Pacific Connection sweeps Barbershop Harmony Nationals 2026 competition

Porirua choir Pacific Connection has taken top honours at the Barbershop Harmony New Zealand (BHNZ) National Convention in Wellington.

The group won the chorus division on the weekend while its female quartet took out the 2026 National Quartet Championship and the Audience Choice Award.

Pacific Connection’s winning chorus performances included arrangements of Josh Tatofi’s Sosefina and Ku’u Aloha, and their Earth, Wind & Fire Medley.

The competition was also a chance to put Pacific voices and languages front and centre.

“Pacific voices have such a uniqueness about them and a resonance,” Pacific Connection co-founder Herietta Hunkin-Tagaloa told 531pi prior to the event.

“To be able to fuse together two completely different genres of music...we have decided over the last couple of years to sing in Pacific languages.”

Watch Henrietta Hunkin-Tagaloa's full interview below.

The group’s male quartet, North West, also placed third earning a Bronze medal.

Hunkin-Tagaloa says the group’s success has grown from a simple desire to bring Pacific singers together.

“We know that as Pacific people...we love to sing,” Hunkin-Tagaloa says. “We started off with 23 members, and we've grown to just over 70 members today.

“We wanted just to come together to sing, but then we realised that we had quite a strong group of singers, and decided that we would enter the competition.”

The group was also under pressure to deliver as hosts after the competition was moved from Hawai’i to Wellington at short notice.

“For several different reasons there wasn't a huge uptake of groups wanting to travel,” she says. “I kind of voluntold the chorus that we were going to be the hosts.

“I kind of just put my hand up and said, you know what, if there's any group that can do this at the last minute it's Pacific Connection.”

The group, which was founded in 2019 to empower local Pasifika vocalists, has now added national titles to its international success.

Last year, Pacific Connection finished in third place at the world barbershop championships.

The national convention, Musika o Mātairangi, brought singers from across Aotearoa together to share their different sounds, stories and identities.

BHNZ says the name reflects the way barbershop harmony brings different voices together.

“Our convention is named Musika o Mātairangi - with musika, a pan-Pacific word for music, and Mātairangi, the name of Mt Victoria, which stands tall in the city of Wellington,” the organisation said in a statement.

“It serves as a quiet reminder that there is always something greater than ourselves, grounding our competition in connection.

Like the voices in barbershop harmony, our communities come together from across Aotearoa, each bringing their own sound, story, and spirit.”

Pacific Connection’s champion chorus and The E-Gals will now look towards representing Aotearoa at the International Barbershop Harmony Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota next year.