Our Story
We began our story as The Christchurch Global Choir in 1997 with Lee Lawrence as our musical director. Prior to this in 1995, a world music workshop led by Stephen Taberner had inspired a small group of Christchurch singers to begin singing together at Tamariki School. Our membership grew, and the Christchurch Global Choir began its musical journey. We established our base in Opawa, and Wednesday nights have rung with the sound of global music ever since.
Simon de Jong became the director in 2000, bringing a new discipline to the choir, as well as a more formal level of musicality.
In 2003 we welcomed Helen Charlton as our director. Helen is a performer in her own right as well as a singing teacher and choir director of many Christchurch choirs. And so began 16 years of the next rewarding chapter of the Christchurch Global Choir. Helen brought a new energy, her expertise, and her sense of humour to our Wednesday nights. We took on more challenging music and as a result, new members were required to audition for the first time. Whilst the spirit of the group remained steadfast, Helen took us to a new level musically.
2007 was an exciting year for the choir, and our president at the time, Becky Lee, became the driving force behind our name change to Global Voices, along with a choir logo and new choir colours. We produced a CD featuring some of our favourite a cappella global and gospel songs, as well as a few from home. Our second CD, Global Spirit, was released in 2013.
Annual weekend workshops have featured guest conductors such as New Zealanders Stephen Tabener (now residing in Australia), Tony Backhouse, and Australian choir director Steve Clarke. These talented musicians have shared many wonderful arrangements with us that remain in our repertoire to this day.
The choir have had two successful trips to Wellington in 2012 and 2016, teaming up with Wellington world music choir, Wososi. These weekends involved workshops, a flashmob, and plenty of socialising, and culminated in a concert on the Sunday.
In 2019, Deen Coulson became our new choir director. Deen’s talent and passion for music has been inspiring, and his fresh new approach has given the choir a boost of youthful energy as well as a lean towards some fantastic contemporary arrangements.
There are some people who have been part of the Global Voices family for the entire journey and it has been quite a journey. Throughout the years and changes, some core things have remained – singing is about the story behind the songs, the joy of creating wonderful harmony, and it’s about us, the people who sing the songs and the bond created by making music together.