Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand
The home of the national choirs
Our national choirs
Our annual competition to stimulate the creation of new and diverse New Zealand music for choirs. Learn more
OUtreach & engagement
We’re always looking at ways to connect with communities and share the joys of singing. Get in touch if you’d like to chat about working together.
NEWS
Meet our new CANZ Assistant Conductor for 2025!
18 December 2024 2024
Introducing Jono Palmer as our next Assistant Conductor! Read more…
Our Te Ao Māori journey
CANZ seeks to protect and honour the national taonga of Te Ao Māori both when we perform with our national choirs and in our day to day operations
About
Our story
“This is a story of vision and commitment in which eight themes can be traced. These themes are: high quality musical leadership, a culture of high sacrifice and high reward, challenging repertoire, good communication within all levels of the choir, improving musicianship, and the loyalty of audiences and sponsors.” – Choir of the World: Simon Tipping published by Dunmore Press 2002.
Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand Trust’s purpose is to create, nurture and promote vocal excellence in choral singing.
Our objective is to sustain and promote four complementary but distinct choirs; an internationally renowned professional choir – Voices New Zealand, and three training youth choirs, the New Zealand Youth Choir, New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir and Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir, which inspire and develop New Zealand’s extraordinary young talent.
Photo: this background picture is a snapshot from the first rehearsal of the then National Youth Choir in August 1979 at Knox Church Hall in Lower Hutt.
Under the artistic guidance of
2019 – Susan Densem (Music Director – NZ Secondary Students’ Choir)
2011 – David Squire (Music Director – NZ Youth Choir)
1989 – Dr Karen Grylls (Artistic Director)
1983 – 1988 Prof. Peter Godfrey (Music Director)
1979 – 1984 Prof. Peter Godfrey (Guest Conductor)
1982 – 1987 David Wood (Assistant Music Director)
1979 – 1982 Dr Guy Jansen (Music Director)
and under the management of:
2016 – Arne Herrmann
2010 – 2016 Roger Lloyd
2008 – 2010 Barbara George
2002 – 2007 Jenny Jamieson
2001 – 2002 Lucy Tod
2001 – 2001 Mark da Vanzo
1992 – 2001 Jacqui Simpson
1989 – 1992 Neil Henderson
1985 – 1988 Paddy Nash
1979 – 1984 Colin Brown
Our People
Our trustees and senior staff
AMANDA BARCLAY
Trustee SINCE 2019
Amanda Barclay is a lawyer and public servant based in Wellington.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Music from the
University of Otago, and a Masters in Law, (In House Practice) from
the College of Law in Sydney.
Amanda has been a member of all three national choirs; NZSSC,
National Youth Choir and Voices NZ, as well as being a member of the New Zealand Opera Chorus
and Wellington based Tudor Consort ensemble.
Diana Cable
Trustee since 1989
Diana Cable has 24 years’ experience in the arts sector. After 4 years as an Industrial Relations Officer in the State Services Commission, Diana turned to the arts in 1986. One year managing Wellington City Opera was followed by 10 years as a Music Producer at Radio New Zealand Concert. She then worked as an independent producer for 7 years and was appointed as Artistic Administrator of the New Zealand International Arts Festival in 2003, after working for the Festival on a contract basis from 1997.
Having managed the Lexus Song Quest (formerly Mobil) since 1990, Diana also has considerable experience working with young singers.
Diana is a member of the Board of Trustees of Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand and Chair of its Artistic Advisory Group, a member of the Wellington Creative Communities grants committee and a Past President of the New Zealand Opera Society.
Diana is an alumnus of the New Zealand Youth Choir
Warren kilham
Trustee SINCE 2020
Warren Kilham is a Chartered Accountant and business leader based in Auckland. He holds a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland and is a member of the Institute of Directors. Warren has been a member of two of the three national choirs, New Zealand Youth Choir and Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir.
RICHARD SORRENSON
CHAIR (TRUSTEE SINCE 2020)
Richard was a founding member of the NZ Youth Choir and has also sung in the NZ Opera Chorus, Viva Voce, and Auckland Choral; initially as a B2 but latterly as a B1. He took degrees in chemistry (Auckland) and history of science (Princeton) and now is General Manager of the University of Auckland Foundation and its endowment fund. He also chairs the board governing the Auckland Observatory and Planetarium (aka “Stardome”).
LINDA WEBB MNZM
Trustee since 2019
I have extensive experience in education that includes lecturing in pre-service teacher education, coordinating Professional Practice and the selection of teacher trainee intakes; teaching in a range of settings as a music specialist and classroom generalist in primary schools and the wider community.
Governance roles have included chairing Music Education New Zealand Aotearoa (MENZA), and the inaugural NZSM MMus Therapy post graduate programme external advisory board. Currently I am President and interim Chair for the Music Therapy New Zealand
Council (MThNZ) and have recently been a member of the Registration Board. I am the national representative for MENZA on the International Society for Music Education (ISME) Council, and a member of the Advocacy working group.
My longstanding interest in supporting emerging talent includes young singers, and I have had the privilege of Chairing the NZSSC Trust Board for ten years. I am excited by the new opportunities that merging with CANZ brings, and look forward to working on the CANZ Board to further champion and expand the scope of the national choirs.
BIANCA Beard (nee DAVIDSON)
(Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Hine)
Trustee since 2023
Bianca is a qualified optometrist and choral singer based in Auckland. She holds a Bachelor of Optometry with First Class Honours from The University of Auckland, graduating as a Senior Scholar with a Dean’s Medal. Bianca is also undertaking further study in te reo Māori.
Bianca was a long term member of the New Zealand Youth Choir and currently sings with Voices New Zealand and the Auckland Chamber Choir.
GINA ROGERS
TRUSTEE SINCE 2024
Gina Rogers is a Communications Executive based in Wellington. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and English and Bachelor of Broadcasting Communications in Journalism. Gina worked as a programme editor and journalist for IRN, TVNZ and RNZ in New Zealand and CNBC Europe and BBC World in the UK. She has since managed communications for NZ On Air and the New Zealand Film Commission and is General Manager Communications at IHC New Zealand. She is a Member of the Institute of Directors New Zealand and enjoys music and the arts.
Arne Herrmann
chief executive
Arne Herrmann has worked for over 20 years in Arts and Festival Management in New Zealand.
He held senior management positions at New Zealand Festival, Auckland Arts Festival, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, UNITEC School of Performing and Screen Arts and the contemporary dance company The Human Garden. Arne was the Festival Director of the National Jazz Festival and Garden&ArtFest in Tauranga. His work also included the Lexus SongQuest, Michael Hill International Violin Competition, Wellington
Jazz Festival and National Youth Jazz Competition.
As freelance consultant Arne’s clients included the New Zealand Opera, Indian Ink Theatre, Te Matatini Kapa Haka Festival and the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival.
Arne Herrmann took up the role as Chief Executive of Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand in May 2016.
RACHEL HARDIE
SENIOR PRODUCER
Rachel joined Choirs Aotearoa NZ in January 2025.
anGE kalogeropoulos
manager NZ Secondary studentS' Choir
Ange has worked for nearly 20 years in music management and joined CANZ in January 2023 in this role.
TAHLIA GRIFFIS
ASSISTANT PRODUCER
Tahlia is a composer from Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington. She holds a Bachelor of Music in instrumental/vocal composition, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Practice where she specialised in film scoring. Tahlia has worked on local projects such as BBC’s The Luminaries, Blue Moon, Loading Docs He Hekenga Tūhura and Haka Haha, and the TVNZ short series Little Apocalypse. Tahlia joined CANZ in 2023 as Assistant Producer to all four choirs, and has added Marketing and Media responsibilities in 2024. In her spare time, she writes her own music, enjoys video games, and sings in various vocal groups.
DR KAREN GRYLLS CNZM
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITA
MUSIC DIRECTOR - VOICES NEW ZEALAND CHAMBER CHOIR
Dr Karen Grylls CNZM founded Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir in 1998 and the choir has achieved great acclaim internationally in performance and recording. She is Associate Professor in Choral Conducting at the University of Auckland and was Conductor and Artistic Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir from 1989 to 2011, and Artistic Director of Toronto’s Exultate Chamber Choir from 2011 to 2013.
In 1996 Auckland University honoured her with a Distinguished Teaching Award in Music and in 2023 she became a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for her services to choral music. Karen is much in demand as an adjudicator for competitions worldwide, including the 48th International competition in Tolosa, the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition, Bavaria, and The World Choir Games in Xiamen, China. She is sought internationally as a choral clinician and regularly conducts masterclasses and workshops in Wales, England, North America, Canada and Australia.
David Squire
Music Director - NZ Youth Choir
David Squire is one of New Zealand’s most prominent conductors, and Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir. Founding member and vice-chair of the New Zealand Association of Choral Directors, he is also a national conducting advisor and tutor, and a governance board member of the New Zealand Choral Federation.
David was appointed to the position of Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir in 2011, and is the first alumnus conductor of the choir. He has led the choir on two international tours, including the USA and Canada in 2013, which featured performances of the War Requiem by Britten in the Walk Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, as well as concerts in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York and Washington DC. In 2016 the choir gave concerts in Singapore, the Czech Republic, France and the UK. Tour highlights included singing high mass at Notre-Dame in Paris, a lunchtime concert at Windsor Castle, and producing a live DVD recording of a well-received concert at St Johns Smith Square in London. The choir also participated in the Festival of Academic Choirs in Pardubice, Czech Republic, winning every category it entered, as well as the prize for outstanding vocal culture, and then going on to win the Grand Prix.
In March 2011 he was awarded a New Zealander of the Year Local Heroes Medal for services to music education.
Sue Densem
Music director - NZ Secondary Students' Choir
Susan’s professional singing career began in 1986 with Canterbury Opera, then continued as an opera singer and soprano soloist for many choral societies within New Zealand and Australia. She has toured extensively overseas performing with a number of ensembles and has been a soloist on many occasions for Sir David Willcocks.
After completing her music and teaching qualifications in Christchurch, she studied voice at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Susan is currently working as an ITM at Burnside High School where she teaches voice and conducts three award-winning choirs. She has also been Music Director of the Jubilate Singers and the University of Canterbury Chamber Choir (Consortia). As a chorister, she has sung in Voices New Zealand, NZ National Youth Choir, the Jubilate Singers and the Queensland University Chamber Singers.
ELISE BRADLEY MNZM
co-Music director - Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir
A passionate musician, award-winning conductor, and internationally respected educator, adjudicator and clinician, Elise Bradley served for many years as the Head of Department Music at Westlake Girls’ High School in Auckland, New Zealand. She founded and conducted the school’s renowned treble choir, Key Cygnetures from 1991-2007, and directed the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir from 2001-2007, both of which won numerous national and international awards. She was also a soloist and member of New Zealand’s National Chamber Choir, Voices New Zealand from 1998 – 2010. In January 2018, Ms. Bradley was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM), an honour awarded in recognition of her services to Music.
Elise repatriated home to New Zealand at the end of 2021, after 14½ years as the Artistic Director of the Toronto Children’s Chorus. During her tenure, the Chorus recorded professionally, commissioned Canadian compositions, collaborated with numerous international and national artists, and represented Toronto on nine international and four national tours. She also produced a virtual recording for the ACDA National Conference in 2021 and for the Hong Kong World Choral Festival in 2022. The Chorus is internationally recognized for the high standard of its performances, and for its challenging repertoire which spans diverse cultures, languages, and traditions. Its latest CD, Sounzscapes: From Our Lands, directed by Elise Bradley, was named the most Outstanding Choral Recording by Choral Canada in 2014.
rowan johnston
co-Music director - aotearoa NZ academy Choir
Rowan is a freelance choral conductor and clinician who has recently relocated with his whānau from Auckland to Wellington. He has just finished as Musical Director for the Auckland Youth Choir, Director of Choirs at Holy Trinity Cathedral Auckland and Musical Director of the internationally acclaimed school choir Choralation from Westlake Girls and Boys High Schools. Rowan is also an Associate Conductor for Voices NZ Chamber Choir and a National Choral Mentor for the New Zealand Choral Federation.
Along with being recently appointed to the Aotearoa NZ Academy Choir co-Directorship, he also begins this year conducting the Wellington Youth Choir, Seraphim at Chilton St James School and the Scots College Chamber Choir. He is a regular guest conductor at the Gondwana National Choral School in Australia and is in much demand as a conductor, adjudicator and clinician nationally and internationally. Under his leadership, Choralation was placed 1st in the Mixed Choir category at the Summa Cum Laude International Music Festival in Vienna, Austria.
As a singer, Rowan is a member of the Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir.
National Choirs
Singers nationwide
Songs in library
singers trained
COMPOSE AOTEAROA!
Our annual National Choral Composition Competition gives young and established composers a regular opportunity to write new music for choirs.
2023 Winners and results
Open Category
Winner: Knotted Flax by John Elmsly
Highly Commended
A Gift to Sing by Chris Artley
Cerberus by Colin Decio
Commended:
My cup overfloweth by Bjorn Arntsen
When David Heard by Chris Adams
25 and Under Category
Winner: Make a Joyful noise by Fergus Byett
Highly Commended
Ibong Adarna by Katherine Lopez
Rest by Thorin Williams
Commended:
Fire & Ice by Jordan Gunn
Waiata Tira Category
Winner: He Mele a ka Ikaika by Leilani Aaron
Works can be submitted to ONE of the following three categories
- Open category – prize $2,000
- Composers aged 25 years and under – prize $2,000
- Waiata Tira with substantial Te Reo Māori content (70%-100%) – prize $2,000
MORE INFO HERE
Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand Foundation
The Foundation is a charity created to build a capital endowment fund to future-proof New Zealand’s national choirs as they transform lives through and pursue excellence in choral music. This fund will help the choirs sing forever!
Find out more here.
Trustees
Charlotte Sullivan (Chair)
Linda Webb
Trevor Kempton
Warren Kilham
Contact
Want to hear more? Subscribe to our regular FineTune updates here.
- (+64) 4 499 0692
- PO Box 25025, Wellington, 6140 - Level 4, 35 Victoria Street Wellington 6011
- choirs@choirsnz.co.nz
