The Street Requiem
to live in in the world,” Blackwell said.
“People who are homeless face bias and discrimination and have mental health issues, which leads to a lot of suffering.”
The proceeds from the concert will go to the Auckland City Mission, Lifewise and Rainbow Youth — organisations that all do work supporting the city’s homeless.
Blackwell said it was special to welcome members of the Auckland street choir, some of whom had lived rough, to the stage for the requiem.
“They are really good and it will be an honour to share a stage with them next week.”
Choir member David Reeves said The Street Requiem was a great way Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall Tuesday, 7.30pm To buy tickets visit www.aucklandlive.co.nz to mark GALS’ anniversary.
“We felt 25 years was an important milestone to mark . . . and we wanted to give back to the community.”
The Street Requiem is part of a global movement that premiered in Melbourne on June 7, 2014.
It’s the brainchild of Australian conductor Jonathon Welch who composed the music together with Kathleen McGuire and Andy Payne.
Welch’s aim was to “bring a sense of peace, remembrance and hope to communities struggling to come to terms with street violence, war and a loss of safety on our streets”.
Since its debut the requiem has been on some of the world’s largest stages, including at New York’s Carnegie Hall last year where a number of opera and Broadway stars performed.
GALS had its beginnings as a choir in 1992 at the Hero Party on Auckland’s Prince’s wharf, when New Zealand choreographer Michael Parmenter needed a choir for one of his works.
It has grown into a fully-fledged choir with a membership of about 60 people that has performed in festivals around the world.