Dunstan High School’s Senior Girls’ Choir left the national Big Sing competition on a high note, claiming the Maori song award and winning silver overall.
The 30-member chorale joined 23 choirs from across the country as the high school competition’s only Otago representatives.
At the gala night on Saturday they won the Auahi Kore Award for a song with Maori text, for their rendition of Maori hymn Wairua Tapu, which they performed alongside four others.
They also won a silver award overall, which was given to choirs which reached a certain performance level. Four choirs, all from Auckland, won gold awards.
Choir leader Holly Taucher said the school faced tough competition from much larger schools.
"We never expected to do as well as we did."
Choir member Laura Henderson said their goal was to just do their best.
"We didn’t think we were going to get anywhere, so we just tried to have fun."
Conductor John Buchanan said the school winning the Maori prize was "pretty amazing" considering some of the Auckland schools had far more Maori pupils.
The trophy, which was shaped like a Maori flute, would be formally presented to the school by the New Zealand Choral Federation on Friday.
"It’s very big for a little school like this to get where it did. To even get there, let alone get silver."
They up were against schools which had full-time choir directors, he said.
Mr Buchanan trains the choir with the school’s head of music, Bronwyn Barnes.
