Four generations of one Tauranga family will share the Baycourt stage this week as the Tauranga Primary Schools Music Festival celebrates seven decades of bringing young voices together.
The five-night festival from August 31 to September 4, has grown from its beginnings in the Tauranga Town Hall into one of the Bay of Plenty’s longest-running community arts events.
This year, 39 schools registered to take part, up from 32 last year. After several schools were unable to proceed, 34 will perform during festival week.
Former music director Carol Storey, seen here conducting in her final year in 2025, is now the president of the Tauranga Primary Schools’ Music Festival committee. Photo / Supplied
For music co-director and conductor Rachael McKoy, the 70th anniversary is particularly meaningful.
She first became involved as an intermediate student singing in the choir, later helped with opening items and is now the festival’s music co-director with fellow music director Jeremy Hantler.
“Becoming music director and having the opportunity to conduct these choirs has been incredibly special,” she said.
Children set to participate in the 1974 Primary Schools’ Music Festival, rehearsing at Ōtūmoetai Intermediate School. Photo / Tauranga City Libraries
The anniversary theme, Dream Big, features throughout the programme, including a song chosen to connect generations. Doris Day’s Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera) was released 70 years ago and featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 film The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Families will perform the song across the festival week, with three generations represented from Monday to Thursday.
On Friday, McKoy will sing with her grandmother, Pat Liddle, her mother, Andrea Pooley, and her 9-year-old daughter, Katie.
School children on stage at Baycourt at a Tauranga Primary Schools' Music Festival. Photo / Supplied
The four generations span the festival’s history. Pooley is a former music director who has accompanied the festival for many years, while Liddle had been part of the family’s musical journey across generations. “It’s a lot of fun to be involved and gives me great joy,” Liddle said.
Friday would mark Katie’s first festival.
“I feel really excited about singing on-stage and having a solo like that,” she said. “It makes me happy that I get to show my talent and sing with my family.”
There is a little nervousness too. “I also feel a little bit scared because I have never been on a stage with so many people looking at me.”
Co-director Jeremy Hantler with a school group ready to perform. Photo / Supplied.
The festival itself required months of preparation. Planning began as soon as a festival finished, with McKoy and Hantler selecting repertoire and creating arrangements for developing Year 4-8 voices.
They consider vocal range, harmony, melody and opportunities for students with different strengths to contribute. This year’s programme included a choral arrangement of Dream Big, which McKoy said had challenged students with its overlapping vocal lines.
Another highlight is This Is Me from The Greatest Showman, featuring a rap section and hip-hop dance.
Former Welcome Bay School pupil Hope Mitchell, who now attends Mount Maunganui Intermediate, singing at a previous festival aged 10. Photo / Supplied
Massed rehearsals began in Term 2, with another round in Term 3 that brought together the schools performing on each night. For many children, the rehearsals are when they experience the impact of singing alongside hundreds of other young people.
“Every additional school means more young people experiencing the joy of singing as part of something larger than themselves,” McKoy said.
Behind the scenes, more than 1000 children must be moved safely through Baycourt, with green rooms, arrivals, departures and whānau logistics carefully coordinated
School children on stage at Baycourt at a Tauranga Primary Schools' Music Festival. Photo / Supplied
McKoy said the festival continued because of the people who gave their time, including choir trainers, volunteers, accompanists, committee members, parents and sponsors.
That community effort had helped the festival evolve through the decades.
A 1960 programme shows the Tauranga Schools Music Festival was held at the Town Hall, with schools from Katikati to Omanu taking part and Tauranga Girls’ College Orchestra among the performers. By the mid-1970s it had moved to the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre before relocating to Baycourt in 1984.
Ballet dancers on stage at Baycourt during a Tauranga Primary Schools’ Music Festival. Photo / Supplied
For McKoy, performing at Baycourt remained an important part of the experience.
“Standing on a real stage under professional lighting and sound makes them feel that their efforts matter,” she said. “It feels huge because it is huge.”
Keeping the festival affordable was also a priority as families face increasing financial pressure. Support from the Tauranga Western Bay Community Event Fund, Kim Watt Real Estate (Ray White Tauranga), William Buck, StrongLite Staging and Tauranga City Council helped hold ticket prices.
“Without their support, the only way to cover expenses would be through increasing ticket prices,” McKoy said.
Co-director Jeremy Hantler conducting one of the shows. Photo / Supplied
Ultimately, she hoped the children performing would carry their love of music into the future, and perhaps return one day as choir trainers, accompanists, committee members or music directors.
The festival reaching 100 years would be an extraordinary milestone, she said.
For now, the focus was on celebrating 70 years, and the generations of young voices, families and volunteers who’d made the event possible.
“These young voices are a taonga, a treasure,” McKoy said, “and through this festival they carry the future of the arts into our schools, our community, and the generations still to come”.
Rosalie Liddle Crawford is a multimedia journalist with a background in music. She is the sister of Andrea Pooley and daughter of Pat Liddle, who are mentioned in this story.