ALUMNI
Alexander Sinclair
BASS 2013-2019
Alex is from Palmerston North and lives in Wellington. He was in the 2013 NZ Youth Choir and has rejoined the Choir again for the 2017-19 cycle.Alex is currently studying towards a BA (International Relations and Economics) and a LLB at Victoria University. Sponsored byThe Sinclair Family
Madeleine Pierard
SOPRANO 2000-2003
Lyric Soprano, Madeleine Pierard began her musical life as a pianist and chorister in Napier, New Zealand and later as a member of The New Zealand Youth Choir, The Tudor Consort and Voices New Zealand.http://www.madeleinepierard.com/
Natasha Wilson
SOPRANO 2014-2016
Clara Rowe
ALTO 2014-2019
Clara is from the North Shore in Auckland. After attending Westlake Girls she went to AUT to complete a Bachelor of Business. She is currently studying for a masters degree at Monash University in Melbourne.She enjoys choral singing and joined NZYC in 2014 for two years and performed the Verdi Requiem with Bach Musica. Clara also plays cello and trumpet and has now re-joined NZYC for the 2017-1019 choir.
Tania Verdonk
SOPRANO 2001-2003
Tania was introduced to choral singing at Westlake Girls High School, singing with Key Cygnetures. She went on to join the NZ Youth Choir, further developing her passion for music. Tania studied a Bachelor of Music at Auckland University, followed by a teaching diploma. She spent time developing local adult and children’s choirs in the Warkworth and Kaipara […]
Teddy Tahu Rhodes
BASS 1984-1988
New Zealand baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and studied with David Harper. He has performed with the opera houses of San Francisco, Philadelphia, Austin, Washington, Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Santa Fe, Munich, Hamburg and Leipzig, and for Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Chatelet Theatre Paris and Theater an der Wien.
William King
BASS 2014-2019
Will King is from Auckland and currently lives in Wellington. Will was in the 2014-16 NZ Youth Choir and has returned for the 2017-19 cycle. Will attended Auckland Grammar School and is currently at Victoria University of Wellington studying Classical Performance in Voice.
Grace Sturgess
SOPRANO 2014-2019
Grace is a music and science student at Auckland University.After finishing Saint Kentigern College in South Auckland, Grace move to Auckland University to pursue her passion for singing with a Bachelor of Music in Voice performance.Grace joined NZYC in 2014 and will start her second turn with the choir in 2017.
David Williams
BASS 2014-2019
David is from Wellington.David was a member if the 2014-16 NZ Youth Choir and has retunred again for the 2017-19 cycle.David is a member of the Wellington Youth Choir and is currently completing a BMus at Victoria University. David plays classical and bass guitar.
Oliver Fetherston
BASS -2018
Oliver is from Auckland and is currently studying in Wellington.Oliver was a member of the 2016 NZ Youth Choir and has returned for the 2017-19 cycle.He attended Westlake Boys’ High School and is currently studying a BMus Performance in Classical Guitar at Victoria University.As well as playing the guitar, Oliver also plays violin and piano.
Martin Snell
BASS 1979-1988
I value enormously the experiences of my National Youth Choir association, the friendships established over a long period which still hold today, although many are now spread beyond New Zealand
Garth Norman
BASS 2015-2019
Garth is from Wellington.He was a member of the 2016 NZ Youth Choir and has returned for the 2017-19 cycle.Garth attended Wellington College and is currently studying a BMus in Voice and BA in Media Studies at Victoria University.
Chelsea Whitfield
SOPRANO 2013-2019
Chelsea graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Music majoring in organ performances.She attended Wellington East Girls’ College and started learning the organ, piano and violin. Chelsea performs regularly with the Cathedral Choir (Wellington Cathedral of St Paul), The Tudor Conort and the vocal ensemble Anon. Chelsea joined NZYC in 2013 and is now embarking on her second turn.
Amy Chang
ALTO 2015-2019
Amy is an itinerant music teacher and accompanist, and is also studying towards a Master of Music at the University of Auckland, specialising in Collaborative Piano. She is originally from Taiwan where she began piano at the age of four, immigrated to New Zealand in 2002 and became an official ‘Kiwi’ in 2006.
Vishan Appanna
TENOR 2014-2019
Vishan is secondary mathematics teacher based in Wellington. He is in a local choir, and musical theatre society; Supertonic and Wellington Footlights. He also plays football socially.
Patricia Goldsmith
SOPRANO 1980-1980
Thomas Song
TENOR 2017-2019
Thomas hails from distant lands of South Korea, having made the move back in 2002, and in 2015 he graduated from Westlake Boys. During his time in high school, Thomas was part of the choirs ‘Voicemale’ and ‘Choralation’, as well as being part of the school’s Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. In 2014, they toured to Germany, Austria and Hungary, and participated in the annual ‘Summa Cum Laude’ festival held in Vienna.
Carla Camilleri
SOPRANO 2017 - 2018
Carla is a voice student at Auckland University in Classical Performance. She understudied ‘The Mistress’ for the 2016 Auckland season of ‘Evita’, plays the piano and speaks Maltese. Carla joined NZYC in 2017.
Nathan Hauraki
TENOR 2017-2019
Nathan is from Auckland.He attended Dilworth School and is currently studying a BA and BMus at the University of Auckland.Nathan was a member of NZ Secondary Students’ Choir and currently sings in Auckland Chamber Choir.
Te Ohorere Williams
SOPRANO 2017-2019
Auckland University music student Te Ohorere Williams has joined NZYC after singing with the NZ Secondary Students Choir for the last two years in the role of Cultural Leader.Playing the piano and studying voice with Fiona Wilson at Westlake Girls High School on Auckland’s North Shore, Te Ohorere also performed with the Chorolation Choir under Rowan Johnston.Te Ohorere joined NZYC in 2017.
Ella Ewen
SOPRANO 2014-2019
Ella is a student at Auckland University studying for a Bachelor in Music and Commerce.
She is a current member of the New Zealand Youth Choir and Auckland Chamber Choir. Ella is working with her singing teacher Dr. Morag Atchison and enjoys singing under Dr Karen Grylls at ACC. Ella joined Voices NZ in early 2018.
Matariki Pakaua
BASS 2017 - 2018
Matariki is from Dunedin.Matariki was in NZ Secondary Students’ ChoirHe attended Otago Boys’ High School and is currently studying a Bachelor of Perfoming Arts at Otago University.Matariki plays the guitar.
Leo Jaffrey
BASS 2017-2019
Leo is from Auckland.Leo is currently a member of Auckland Chamber Choir.He attended Rangitoto College and is currently studying a BMus (Composition and Voice) at Otago University.
Sophie Lamb
ALTO 2017-2019
After graduating from Epsom Girls Grammar, Sophie began her studies at Auckland University for a BMus in Classical Voice.She is a member of the Auckland University Chamber Choir and plays the piano.Sophie joined NZYC in 2017.
Alice Merrall
ALTO 2017-2019
Alice attended St Mary’s College and is now a student at Auckland University studying for a BMus in Voice Performance and a Bachelor of Science.Alice performed in ‘The Divas’ at the Opera Factory and at th south Auckland Performing Arts Competitions in 2015. She is a member of the Auckland Chamber Choir and Accord.Alice also plays piano and violin.
Kirsty Young
SOPRANO 2017 - 2018
Kirsty is a music student at the Univeristy of Waikato in Hamilton.She attended St Peter’s School in Cambridge where she started to learn the flute and singing. Kirsty was a member of the NZ Secondary Students’ Choir 2013-2014. She spent a gap year in Zimbabwe and is now back in the Waikato to study music.Kirsty joind NZYC in 2017.
Pene Pati
TENOR 2006-2007
Pene with his brother Amitai Pati from Mangere, and their North Shore baritone cousin Moses Mackay, are SOL3 MIO, a combination of three powerful and moving operatic voices, with more than a dash of uncontainable Samoan humour.
Kimberley Wood
ALTO 2017-2019
Cantaburian Kimberley Wood loves music and especially singing. Studying piano and saxophone during her time at St Margaret’s College (and a bit of Spanish), she joined the Christchurch Youth Choir and later the NZ Secondary Students’ Choir for 2013-14.
Rhiannon Cooper
SOPRANO 2017-2019
After attending Kamo High School near Whangarei, Rhiannon moved to Dunedin to study for a Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice at the University of Otago.She performed with OperaNorth for 9 years as a soprano and is now joining the New Zealand Youth Choir in 2017. Sponsored byIneke and David Kershaw
Nathaniel Otley
BASS 2017 - 2018
Nathaniel is from Dunedin.He was a member of NZ Secondary Students’ Choir.Nathaniel is studying a BMus at Otago University. He also plays the violin.
Erica Paterson
SOPRANO 2017-2019
Dunedin soprano Erica Paterson attended Bayfield High School before embarking on her BA in music and an Bachelor of Law.Receiveing vocal coaching from Judy Bellingham, Erica performed in her high school choir and took Grade 6 Trinity Music Performance exams with distinction.She also enjoys playing piano and a little bit of guitar.Erica joined NZYC in 2017.
Riley Cahill
BASS 2017-2019
Riley is from Auckland.Riley attended Westlake Boys’ High School and is currently a BCom/BMus at the University of Auckland.Riley also works for Crimson Education and plays U-19s football for Takapuna.
Georgia Finch
ALTO 2017-2019
Georgia is from Christchurch.She is currently a student nurse at the Ara Institue of Canterbury.Georgia was a member of the NZ Secondary Student Choir 2013/14, the Christchurch Youth Choir for 4 years and the Kolbe Singers.Georgia plays saxophone and viola.
Mark Pole
BASS 2017-2019
Mark is from Auckland.Mark attended Aorere College.He was a member of NZSSC from 2011-12 and The Graduate Choir from 2009-12.
Oliver Sewell
TENOR 2008-2009
Benett Tan
TENOR 2017-2019
Benett is from Auckland.He attended Westlake Boys’ High School and is currently studying at the University of Auckland.Benett plays the clarinet and violin.
Emma Fussell
SOPRANO 2017-2019
Emma joined NZYC in 2017. She is in her final semester of a Bachelor of Music (Classical Performance Voice) and Bachelor of Arts (European Studies) conjoint degree at the University of Auckland. During her music degree, she studied with Dr. Morag Atchison and Dr. Te Oti Rakena. She has been an active member of Auckland Chamber Choir for the past two years.
Isobel Topham
SOPRANO 2018-2019
Isobel Topham is a student at Otago University in Dunedin, currently undertaking postgraduate training in public health with a view to completing her PhD on the interface of neoliberalism, the food environment, and chronic disease. Her background is in veterinary medicine. Isobel’s musical background spans classical piano, barbershop, musical theatre and community choirs throughout the country.
Moses MacKay
BASS 2008-2010
North Shore baritone Moses Mackay together with Amitai and Pene Pati from Mangere are SOL3 MIO, a combination of three powerful and moving operatic voices, with more than a dash of uncontainable Samoan humour.
Amitai Pati
TENOR 2008-2010
Amitai with his brother Pene Pati from Mangere, and their North Shore baritone cousin Moses Mackay, are SOL3 MIO, a combination of three powerful and moving operatic voices, with more than a dash of uncontainable Samoan humour.
Tecwyn Evans
BASS 1989-1995
Caroline Maiava
SOPRANO 1995-1995
Caroline graduated from Victoria University in Wellington with a music and an arts degree before postgraduate studies abroad. During her time at the NZ Youth Choir she gained a deeper appreciation and passion for choral music. Currently, Caroline continues to enjoy teaching music abroad in international schools.
Jennie Verdonk
SOPRANO 2008-2010
Simon O’Neill
TENOR 1991-1992 (1st Bass)
Simon O’Neill has established himself as one of the finest helden-tenors on the international stage. He has frequently performed with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Berlin, Hamburg and Bayerische Staatsopern, Teatro alla Scala and the Bayreuth, Salzburg, Edinburgh and BBC Proms Festivals…
Anthony Ritchie
1979-1982
Anthony Ritchie studied composition at Canterbury University, and the Liszt Academy in Hungary. He moved to Dunedin in 1988 to be Mozart Fellow in composition, at Otago University, and later was Composer-in-Residence with the Dunedin Sinfonia completing his Symphony No 1 “Boum”. In 2000 his Symphony No2 was premiered by the Auckland Philarmonia at the International Festival of the Arts.In 2004 his opera, The God Boy, was a crtically acclaimed success at the Otago Arts Festival.In the last five years Anthony has had six CDs of his compositions released, including Remember Parihaka, featuring smaller orchestral works, NZ Poets in Song featuring songs, as well as chamber and piano music.Anthony is well known for the widely performed Flute Concerto, written for Alexa Still and recorded twice on CD.Anthony has composed over 150 compositions many of which have been performed internationally. He is now a senior lecturer in composition at the University of Otago in Dunedin.For further information www.anthonyritchie.co.nz
James Harrison
BASS 1993-1996
Logan Hunt
TENOR 2020-2021
I’m a 20 year old student from Wellington who’s in my last year studying musicology and composition, as well as a lot of maths on the side (which are much more compatible than you might think.) I’m an active chorister in the Wellington region, singing in several choirs and arranging songs for many more. I […]