They may have just been named one of the top Sweet Adelines choruses in the world, but Robyn Abernethy is pretty sure that won’t qualify them to make superstar dressing room demands for things like yellow M&Ms, a basket of kittens, rose-scented candles and a case of Dom Perignon at their future concerts.
Ms Abernethy and seven other Dunedin singers joined the Christchurch City Chorus to represent New Zealand at the recent 2024 Sweet Adelines International Chorus Competition in Kansas City, United States.
They competed against 40 other choruses from around the world in the semifinals, before being selected as one of 10 finalists.
She said there was shock from within the ensemble when it was first announced they were fifth in the competition, behind winners North Metro Chorus (Toronto, Canada), runners-up Song of Atlanta Chorus (Atlanta, United States), third-placed Skyline Chorus (Denver, United States) and fourth-placed Harborlites Chorus (Anaheim, United States).
Just making it to the finals was a really big deal, she said.
The barbershop style of singing was very popular in the United States and the quality of the choruses was extremely high.
"We were one of only two choruses from outside America to reach the finals.
"It took quite a while for it to sink in, really."
She said waiting for the finals results to come out was like a "rollercoaster".
"They read out the results from the bottom up and the longer it takes them to call out your chorus’s name, the higher and higher the excitement gets."
Ms Abernethy said the result had given her and the rest of the chorus a huge confidence boost because it had shown New Zealand was up there with the best in the world.
"The learning that we’ve gained from this, we’ve been able to bring back to our little chorus here in Dunedin, which is really helpful as well.
"It’s really given us a boost."
Keep an ear out for them in the future, she said.
