Who are we?
Global Voices is a four-part a cappella choir based in the Christchurch suburb of Opawa. Led by seasoned musician and accomplished Director Deen Coulsen, our repertoire spans all four corners of the globe.
What do we sing?
From joyful African percussion pieces to contemporary pop, Estonian folk music, soaring Te Reo Maori harmonies and Celtic lullabies, Global Voices has been showcasing music from a multitude of languages and genres for close to three decades.
Who’s doing the singing?
With a diverse range of backgrounds, from electricians, to nurses, teachers, writers, and doctors, our 26-strong crew is comprised of people of all ages. We come together every Wednesday night during term time to experience the joy of belonging to something bigger than ourselves. We work hard, but we make the time to catch up for a hot drink and a chat halfway through the evening, and new members are always made to feel part of the Global family.
How do we sing?
While the ability to read music is fantastic, it’s not as important as your willingness to learn new material and commit it to memory. We choose to perform ‘off book’ during our performances, which enables each member of the group to really tune into both the voices around us and the direction of our conductor.
Apart from working towards our annual concert, which usually features a repertoire of around 18 songs, we also get asked to perform at various venues around Christchurch throughout the year, subject to member availability.
Where and when do we practice?
Based at St Mark’s Anglican Church at 101 Opawa Rd, we meet for practice from 7.30 to 9.30 pm every Wednesday during term time. Very occasionally, members will be expected to commit to sectional practices outside of these hours if we have a performance coming up (for example, just the altos or the tenor group will spend half an hour on any pieces that need fine tuning.) Our committee also meets a couple of times each year during the school holidays.
Where do I sign up?
For new member enquiries, look at our Join Us page.
With the majority of our songs containing four-part harmonies, we strive to retain a balance between our bass, tenor, alto, and soprano sections.
This means that new spaces will sometimes open up throughout the year, giving interested singers the opportunity to come along and get a feel for what we do before committing to an audition.