Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced that The Big Sing would continue, supported by one-off grants for the organisations that run the programme.
The event involves about 9000 students across 280 choirs and is New Zealand's largest choral festival, running for more than 35 years.
The New Zealand Choral Federation and Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand will each receive $150,000 to help deliver their annual events.
Stanford said music plays an important role in learning and well-being.
"Music builds strong foundations for learning, confidence, and can lead to new opportunities both within and outside the classroom."
The funding comes from the Ministry of Education baseline and sits alongside the $5.6 million allocated in Budget 2026 for music kits in schools.
"What we want is to make singing, music and the chance to play an instrument available to every student," she said.
Stanford told those gathered at Wellington's Michael Fowler centre this evening she remembered classmates going off around New Zealand to compete in the Big Sing when she was in orchestra in high school.
Thought to be the first Education Minister to attend the event in 30 years, she told RNZ funding for the event was very close to her heart.
"I grew up in sort of the music departments of all the schools I went to, and so many of the people that I know did as well, and found their crew and their people, and continue doing music for the rest of their lives.
"It means we get more young people at school singing, essentially. And it means that both of these organisations can run for the next year, and we will consider further funding in next year's budget - but they do run very much on the smell of an oily rag, and we want to encourage more young people to take up music."
The Big Sing includes regional competitions across the country, from Auckland to Southland, before national performances.
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
