The New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir (NZSSC) is one of the three national choirs of New Zealand. It consists of full-time secondary school students; the only exception being students who join the choir in their final year of secondary school as they have usually finished secondary school by the second year of the choir's two-year membership cycle. Since 1988, a new choir of around 50 students has been nationally auditioned every second year. The choir extensively tours New Zealand and provides choral workshops at schools during this time. Over the choirs lifetime, the two year period has developed to culminate with an international tour in the second year. They generally rehearse around six times during these two years for up to a week per rehearsal. The choir has received international attention and critical acclaim from overseas audiences but limited publicity in New Zealand itself. Their repertoire, although widely varied in style, age and language, has specific emphasis on New Zealand composed works and traditionally styled music of the Māori and other Polynesian cultures. These pieces are regularly commissioned for the choir.
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The New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir began as a choral course for secondary students in the 1960s with its first performance in 1967 as an established choir under the musical direction of Malcolm Rickard. In 1986 Dr Guy Jansen formed the first New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir as a training ground for the (formerly) New Zealand National Youth Choir. In 1988 Roger Stevenson was appointed Musical Director. The choir was formally established as a Charitable Trust in 1997.
Late in 2000, the choir appointed Elise Bradley as Musical Director. For each NZSSC that she directed, Elise Bradley appointed a professional tutoring team to assist her and also took on conducting trainees. The most notable of these conducting trainees was Andrew Withington, who in 2009 took over musical direction of the choir. The appointment of tutors by the Musical Director has since continued and contributed directly to the uniqueness of each new choir.
In 2004, the choir performed in the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, Oregon, USA. The NZSSC then toured Canada taking three first place awards (Mixed Voice Youth Choir, Youth Choir and Folk & Cultural Traditions) at the International Choral Kathaumixw in Powell River. In this, the 11th biennial competition, the NZSSC earned more awards than any other choir in any year of competition over the history of the competition; a record which still stands. The 2005–2006 choir competed in the Hong Kong International Youth & Children’s Choir Festival where it took the top award, “The World’s Choir” title and directly following this the choir travelled to Xiamen, China where it competed in the World Choir Games, gaining a Gold Award and Champion (Mixed Youth Choir) and a Silver Award (Folklore a cappella).
Elise Bradley resigned as Musical Director of the NZSSC in the beginning of 2007 in order to take up the position of Artistic Director of the Toronto Children's Chorus. After a series of problematic events, Robert Wiremu (a past member and long-standing tutor of the choir) agreed to take on a temporary position as the Musical Director in late 2007 for the remaining year of the choir and direct during their participation in a non-competitive South American festival tour.
In 2009, Andrew Withington, a former tutor and conducting trainee of the choir, was appointed as the Musical Director of the NZSSC. That May, Robert Wiremu resigned as a tutor of the choir.
| Year | Competition | Category | Award | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 11th International Choral Kathaumixw | Mixed Choir | First Place | Powell River, Canada |
| 2004 | 11th International Choral Kathaumixw | Youth Choir | First Place | Powell River, Canada |
| 2004 | 11th International Choral Kathaumixw | Folk & Cultural Traditions | First Place | Powell River, Canada |
| 2006 | Hong Kong International Youth & Children’s Choir Festival | Grand Prize | “The World’s Choir” | Hong Kong |
| 2006 | Hong Kong International Youth & Children’s Choir Festival | Youth Choir SATB | Gold A (Winner) | Hong Kong |
| 2006 | Hong Kong International Youth & Children’s Choir Festival | Folklore | Gold B (Shared Winner) | Hong Kong |
| 2006 | 4th World Choir Games | Mixed Youth Choir | Gold (Champion) | Xiamen, China |
| 2006 | 4th World Choir Games | Folklore a cappella | Silver | Xiamen, China |
New Zealand Youth Choir
Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir