Join the Aotearoa Academy Choir in their final performance of 2025!

In their third and final course this year, the Academy Choir will show off their skills and hard work as NZ’s top choral academy for young singers.

Choral canon works from near and far will transport you across the globe, learning about different cultures and various choral techniques that co-Music Directors Rowan and Elise have been teaching the choir. The MD’s and their commitment to up-skilling our young singers into mighty choristers culminates in this end-of-year performance.

We end the concert with a special nod and farewell to Rowan Johnston, who has successfully applied to be the next Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir. Rowan’s skill and knowledge as a choral conductor has bee invaluable to the Academy Choir over the last three years, and we will miss him dearly!

About Co-Music Director Elise Bradley MNZM

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.

Find out more here

About Co-Music Director Rowan Johnston

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 1^st 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.

Join the Aotearoa Academy Choir in their final performance of 2025!

In their third and final course this year, the Academy Choir will show off their skills and hard work as NZ’s top choral academy for young singers.

Choral canon works from near and far will transport you across the globe, learning about different cultures and various choral techniques that co-Music Directors Rowan and Elise have been teaching the choir. The MD’s and their commitment to up-skilling our young singers into mighty choristers culminates in this end-of-year performance.

We end the concert with a special nod and farewell to Rowan Johnston, who has successfully applied to be the next Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir. Rowan’s skill and knowledge as a choral conductor has bee invaluable to the Academy Choir over the last three years, and we will miss him dearly!

About Co-Music Director Elise Bradley MNZM

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.

Find out more here

About Co-Music Director Rowan Johnston

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 1^st 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.

The New Zealand Choral Federation (NZCF) presents Choral Connections, a concert featuring two of New Zealand’s finest youth choirs – the acclaimed New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, directed by Sue Densem, and the Aotearoa Academy Choir, directed by Rowan Johnston and Elise Bradley.

Set in the soaring acoustics of Wellington’s Cathedral of St Paul, this public concert forms the centrepiece of NZCF’s Choral Connect convention – a bi-annual professional development conference that brings together choral directors from around the country.

At the end of the concert, conference delegates with join with the two youth choirs to form a massed choir of over 150 voices to sing under the direction of international choral clinician Dr Pearl Shankuan.

New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir
Aotearoa’s national choir for secondary school students, NZSSC gathers during school holidays to rehearse and perform across the motu. Each two-year cycle culminates in an international tour: in July 2024, the choir travelled to China, where they took part in the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre Chorus Exchange, the Chorus and Conducting Art Conference in Hangzhou, and the China International Chorus Festival in Beijing.

NZSSC is directed by Sue Densem, alongside Assistant Conductor and Accompanist Brent Stewart and Assistant Conductor and Vocal Consultant Ben Madden.

Aotearoa New Zealand Academy Choir
The Academy Choir was established as a pipeline for talented singers from across Aotearoa who are aspiring to join NZSSC or the NZ Youth Choir. In 2024, the Academy Choir received a Gold Diploma at the World Choir Games in Auckland.

The Aotearoa Academy Choir is co-directed by Elise Bradley and Rowan Johnston.

Dr Pearl Shangkuan is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer and clinician who has led performances and workshops on six continents. She is the National President-elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the chorus director of the Grand Rapids Symphony and Professor Emerita of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has conducted several times at Carnegie Hall and other major concert halls in the US. Her guest conducting engagements regularly take her to Europe, Asia, and across North America.

A choral performance celebrating Mahuru Māori

We’re in for another treat this Mahuru Māori at the National Library. Last year, Te Rōpū Rangatahi Waiata o Aotearoa The New Zealand Youth Choir gave a public concert to celebrate this special month, and now the teina — The New Zealand Secondary Students’ choir (NZSSC) — will appear for a public performance as their tuakana did, performing waiata to celebrate te ātaahua hoki o te reo tūturu o Aotearoa.

Bring your hoa, your colleagues and your whānau kia whakanuia ēnei rangatahi me te reo rangatira — this concert is not to be missed!

Nau mai te katoa! Everyone is welcome!

A choral performance celebrating Mahuru Māori

We’re in for another treat this Mahuru Māori at the National Library. Last year, Te Rōpū Rangatahi Waiata o Aotearoa The New Zealand Youth Choir gave a public concert to celebrate this special month, and now the teina — The New Zealand Secondary Students’ choir (NZSSC) — will appear for a public performance as their tuakana did, performing waiata to celebrate te ātaahua hoki o te reo tūturu o Aotearoa.

Bring your hoa, your colleagues and your whānau kia whakanuia ēnei rangatahi me te reo rangatira — this concert is not to be missed!

Nau mai te katoa! Everyone is welcome!

The New Zealand Choral Federation (NZCF) presents Choral Connections, a concert featuring two of New Zealand’s finest youth choirs – the acclaimed New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, directed by Sue Densem, and the Aotearoa Academy Choir, directed by Rowan Johnston and Elise Bradley.

Set in the soaring acoustics of Wellington’s Cathedral of St Paul, this public concert forms the centrepiece of NZCF’s Choral Connect convention – a bi-annual professional development conference that brings together choral directors from around the country.

At the end of the concert, conference delegates with join with the two youth choirs to form a massed choir of over 150 voices to sing under the direction of international choral clinician Dr Pearl Shankuan.

New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir
Aotearoa’s national choir for secondary school students, NZSSC gathers during school holidays to rehearse and perform across the motu. Each two-year cycle culminates in an international tour: in July 2024, the choir travelled to China, where they took part in the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre Chorus Exchange, the Chorus and Conducting Art Conference in Hangzhou, and the China International Chorus Festival in Beijing.

NZSSC is directed by Sue Densem, alongside Assistant Conductor and Accompanist Brent Stewart and Assistant Conductor and Vocal Consultant Ben Madden.

Aotearoa New Zealand Academy Choir
The Academy Choir was established as a pipeline for talented singers from across Aotearoa who are aspiring to join NZSSC or the NZ Youth Choir. In 2024, the Academy Choir received a Gold Diploma at the World Choir Games in Auckland.

The Aotearoa Academy Choir is co-directed by Elise Bradley and Rowan Johnston.

Dr Pearl Shangkuan is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer and clinician who has led performances and workshops on six continents. She is the National President-elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the chorus director of the Grand Rapids Symphony and Professor Emerita of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has conducted several times at Carnegie Hall and other major concert halls in the US. Her guest conducting engagements regularly take her to Europe, Asia, and across North America.

The New Zealand Choral Federation (NZCF) presents Choral Connections, a concert featuring two of New Zealand’s finest youth choirs – the acclaimed New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, directed by Sue Densem, and the Aotearoa Academy Choir, directed by Rowan Johnston and Elise Bradley.

Set in the soaring acoustics of Wellington’s Cathedral of St Paul, this public concert forms the centrepiece of NZCF’s Choral Connect convention – a bi-annual professional development conference that brings together choral directors from around the country.

At the end of the concert, conference delegates with join with the two youth choirs to form a massed choir of over 150 voices to sing under the direction of international choral clinician Dr Pearl Shankuan.

New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir
Aotearoa’s national choir for secondary school students, NZSSC gathers during school holidays to rehearse and perform across the motu. Each two-year cycle culminates in an international tour: in July 2024, the choir travelled to China, where they took part in the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre Chorus Exchange, the Chorus and Conducting Art Conference in Hangzhou, and the China International Chorus Festival in Beijing.

NZSSC is directed by Sue Densem, alongside Assistant Conductor and Accompanist Brent Stewart and Assistant Conductor and Vocal Consultant Ben Madden.

Aotearoa New Zealand Academy Choir
The Academy Choir was established as a pipeline for talented singers from across Aotearoa who are aspiring to join NZSSC or the NZ Youth Choir. In 2024, the Academy Choir received a Gold Diploma at the World Choir Games in Auckland.

The Aotearoa Academy Choir is co-directed by Elise Bradley and Rowan Johnston.

Dr Pearl Shangkuan is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer and clinician who has led performances and workshops on six continents. She is the National President-elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the chorus director of the Grand Rapids Symphony and Professor Emerita of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has conducted several times at Carnegie Hall and other major concert halls in the US. Her guest conducting engagements regularly take her to Europe, Asia, and across North America.

Bringing their “infectious joy for music-making” to Wellington’s Kāpiti Coast, the internationally renowned New Zealand Secondary Schools Choir present a wide range of music from classical choral to gospel, jazz, modern, and music from Aotearoa and the Pacific.

This is your chance to see their first full-length concert performance of 2025!

“The repertoire we sing in this choir is so diverse and fresh. It’s not choral music as you’d expect. The choir is one of the best sounding in Aotearoa, and we have so much fun performing the pieces. Anyone who sings in choirs or just for fun as a hobby should come and hear us perform”– 2023-24 NZSSC singer

Bring the whole family for an evening of choral excellence and entertainment!

Bringing their “infectious joy for music-making” to Wellington’s Kāpiti Coast, the internationally renowned New Zealand Secondary Schools Choir present a wide range of music from classical choral to gospel, jazz, modern, and music from Aotearoa and the Pacific.

This is your chance to see their first full-length concert performance of 2025!

“The repertoire we sing in this choir is so diverse and fresh. It’s not choral music as you’d expect. The choir is one of the best sounding in Aotearoa, and we have so much fun performing the pieces. Anyone who sings in choirs or just for fun as a hobby should come and hear us perform”– 2023-24 NZSSC singer

Bring the whole family for an evening of choral excellence and entertainment!