Nainz Tupa'i: Music director for Eden Park choir on Saturday's national anthem performance

One of the highlights from Saturday night's rugby test were the anthems sung by the Auckland Pasifika Secondary Schools Choir.

Students from Auckland Girls Grammar, Avondale College, De La Salle, Kelston Boys, Kelston Girls, Glen Eden Intermediate, Marcellin College, Marist College, Mt Albert Grammar, Southern Cross, St Marys, St Paul’s College and St Peter's College. 

Music director Nainz Tupa'i told Kerre Woodham that it was an amazing feeling to hear the whole stadium singing along.

'It's a real honor and a privilege to have been given that opportunity and for our kids to experience that in that moment'

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the carry Wood, the morning's podcast from
US Talks hit By.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Isn't that gorgeous? How gorgeous is that? One of the
highlights from Saturday Nights rugby test were the anthems sung
by the Auckland Pacifica's Secondary schools choir. It wasn't just me,
I mean, we were all you know. The Eden Park
went dark, and then the lights went up, and then
this beautiful, beautiful sound came from the ground and I

(01:50):
got goosebumps. And then I looked to my left and
looked to my right, and I had rugby veterans there,
you know, former all black coaches, former all Black captains,
who all agreed it was the best rendition of the
national anthems that they had ever heard. It came from
students from Auckland Girls, Grammar, Avondale College, De La Salle,

(02:10):
Calston Boys, Calston Girls, glened An Intermediate, Marcel and College,
Marist College, Mount Album, Mount Albert Grammar, Southern Cross, Saint Mary's,
Saint Paul's College, and Saint Peter's. Names Departier is the
musical director joins me now to.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Lafa Sallos for lover. Thank you very much for having
me this morning.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
What an amazing experience. How were you selected? How does
it happen?

Speaker 3 (02:39):
My wife actually is contracted to a company called Kojo,
who was contracted by m Z are you and we've
been We've had the privilege of singing a number of
anthems since twenty twenty one, not just for rugby but
for rugby league and other sports as well, I think

(03:01):
netball as well. And so to be given this opportunity
to do the South African national anthem along the New
Zealand one, and we've done the New Zealand one a
number of times. Yeah, I had a different arrangement for
the New Zealand one for previous games, but after doing
the South African national anthem, I had to rearrange the

(03:22):
New Zealand one again, so just so it could be
close to the level of were South Africa's anthem is that.
I mean, it's a tough one musically, you know, the
South African national anthem is a beautiful melody and I'm
not saying our New Zealand one is not a beautiful melody,
but yeah, it's when you compare them both. The South

(03:44):
African one has always been my favorite and I'm a
proud Kiwi and I sing our national anthem with pride
all the time. But musically and melodically, the South African
one has always had this just this beautiful, beautiful melody
that we can sing along to. So it's a real
honor and a privilege to have been given that opportunity

(04:05):
and for our kids to experience that in that moment,
because it was crazy to be on the field and
to solicit to everyone in the stands singing. It was
such an amazing feeling.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
I'm getting ghostbumps again just thinking about it because.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
It was I'm looking at my leg and all the
fee bumps on it.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
It's just incredible hearing hearing a crowd raise, you know,
raise their voices and song like that led so capably
by your choir. But why is it your favorite? Because
along with the sporting competitions is always a competition about
who has the best anthem, and the French are widely
regarded because it's so jaunty.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
And yes, I think for me it's a it's a
melody thing. And I think it's because I was raised
Methodists and we sing a lot of hymns growing up,
and that just has you know, good point just has
that nostalgic feeling for me. Not only that to have

(05:02):
the three different languages, you get the three different feelings
along with it as well. Well there's four different languages,
but we're all used to the English one and it's
a beautiful melody written for that one as well. But yeah,
I think that's why it's just a musical thing for me,
just the way it was written. And I understand that.

(05:25):
I just learned recently actually from another South African saying
that the first two verses weren't the original for the anthem,
and so yeah, that's it's relatively new, and I don't
know if it's in the last twenty thirty or fifty years,
but I know it was added on and so the
South African anthem had a different anthem, and I think

(05:48):
that was pretty apart side it was and so once
when yeah, that was squashed, then they added in the
two verses from the two different African tribes.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Ah, So how long does it take you to put
your and how much sort of are to interpretation can
you put into the anthems while still staying true to
the anthem itself.

Speaker 3 (06:14):
I think, yeah, it just took a little bit of
time to sit down. Firstly, to learn the language was
probably the most difficult part, and it was the part
I was most nervous about, because there's nothing worse than
singing another anthem in another different language and you get
certain phrases wrong or words wrong, and so yeah, I

(06:36):
had to really sit down and nitpick the language. And
thankfully YouTube is a great source of it has a
great source. And there was a lady on YouTube who
broke down the national anthem. She was a South African
leading and she broke it down and I just listened
to her word for word, line by line, and once
when I was happy with that, I started singing to it.

(06:58):
And then I took it to my choir and did
exactly the same thing. We learned it line by line.
We learned how to speak at first before I started
teaching them the maladies for it, and we just that
was the process of it until we got to the
end of it.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, I was going to say that because it's one
thing for you to do that you then had to
impart that knowledge onto those amazing young people who were
out on the field. So how long it? Honestly, the
text of got I'm going to read them out in
a minute like people were weeping. They congratulated you on
the fact that you spoke it so well as an

(07:34):
next South African. It gives gave me chills down my spine.
They were perfect, especially the Afrikaans, the Zosa, the Zulu, sisilthor. Yes, amazing,
like everybody saying that and then I saw it worldwide.
Were you surprised at just how far reaching the impact
of those anthems had.

Speaker 3 (07:56):
Definitely, it's definitely been really overwhelming. Yeah, just seeing all
the feedback in the response, Yeah, it's definitely beautiful to see.
And I'm just really proud and really proud of our
especially of our kids, because at the end of the day,
it's their voices that have to betray this. It's their
voices that, you know, out of that feeling that everyone

(08:17):
is feeling. And so I'm just extremely proud of all
the kids that took part in this.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
So you should be, and you should be proud of
the what you're the work you've done too. Everybody's saying,
can we please hear from you again? When are you
next going to be singing? You've got a bit of Wellington.
Surely I'll fly you down.

Speaker 3 (08:35):
I don't know if we're going to be at Wellington
and I won't make any promises around that. We'll just
leave that to insured AREU. But I know we are
performing for the We're doing the anthems for the All
Black Australia game that yes, and we're also doing for
rugby League. We're doing the Kiwis versus sound war again.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yay.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
I'm so glad.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yes, those are the thing that's coming up for us.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Oh that's good. I'm going to the letters low so
I shall look forward to hearing you again. But was
that the best version of crowd singing of our national
anthem that you have heard normally? Were? But wait, yeah,
I thought it was.

Speaker 3 (09:15):
It was one of the things that blew me away
because we had sung the national anthem, like I said,
since twenty twenty one at a number of games, but
that one there especially, and I think New Zealanders had
to represent it that moment. After listening to all the
South African thing there. You know, we're that type of country.
We're not going to be out done by you know,

(09:39):
so here it and I listened back to the video
and I was so proud of all the New Zealanders
that just really yeah, put their heart and soul in
singing it because you can hear it, you can feel it.

Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, well you started it, you led it. Your kids
were amazing. Thank you so much for your time. Names
to party. Who's the music director of the most incredible
Auckland pacifica secondary schools choir.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
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