'Welcome to the visitors from afar," begins Karanga, by New Zealand composer David Hamilton. The words are underlined by the deep sounds of a conch shell (expertly played by Mark Prowen). It all made for a fitting start to this unusual mix of music from two very different eras and places - present day New Zealand and Renaissance England. No sooner had the conch shell finished reverberating around the high, vaulted rafters of Exeter College Chapel, than those same rafters were echoing to the instruction "Blow the trumpet in the new moon," a line from William Byrd's anthem Sing joyfully unto God our strength. No actual trumpet involved; instead, very well-balanced, crisp singing from the group Choros.

Choros founder and music director Janet Linc has spent time in New Zealand, studying and absorbing the country's musical heritage, and this concert was designed to demonstrate that the choral traditions of New Zealand and England have plenty in common.

Admittedly, Linc steers clear of anything aggressively atonal, but the music of the two periods and countries did indeed integrate seamlessly. For example, Sam Piper's Kyrie (from a requiem composed in 1994), with its evocation of gently tolling bells, was an ideal prelude to the following piece, Byrd's anthem Prevent us, O Lord. One moment you seemed to be standing outside a church, the next you were inside, listening to the choir.

Due notice was taken, too, of traditional Maori music, with its depiction of swirling mists, a tradition that is incorporated into Douglas Mews's The Lovesong of Rangipouri. This, to me, was the most powerful - unsettling even - work sung all evening. Learning Maori pronunciation cannot have been easy, but Choros sounded as fresh and vibrant at the end as they did at the beginning of this exhilarating concert.

"Well done," shouted a distinctly New Zealand-accented voice from the audience at the end. Quite right too.