International Federation for Choral Music

New Zealand recently hosted Tim Sharp, Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association and Vice President of IFCM, who was there as a guest adjudicator and workshop clinician for the New Zealand Choral Federation’s secondary school choir phenomenon, The Big Sing.

While he was in New Zealand , Tim not only managed to squeeze in an interview on NZ radio, he also had a quick chat with the event organisers.

You’ve recently been in New Zealand – how did it go?

It was an amazing experience as I witnessed such fine musicianship on the part of the New Zealand conductors and their exemplary choral performances. 

New Zealand is an exotic and desirable location, and its reputation for friendliness, beauty, and significantly, excellent choral performance is a leading factor and is known throughout the choral universe. The sheer beauty of New Zealand will add a dimension in 2020. 

Who comes to the Symposium and who, in your experience, benefits from it? 

The WSCM has always been an event that the choral leaders of the world want to attend. The reason it is so important to us is that we witness best practices, experience amazing performances that we see in no other setting, gather literature that we would never know about, network with people that are just as zealous as we are about the choral experience. It also attracts those who are looking for the out-of-the-ordinary and the extraordinary. 

As someone who’s been to New Zealand a few times now, how will our unique location as a small nation in the South Pacific with a strong indigenous heritage impact the discussions and vibe of the Symposium?

With choral music, we are story-tellers at heart with our ensembles, and this reality has been captured by the New Zealand architects at work for the 2020 WSCM. I have personally been moved by the Māori experience and how the people of New Zealand have learned to live and work and perform in empathy with their heritage.