VOCAL CONSULTANT

DMA, DipRAM, PGDip(Perf), BMus(Hons), LRAM

Morag Atchison has firmly established herself as one of New Zealand’s leading sopranos, pedagogues, and choral educators. She studied at the University of Auckland and Royal Academy of Music (London) and was a finalist in the Kathleen Ferrier and Royal Over-Seas League Competitions. She has performed operatic roles including Berta, The Barber of Seville (NZ Opera) Helmwige, Die Walküre (NZSO); Lady-in-waiting, Verdi’s Macbeth; First Lady, Magic Flute (NBR NZ Opera); Fourth Maid, Strauss’ Elektra (APO); Blumenmädchen, Parsifal (NZSO); Annina, La traviata (English Touring Opera) and Sandrina, La Finta Giardiniera (Opera Unleashed, Hamilton Festival). Morag’s concert engagements include performances of the Britten War Requiem (CSO); Mozart Requiem (Voices NZ and Wellington Sinfonia); Handel’s Messiah (VNZ and WS; Auckland Choral); Verdi Requiem (Bach Musica); Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the NZYC and NZSO-NYO; and Beethoven’s Ah! perfido (APO and Manukau Symphony). In 2018 Morag travelled to England, France, Germany, and Spain as part of Voices New Zealand’s European tour and was a soloist on the soundtrack for the major motion-picture Mortal Engines. In 2022 her debut CD The Distance: Songs of David Hamilton was released on the Atoll label. Morag’s recent engagements include Britten’s War Requiem with Orchestra Wellington and the Orpheus Choir, she was the Guest Artist at the Lockwood NZ Aria Finals in Rotorua, singing with the Auckland Philharmonia, a performance of the Verdi Requiem with Auckland Choral, and a recital as part of the celebrations for the consecration of the Bishop of North Africa in Tunisia. Later in 2025 she will sing with Voices NZ as part of their European Tour.

 

Morag is a Senior Lecturer in Voice at the University of Auckland, vocal consultant for the acclaimed New Zealand Youth Choir, the University of Auckland Chamber Choir, and for over a decade worked with the award-winning Choralation from Westlake Girls’ and Boys’ High Schools. She was a regional judge for 2023 The Big Sing choral competition and in 2025 will be the judge for The Big Sing’s Cadenza festival. In 2013 Morag was awarded a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Auckland, the first DMA in vocal studies from a New Zealand University. In 2019 she was elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM).