worry had been about keeping the tears at bay.
"Such a huge thing - I was afraid I'd cry." Mr Munday performed along with Hayley Westenra, Dame Malvina Major, Dave Dobbyn and soprano Timua Brennan at Hagley Park before a crowd estimated at around 200,000.
Ms Brennan also has links to Ngai Tahu. It was an audience 10 times larger than at his last major outing - the Christmas in the Park concert but he carried it off - without a tear in sight.
Mr Munday trained under the tutorship of Patrick Power, and while skilled at performing blues, soul and jazz, it is opera which he is looking to strongly pursue, with his goal being to make a full-time career out of it.
