VOCAL BLOKES A Wellington-based community male-voice choir Haere mai. Welcome to our Vocal Blokes website. We are a group of men who enjoy singing every Tuesday. 7.00 to 9.00 pm, the former Salvation Army Hall, 209 The Parade, Island Bay, Wellington   Vocal Blokes was formed in 2020. We are a group of around 20 – 25 men who look forward to singing a varied portfolio of songs each week. We learn by listening to harmonies, performing ‘a cappella’, and accessing audio and music scores.  OUR SONGS: We sing folk, blues, world music, popular songs, ballads, and new works composed by our director. OUR SONG LEADERSHIP: Paddy Shanahan is the young, high-energy music director of Vocal Blokes—part coach, part arranger, part chief-encourager. Wellington-born and trained at Te Kōkī–New Zealand School of Music (BMus(Hons) in vocal performance), he studied with Margaret Medlyn and Wade Kernot and has already clocked serious stage miles, including singing the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in the Netherlands with the International Bel Canto Academy. Back home, Paddy’s sung and worked across opera and theatre—from La Sonnambula, Lucia di Lammermoor and La Traviata (Wellington Opera/Days Bay Opera) to roles like Rhadamanthus in Orpheus in the Underworld, Pandolf in Cinderella, and Handworker II in Wozzeck. On the concert side, he’s featured in masterclasses with Simon O’Neill, Madeleine Pierard, Sasha Cooke, and Natalie Murray Beale, and performed works ranging from De Lalande’s Te Deum to Haydn’s Creation. What matters for singers? Paddy keeps rehearsals clear, upbeat, and achievable. He knows how to build confidence fast—shaping parts that sit well in the voice, unlocking blend, and getting to that “goosebumps” moment without the stress. If you like the sound of singing better than you thought you could—and enjoying it—Paddy’s the leader you want out front.   Andreas Lepper, our percussionist, has been a performing, recording, initiating & managing percussionist around the Cook Strait area since arriving from Europe in 1982. Many genres have affected him but Caribbean, South American and Balkan rhythms led him to join bands such as Toro Loco Banda, Paris Troika, Zamba Flam, Sulco d’Alma, Balkanistas, Balkany. His focus includes working with youth, the performing arts, facilitating sessions with people marginalized by mental illness and those with intellectual, physical, and associated disabilities. We enjoy Andreas’ lively, supportive and creative accompanying role in Vocal Blokes. OUR MEN: Some of us read music, some had never sung in a group before and some have previous experience in choirs.  We are men of all ages who enjoy the camaraderie we have together. OUR PURPOSE: We are a secular group that sings for pleasure. Public performances are an addition to our prime enjoyment, which comes from listening to each other exploring sounds.  OUR ENVIRONMENT:  We meet in a relaxed studio surrounded by instruments, our percussionist encourages us to play. Our director sings with us. There is laughter, friendship, banter, free movement and time to relax.  PERFORMANCES: We sing in concerts and events. In 2021, Vocal Blokes presented a show, ‘Real Men Don’t Sing’ , in the Wellington Fringe Festival. In 2024, our Fringe festival offering was 'Songs in the Key of Love'. We've sung concerts in a bike shop, at the Sunday market, at Moore Wilsons, and in Greytown. The Vocal Blokes ethos includes energy and drama in rehearsals and performances and we are interested in meeting requests asking us to perform. OUR HISTORY: Many of us sang from 2007 to 2019 in ‘MaleVocale’, an ensemble that performed in Cuba Dupa, Beervana, in the film ‘No Ordinary Sheila’, opened for a touring group, and presented to full houses in annual concerts.  MEMBERSHIP: We welcome your enquiry and attendance at two sessions to see if we suit each other. There is no audition. Fees are $125 (full rate) or $90 (Concession). No one is turned away for lack of funds. For members who join partway through a term, fees are on a pro rata basis. Donations are gratefully received. For more information and to be welcomed to Vocal Blokes, contact us at: mail@vocalblokes.org.nz, or mobile 027 445 1855 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vocalblokes/