Anderson Lloyd’s Passchendaele Memorial Service - 12th October 2022

The choir sings for Anderson Lloyd, Dunedin Lawyers, Memorial Service, in tribute to one of their founding partners, Peter Anderson.

Neil Grant wrote this report for our website based on Frazer Barton’s Speech.

Every year on April 26th, thousands of New Zealanders gather at ANZAC ceremonies. At many, people will talk about Gallipoli, where New Zealand is said “to have come of age.” Due to bad timing, bad navigation, false assumptions  about the Turkish soldiers, and inept British leadership, this battle was doomed from the start, despite the heroism and fighting abilities of allied troops.

Also, every year, but on October 12th, two or three dozen smartly dressed lawyers and other staff close their offices and march down the hill to the Dunedin Railway Station. There one of the partners of Anderson Lloyd, a now nation-wide legal firm which started in Dunedin, speaks about why they are there. The RSA Choir sing some appropriate songs, and roses are laid beneath the Passchendaele  memorial outside the main entrance.

Frazer Barton, who  led the 2022 ceremony said. “We are here today to remember the darkest day in New Zealand's military history.

“A little history lesson.  It all started with the assassination on 28th June 1914 in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was the heir to the Austrian throne. He was killed by a Serb terrorist. Austria responded by declaring a war on terrorism. Sound familiar?

“To avenge” the death, Austria went to war with Serbia. To support Serbia, Russia went to war against Austria.  To support Austria, Germany went to war against Russia. To support Russia, France went to war against Germany. To attack France, Germany invaded through Belgium. To support Belgium, Britain went to war against Germany. To support Britain, New Zealand went to war against Germany.

“That is why our men were fighting in Belgium.”

Otago's soldiers, many of whom had worked for the railways, went to war from the Dunedin Railway Station. There they farewelled their loved ones, and for many, that was the last they ever saw of each other.

More than three years later, both sides were bogged down in the muddy wasteland on either side of a line that fluctuated back and forth from the North Sea to Switzerland. The 2nd  Otago Infantry Battalion was positioned near the Belgian town of Passchendaele.

On 12th October, the order came to break through the German lines, climb Bellevue Spur and reach Passchendaele. Although poorly prepared, an artillery bombardment began with the aim of cutting paths through the barbed wire.. This was unsuccessful. In pouring rain the troops found themselves caught up in the mud and defences and under severe machine gun fire. In total 6400 men had started the onslaught; 843 New Zealanders were slaughtered. Wounded men sheltered in the rain and mud of shell holes, many dying from drowning or their wounds before any help could come.

Of  those 843 who died, 100 were from Dunedin.

One of the wounded who did survive was Peter Anderson. He led 36 Otago soldiers into that battle. He and only six others got back to the safety of their trenches. When he returned to Dunedin, he completed his studies, and later bequeathed his name to the company, Anderson Lloyd. He became a foundation member of the RSA Choir

“After the war,” says Frazer, “a steam locomotive, number AB608, was built and named after this battle. It bore a great plaque explaining the connection. When that engine was retired, the plaque was attached to the front of this building.”

Frazer recently visited Passchendaele. He noted how peaceful was the rolling country side, in the middle of which is a memorial to the dead, with thousands of headstones in strict military rows.

“On the wall is the heartbreaking list of the dead from the Otago Regiment. Many headstones bore the legend, 'A New Zealand Soldier of the Great War. Known to God.'

“These very same scenes are being played out again in the gentle, rolling rural fields of Ukraine.”

The RSA Choir then sang 'Roses of Picardy', 'Nearer my God to Thee', and 'God Shall Wipe Away All Tears'. Choir member, Foalima  Lemalu, recited 'The Ode' in te reo. Thirty red roses, one for each of the men of  Otago killed in what is  New Zealand's most disastrous day in military history were laid beneath the Passchendaele plaque.

One hundred and five years later the people of Anderson Lloyd throughout the country, and the members of the RSA Choir, keep the promise of  The Ode, and remember them.

Neil Grant 

Springtime Concert Friday 16th September 2022, 7.00pm

At St Patrick’s Basilica, Macandrew Rd, South Dunedin

The Springtime Concert was held in the St. Patrick’s Basilica. The venue really suits the current choir size and the numbers we are getting in the audience during this Covid times.

Karen Knudson conducted the choir, Mark Wigglesworth accompanied on the piano and Peter Bodeker, one of our choir members, was the Concerts compere.

Sarah Hubbard, the Dunedin Soprano, who was one of the five finalist in this year’s Lexus Song Quest sang 3 items for us and also sang solo parts in some of the choir’s songs. Her strong, beautiful voice filled the whole church. What a performance! Samuel Lee, our other guest artist, rounded off the performances by playing a Bach Sonata on his Violin and also accompany parts of the songs the choir sang. 

The choir itself was in good voice. A powerful rendition of Arise O Sun started the concert followed by several well-known songs. In honour of the new Commonwealth Head, King Charles, the choir ended with God save the King and then gave an encore by singing the arousing Gwahoodiad. This made an excellent finish to the evening’s performance.

We were again very lucky to have Paul Donovan taking photos of the choir, enabling us to show a great variety of pictures on this website.

Dunedin Art Society ’’Edinburgh Premier Arts Awards” in the Dunedin Railway Station Foyer July 2022

What now has become an annual event, on Thursday 28th July, 5pm, the choir sang again in the Dunedin Railway Station Foyer for the opening of the Dunedin Art Society ’’Edinburgh Premier Arts Awards”.

With reduced numbers, mainly due to Covid illnesses reasons, the choir presented a nice selection of songs from their current repertoire. Kieran Kelly, our Scholar also sang solo items and also joined in with the choir for some of their songs. Karen Knudson conducted and Mark Wigglesworth played the keyboard. The acoustics in the Railway Station Foyer is great for this sort of performance. The audience really enjoyed listening to the choir.

Photos kindly donated by Paul Donovan.

 Vocal Scholar Concert on Matariki, Friday Afternoon, 24th June 2022

The Dunedin RSA Choir Vocal Scholar Concert was being held at 3pm on Friday afternoon, 24th June, to help celebrate Matariki day. The St. Patrick’s Basilica in Macandrew Bay Road, South Dunedin was an ideal venue for the occasion. A very nice church with great acoustics and proving a warm interior with level access and good carparking.

This year our two current scholars, Emma McLean and Kieran Kelly, performed together with Erika Paterson one of our previous scholars. The Scholars all sang three songs each and Erica and Emma also presented two duets. They all gave great performances! Their selection of classical and semi classical works was very fitting and their beautiful and strong voices filled the church.

The choir also sang 6 items and in three of them the Scholars even sang with the choir. The concert lasted just over one hour without an interval. The audience really liked the concert. We had some glowing comments from the audience.

This concept of running a Scholar concert once a year, providing our Scholars an additional venue to perform, has been very successful and hopefully we can do the same again next year.

Photos kindly donated by Paul Donovan.

 2022 ANZAC Revue in the St Paul’s Cathedral. Monday 25th April.

This year, the choir decided not to hold the ANZAC Revue in the Town Hall and instead use the St. Paul’s Cathedral. When planning the concert, the numbers were restricted to 100 due to the Covid Virus rules the Government had still in place and 100 people in the big Town Hall would not work at all. A few weeks before the concert the Government actually changed the restrictions and we could have had 200 people in the audience and a few days before the day, indoor numbers were no longer limited. However, with many Covid cases in the area, people were still very hesitant and just under 100 attended the event.

4 days before the event our soloist, Alexander McAdam fell sick with the Covid virus and could not sing for us. Very kindly Scott Bezett sprang into the gap and rescued the situation.

Everything came together on the day! Even with choir numbers being down, again due to Covid reasons, the choir sang well. We had an interesting programme. David Burchell played two great items on the Organ and accompanied the choir were required. Ralph Miller on his trumpet gave a solo performance, played for the Ceremony of Remembrance and also played in some of the Choirs items. Scott Bezett sang two items accompanied on the piano by Mark and he also sang several items with the choir. On top of that we had Robert Craigie giving drum support to several of the choir’s items.

Karen Knudson our conductor did an excellent job getting the most out of the choir, Mark Wigglesworth accompanied the choir on the piano and Phil Godfrey, one of our choir members, was our compere as well as singing in the choir.

The 1 and ¼ hour concert was very well received. We had many very positive comments from the audience.

Photos by Paul Donovan

“Fauré Requiem: For Peace” at Knox Church, Sunday 8th August 2021

In remembrance of the dropping of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Knox Church put on this evening ceremony of Remembrance. Our Choir joined the Knox Church choir and some members of the City of Dunedin Choir to sing the choir items. Reverent Anne Thomson was the Minister and Karen Knudson the conductor. David Burchell played the Organ, Mark Wigglesworth the piano and Grace Togneri played the introductory item on the piano. Karen had organised several soloists. Our Scholars Emma McClean and Alexander McAdam, her daughter Calla Knudson, Jesse Hanan and two University of Otago Performance Students.

Photos by Ian Thomson (Knox Church)

Dunedin Railway Station –The Edinburgh Arts Awards

On Thursday the 12th August the choir sang in the Dunedin Railway Station Foyer for the people attending the Edinburgh Arts Awards in the upstairs rooms. Karen Knudson conducted, Mark Wigglesworth played the keyboard and our Scholar Emma McClean gave soloist support and also sang 3 items for the audience. Singing in the Railway Station foyer is a very rewarding experience. The acoustics are excellent. And it is such a beautiful surrounding. The choir sang a selection of well-known song.

RSA Choir Vocal Scholar Concert  2021

For a video Carol Grant took of the choir singing “The Rose”, go to the “Concert” page, subpage “Video”.

St Patrick's Basilica in South Dunedin was the venue for 2021's opportunity to hear the choir's  three University of Otago music scholars. The large open space, flanked by colonnaded aisles, stained glass windows, art works and classical decorations provided a fitting acoustic space for this afternoon concert.

Lillian Gibbs, Emma McClean and Alex McAdam are the current scholars supported by the choir. Covid prevented 2020's scholars from singing at choir concerts, so this was an opportunity for all three, to demonstrate their vocal skills. Each presented five or six pieces by composers ranging from the 17th to the 21st  centuries. Names such as Debussy, Faure Vivaldi and Purcell are well enough known; Ghedini, Finzi and Rubbra less so. By choosing works from such a range, the scholars gave the enthusiastic audience a concert rich in variety, and presented with mastery, passion  and confidence. All three were accompanied by David Burchell with great sensitivity on the piano.

The concert began and ended with songs from the choir, and they sang between each of the scholars' sets. Their repertoire ranged from Sweet Kate, a 17th Century folk song in which a young man chases a coquettish maiden until she catches him, to The Rose, a moving popular song made famous by Bette Midler. Recently appointed  Mark Wigglesworth on piano, and David Burchell on organ provided the accompaniment for the choir under the direction of Karen Knudson.

A concert featuring three exceptional classical vocalists, skillful and supportive instrumentalists and conductor, enthusiastic choir singers, some outstanding choral music, in a building of architectural excellence – what more could an audience ask for?

Report written by Neil Grant.

Photos by Carol Grant, Leo Li & Otto Schmid

2021 ANZAC Revue & Centennial Concert in the Town Hall

Also a Report and Photo from the Morning Service at the Montecillo Veteran’s Home

This page shows the concert poster, the reports in the papers, some photos taken during during the Town Hall practice sessions and the Concert Programme booklet. Many more photos can be found on the subpage - Gallery / Choir Members Pictures. When there, click on the link 2021 ANZAC Revue & Centennial Concert.

2020 - Choir Christmas Party at the Village Green Café and Bar, Green Island.

2020 - Choir Members sing Christmas Carols for Montecillo Veteran’s Home.

2020 - Choir Members sing Christmas Carols for the Presbyterian Support Otago Club Enliven.

2020 - 11. November - Armistice Day Concert in Knox Church

2019 - Choir Christmas Party at the Chisholm Park Golf Club Building.

2019 - Choir Members sing Christmas Carols for the Presbyterian Support Otago Club Enliven.

2019 Singing at the Edinburgh Realty Premier Art Exhibition - Dunedin Railway Station.

2018 ANZAC Revue - Practice with the Mosgiel Brass Band.

2017 - 2019 - Outcasts performing for the Church of Christ Community.

2018 Christmas Function at the Balmacewen Golf Club Building and Police Remembrance Function at First Church.

2017 August Concert - Practice with Cellists of Otago.

2017 ANZAC Revue - with Scholar Soloists and Salsa Dancers.