Lindis Taylor you are an arrogant, colonial racist. How DARE you infer that Maori music culture is unequal with western art music, and how incredibly ignorant to suppose that they are so easily comparable. Be shamed for such a blatantly discriminatory, xenophobic article.

I will happily spread my disdain for your opinions and this article as you obviously have no serious multi-cultural understanding or appreciation.

I hate everything about your style of writing. Many of your phrases do not even make sense.

You represent everything that is wrong about this kind of competition, and you manage to suck out that which should be the most prominent; the spirit of fun and community.

Also, “a moderately big choir of tall girls??” WTF!

You are a loser. Stop writing.

Lindis,

I wonder what you mean by this disgraceful, racist remark? That Maori don’t achieve in classical music? That classical music and its culture are somehow better than Maori culture?

You assume that Maori regard their culture as “equal” (whatever that means) with other world cultures, and that doing so is problematic. Who are you to decide which culture is better than another? Moreover, who are you to favour a culture predominantly associated with the (white) upper classes above any other, thus perpetuating classical music’s elitist reputation and providing even more fodder for its detractors?

The Big Sing is a fantastic event celebrating music of all cultures performed by students from all over the country. It is a triumph of youth music in this country, and your shoddy and inaccurate review with these racist comments does the festival a great injustice.

Classical music isn’t yet “universal” and it’s because of people like you making comments like this. Shame on you.