VoCo begins
VoCo launched as a community voice concert in Auckland, creating a shared stage for local singing groups and audiences.
Voice Community New Zealand
About VoCo
VoCo is Auckland's Voice Community: a public platform where community choirs, guest artists, conductors, audiences, and individual singers meet through shared performance.
One voice community, many choirs
VoCo is based in Auckland, New Zealand and brings local and visiting choirs together through performance, collaboration, and shared singing. It is not simply one choir presenting one concert. It is a wider musical community shaped by generosity, quality, and connection.
2016
Founded as a shared stage for Auckland singing communities.
Auckland
Rooted in the local choral and a cappella scene.
Many styles
Choral, gospel, barbershop, jazz, waiata, folk, contemporary, and more.
Stellar
Powered by Stellar Singers and the VoCo event team.
Why VoCo exists
A concert that makes space for the whole community
VoCo exists to give community singers a high-quality public stage and to give audiences a direct way into Auckland's singing life. The event brings together ensembles with different languages, cultures, musical traditions, and levels of experience, then frames them as one shared musical story.
For singers, VoCo is a chance to perform with purpose. For conductors, it is a place to connect with peers. For audiences, it is a live snapshot of the voices already active across the city.
VoCo history
The public story has grown from a local community concert into a recurring Auckland gathering, with international guests, a COVID pause from 2020 to 2022, and a renewed focus on shared massed singing. The three most recent VoCo concerts, 2023, 2024, and 2025, were sold out.
International festival year
The festival expanded with visiting artists including The Real Group, Westminster Chorus, and Lovenotes, alongside workshops and public singing events.
A wider Auckland voice community
VoCo continued to bring together groups across choral, a cappella, gospel, barbershop, jazz, contemporary, waiata, and folk traditions.
COVID pause
VoCo did not take place during 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on live community singing events.
Return after the COVID pause
VoCo returned with a strong local line-up, renewing its purpose as a welcoming platform for community ensembles.
He Waka Eke Noa
A shared massed item became a clear symbol of the VoCo idea: many groups, one wider sound.
Aotearoa Arirang at Auckland Town Hall
VoCo moved into the heart of Auckland with a special edition at Auckland Town Hall, featuring 12 community voice groups and Tim Wayne-Wright.
People behind the sound
VoCo is shaped by musicians and volunteers who understand both performance standards and community singing. That balance is what gives the event its public identity.
Brian Lee
Founder of VoCo, founder and musical director of Stellar Singers, and a long-standing builder of Auckland choir communities.
Tim Wayne-Wright
An alumnus of The King's Singers and one of Auckland's most distinguished vocal mentors, he brings refined ensemble artistry and singer development to VoCo.
Stellar Singers
The community vocal ensemble that powers VoCo and helps carry its performance culture, event team, and public mission.
Be part of VoCo
Sing, listen, support, or start a conversation
VoCo is public-facing by design. You can come as an audience member, join the seasonal VoCo Singers pathway, bring a group into the wider community, or support the event through sponsorship and donations.
Public references
VoCo has appeared in public listings, media stories, and participating choir updates. These links give outside context for the festival story.