A group of Tauranga students are heading across the Tasman this weekend to compete at an international music festival on one of the world's most renowned stages.

Tauranga Girls' College number one chorale Luminosa Armonia will join more than 1000 other participants on stage at the Sydney Opera House as they compete in the Australian International Music Festival.

Tauranga Girls' College chorale Luminosa Armonia.

The chorale, made up of Year 9 to 13 students, is one of three Kiwi groups taking part in the competition.

Head of the music department Stephanie Geor says the girls have been rehearsing 'very demanding repertoire” since November 2011.

'Taking the students overseas has been a long term dream for the senior students in the Chorale and myself.

'The opportunity to sing at the Sydney Opera House is one of those experiences that will bring back memories for a lifetime for the girls and they are very excited.”

Stephanie says an audition DVD is usually required to enter the event, but because Luminosa Armonia has a long standing record of high calibre performances, including winning two major awards at the NZ Choral Federation competitions last week, the girls were accepted without going through the audition process.

She says choral singing is a very complex art form.

'Trying to get 34 different voices with varying degrees of vocal experience and vocal maturity to sing as one voice is a challenging task.

'The girls have had to work incredibly hard in preparing for this trip.”

Principal Pauline Cowens is proud to have this dedicated group of singers representing Tauranga Girls' College.

She says it has been at least a 12-year dream for Stephanie to the musicians overseas to compete on the international stage.

'I am so pleased to see the Luminosa Armonia Chorale have this opportunity to explore the international scene and share their amazing talents.

'The chorale members come from all levels of the school and are a close knit group who are so supportive of each other in their passion for, and dedication to, music.

'I have seen them perform many times for our local community who give us hugely positive feedback on their ability, range of styles and languages they perform in, and the level of excellence they achieve.”