Choirs Bella and the Fellas and Altissime will perform in Palmerston North’s St Andrews Church

The award-winning Altissime choir from Samuel Marsden Collegiate School.

School choirs Bella and the Fellas and Altissime will fill St Andrews Church with song with a free concert this weekend.

The award-winning Altissime choir from Samuel Marsden Collegiate School and Freyberg High School group Bella and the Fellas perform at Pathways Presbyterian Church at St Andrews on Saturday.

Altissime on their way to compete in The Big Sing Lower North Island Cadenza being held in Hastings. The choir has been in selected for The Big Sing Finale four times, and this is their second trip to The Big Cadenza.

The choir was excited to have an opportunity sing before they head off to Hastings. Their stage presentation is always stunning and they sing a wide repertoire of songs and pieces arranged specifically for their repertoire.

Altissime will sing a 16th century madrigal by Thomas Morley, April is in my Mistress’ Face. The poet compares his lady-love to the Northern Hemisphere seasons, saying “her face is like Spring, her eyes are like Summer, her bosom is like the Harvest, but her heart is as cold as Midwinter”.

The choir will then sing Billy Joel’s And So It Goes followed by the waiata I Te Po, finishing with Baba Yetu, a rendition of the Lord’s Prayer in Swahili.

Altissime has been conducted by Maaike Christie Beekman, vocal consultant for Voices New Zealand Choir and the Wellington-based Tudor Consort, since 2014.

Beekman, who is also an artist teacher at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music teaching voice and performance and stagecraft, held a singing workshop in Marton in May.

Bella and the Fellas from Freyberg High School will perform at Pathways Presbyterian Church at St Andrews on Saturday.

Bella and the Fellas from Freyberg High School will be singing in support. The choir is made up of year 10-13 students.

They will perform the waiata Nei ra te kaupapa or “My language is my awakening”, which talks about the responsibility of retaining language.

It would then be followed up by Occuli Omnium, a setting of Psalm 145. Their final item is Time, a modern work that borrows from contemporary a cappella harmonies and techniques to create an engaging texture that highlights the fleeting nature of time.

Bella and the Fellas are directed by Kirsten Clark, a well-known choir director and vocal tutor who is involved in many projects throughout the city.

The free concert at Pathways Presbyterian Church at St Andrews this Saturday starts at 6pm and goes for an hour. Donations are welcome.