The soaring melodies and dramatic sounds of the Romantic era will take centre stage when Edgecumbe Choir presents its final concerts of the year.

Featuring works by Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn, An Afternoon with Felix and Franz marks a new musical direction for the choir, which has spent the year exploring earlier periods of classical music.

Musical director Chalium Poppy said the choir’s first concert of the year featured Renaissance music, followed by a programme of Baroque works. Moving into the Romantic era was a natural progression.

“Romantic music is a lot larger, a lot bigger and more dramatic, because the subject matter and the writing become more dramatic,” he said.

The change of style has also presented a challenge for the singers, who have had to develop a fuller, more powerful sound.

“It’s a little bit more demanding for singers. The choir has to step up a bit more than the music of the Baroque.

“In the Baroque period, you often have whole arias sung by soloists, where the choir gets to sit down and have a break. Well, that doesn’t really happen in the Romantic period.”

The concert will feature four soloists, who will weave in and out of the programme while the choir continues singing. The featured soprano is Kortnee Brooks, joined by alto Tracy Dixon-Shum, tenor Mike Liu and bass Henry Shum. Organist Karen Mosen will accompany the choir.

Brooks, an American mezzo-soprano trained in classical opera and vocal performance at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, moved to New Zealand in 2024. Her international experience includes opera performances in Germany, while her New Zealand credits include the role of Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act and appearances with Scholars Baroque Aotearoa.

Poppy, who also directs the Scholars Baroque Choir, described her as an exceptional and versatile singer.

“She can sing in any style. I think people will be absolutely blown away by her musicality.”

Dixon-Shum is a familiar face to Edgecumbe Choir audiences, having previously sung with the group as both a chorister and soloist. An experienced singer with extensive choral and musical theatre experience, she is also a member of Scholars Baroque Aotearoa. She is particularly pleased to be performing alongside her son, Henry.

Liu, who is travelling from Auckland for the concert, is an experienced tenor and member of the New Zealand Opera Chorus. He has performed in numerous opera productions and concerts and is a graduate of the New Zealand Opera School.

Auckland-based bass Henry Shum has performed with several choirs and musical theatre companies throughout the country. A member of Scholars Baroque Aotearoa since 2019, he has also appeared as a bass soloist with Edgecumbe Choir in previous concerts.

The choir will perform Schubert’s Mass in C Major, written in 1816 when the composer was just 19 and working as a novice schoolmaster at a church in Lichtental, Vienna.

“Most soloists know Schubert for his German songs, or lieder, and he wrote over 900 of them. He was an incredibly talented melodist.”

The programme also includes two works by Mendelssohn, Psalm 42 and Hear My Prayer.

“Psalm 42 is one of my favourite opening choruses in all choral music. It has really exquisitely shaped phrases and ideas,” Poppy said.

His choice of repertoire is guided by the beauty of the music, and he believes the works are particularly suited to the season.

“We’re in spring and I wanted to choose music that’s quite optimistic.

“Mendelssohn and Schubert especially wrote this music in the spring of their lives, when they were just starting out.”

Poppy is also keen for audiences to hear the concert’s organist, Karen Mosen. Born in Malaysia and educated in England, she returned to organ playing in 2020 after many years away from the instrument.

In December 2025, she became the first person in New Zealand to gain the New Zealand Music Examinations Board Associate Diploma in Organ Performance. She is now Organ Scholar at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Mount Maunganui.

Although the Romantic repertoire is new territory for the choir, Poppy hopes audiences will embrace the change.

“If people don’t know the music of the Romantics, this would be a great concert to come to. It’s all lovely, beautiful music and it’s very accessible.”

The concerts are on November 14 and 15.

The Edgecumbe Choir – An afternoon with Felix and Franz

■ Where: St George and St John Church

■ When: 3pm, Saturday, November 14 and 3pm, Sunday, November 15

■ Tickets: www.edgecumbechoir.org $30 until Monday, November 9, then $35; $5 students and children