SILVER THREADS

SUNDAY 25 APRIL 5.00PM. AUCKLAND TOWN HALL, CONCERT CHAMBER

While Anzac Day may not be the perfect choice for a VV Silver Anniversary celebration, the date certainly is ... and not just because of the number: April was the month we had our first meeting all those 25 years ago. Not surprisingly, our concert theme is "silver" and its various connotations – beauty, sparkle, magic, wealth, slightly greying locks and, of course, anniversaries. And while we'll be singing some of our favourite music, we've also commissioned some of our favourite composers to write a series of silvery pieces for us to première. What's more, we'll be announcing a brand new initiative to help us – now that we've got the silver – to go for gold.

DENIAL, DECISION, DELIVERANCE

SATURDAY 3 JULY 7:30PM ST PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL 43 WYNDHAM ST

Our now annual concert with orchestra and soloists begins with two superb histoires sacrées (dramatic bible stories) by the 17thC French great, Marc-Antoine Charpentier – his involving and even humorous "Judgment of Solomon", in which the wise king decides what to do with a disputed baby, and his heartbreaking "Denial of St Peter", famous for its final flevit amare ('wept bitterly') chorus. We then turn our Baroque band into a more Romantic one to perform what Gabriel Fauré called his 'lullaby of death', the much-loved Requiem. A moving sacred concert with full complement of top soloists, in the wonderfully appropriate surroundings of St Patrick's Cathedral.

VV GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER 5:00PM AUCKLAND TOWN HALL GREAT HALL

It's always good to go somewhere special on your anniversary, but we strolled down Broadway several years ago and we couldn't find an arrangement of "When you wish upon a star" for Disneyland. So we've decided to take a trip to Tinsel Town, the home of the silver screen.We'll be scouring disused sets and fossicking through old film canisters to find all the great music of the movies – or at least the pieces sung by choir ... and the pieces we feel choirs should have sung! Join us at Auckland's red-carpet venue for an evening of choral variety, glamour and fun, but watch out for paparazzi.