Vocal FX and the Musical Island Boys

Zealandia presents top a capella act Vocal FX and the internationally-acclaimed barbershop quartet the Musical Island Boys for a one-night-only twilight concert on the banks of our scenic lake.

Vocal FX
Vocal FX is a young men's a cappella chorus based in Wellington, New Zealand. They were formed in 2003 and are directed by Charlotte Murray. They won the Gold Medal at the 2006 NZABS Convention, becoming the youngest chorus to hold the title, and again in 2009, making them the current champs.

Thanks to their success at the 2006 NZABS Convention, Vocal FX qualified to compete at the 2007 Barbershop Harmony Society Convention in Denver, Colorado. They were placed 11th out of 31 choruses competing, with an average score of 84.6. Vocal FX returned to New Zealand and competed in the 2007 NZABS Convention in Dunedin, retaining their title as the NZABS Chorus Champion. At the 2009 BHS Convention in Anaheim, California, Vocal FX further improved their ranking with an average score of 88.2, as well as moving up to 10th place.

The Musical Island Boys
The Musical Island Boys (MIB) barbershop quartet, of Jeffrey Hunkin (Tenor), Marcellus Washburn (Lead), Matthew Gifford (Bass) and William Hunkin (Baritone) have received National and International acclaim as an a cappella performance ensemble delivering a rich blend of unaccompanied music that is both refreshing and sophisticated, at a worldclass standard.

The quartet, based in Wellington New Zealand, reign from the Pacific nations of the Cook Islands, Samoa, Niue, and Aotearoa New Zealand. Their performance repertoire stretches from traditional barbershop harmony, to modern arrangements of wellknown tunes, to the unique harmonising of Māori and Polynesian tunes that culminate into one truly memorable performance.

The Musical Island Boys have a string of awards to their name for their achievements and innovation of music in the barbershop style. The quartet made a monumental mark on the New Zealand high school barbershop movement, after winning the 2002 and 2003 National Secondary Schools title. They went on to win the New Zealand Mens’ Open title in 2004, in the same year becoming Pan Pacific champions, and voted by their audience as the most entertaining quartet. They entered the International arena in 2004 and after two third place medals in 2004 and 2005, the quartet stormed the International Collegiate Contest in Indianapolis, USA in July 2006 earning the International Collegiate Gold Medal, and a place in the history books as the first non-American quartet to win an International title. Their score remains as the third highest in the history of the Collegiate contest, and the quartet remains as the highest scoring in New Zealand history. In 2007, the quartet convincingly won the NZ Men’s title again, earning them a spot as the New Zealand competitors at the 2009 International Men’s Open Contest to be held in Anaheim, California in July this year.