Jobs – 2 vacancies!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Applications will also be accepted to hold both currently advertised roles for the right candidate (noting that one, the Music Director Voices New Zealand, is fixed term, the MAPO is permanent)

(1) Music Director Voices New Zealand

Fixed term: 3 years (2026-2028)
Contract for services
Payment: 6K retainer per annum plus fee per project/day of work
Scope for this role approx. 0.2FTE

Closing date for Applications: 31 July 2025

This is an extraordinary opportunity to lead Aotearoa New Zealand’s only professionally run choral ensemble that inspires through the outstanding quality of its singing and concert presentation.

Voices NZ is the peak of the choral pathway of Aotearoa’s national choirs, which starts with the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir, continues with the New Zealand Youth Choir and is supported by the national Aotearoa Choral Academy.

Voices NZ has since its inception in 1998 built an international reputation which is maintained through recordings and occasional international touring. As Music Director you have significant influence on the aspirations of young choral singers in our country, but also the shape of the choral sector in Aotearoa.

We welcome applications from visionary choral leaders who share our passion for artistic excellence, audience engagement, innovative storytelling and music making, inspirited by the rich musical traditions of Aotearoa.

For more information about the role and application details see CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK

(2) MANAGER, ARTISTIC PLANNING & OUTREACH (MAPO)

Employment contract, permanent
Scope for this role: minimum of 0.7FTE up to 1 FTE
Salary: negotiable

Closing date for Applications: 31 July 2025

The Manager Artistic Planning & Outreach is a senior leadership role responsible for leading the shaping and delivering of the long-term artistic vision of Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand’s national choirs and outreach programmes. This role is a pivotal link between artistic leadership and Management at CANZ, ensuring a consistent artistic voice in the strategic planning and curation of artistic activity across the organisation’s ensembles, ensuring excellence, innovation, and cultural relevance.

In addition to artistic planning across our national choirs, the role plays a critical part in developing the next generation of choral professionals in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Working closely with the Chief Executive and Music Directors, this position leads initiatives that strengthen talent pipelines, enhance sector capability, and expand access to high-quality training and mentorship for emerging conductors, composers, singers, and arts practitioners.

The role requires strong strategic thinking, cross-sector collaboration, and a strong understanding of both the artistic and educational spheres. It contributes directly to the sustainability and future leadership of choral music in Aotearoa.

The ideal candidate would have a tertiary qualification or equivalent in an artistic musical discipline..

For more information about the role see JOB SCOPE.

To apply please send your Cover Letter with your candidate statement responding to the job scope and your CV to joinus@choirsnz.co.nz.

For any question you can contact our CE Arne Herrmann on ceo@choirsnz.co.nz

Andrew took over the artistic leadership in 2008 for a whole decade.
Here are a few highlights of what he and the choir achieved in that time:
The 2009/10 choir toured to Canada, again achieving great success at the International Choral Kathaumixw. The choir won the Adult Mixed Voice competition and came second in both Youth Choir and Folk And Cultural Traditions competitions. A new award was created especially for the NZSSC, the People’s Choice Award, as a result of the way thousands of people at the Kathaumixw responded to their music, as evidenced by standing ovations at every concert, including some audiences of over 2,000 people.
The 2011/12 choir sang in Auckland, in Christchurch as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival and Christchurch Sings, the one year commemoration to the September 2010 earthquake, in Ashburton, in Napier, and in Wellington. Andrew Withington led the choir on a tour to the Ihlombe Music Festival in South Africa, singing alongside international and South African choirs. This was an extraordinary musical and cultural experience for our members.
The 2013/14 choir sang in Wellington, Tauranga, Auckland, Queenstown, Wanaka, Alexandra, Christchurch. Highlights included performing at the ANZAC Dawn Parade in Wellington, 2014, and appearing on What Now children’s television show! The choir toured to Singapore, performing at the Orientale Concentus Festival, and in Malaysia.
The 2015/16 New Zealand Secondary Students Choir enjoyed another very successful international tour to the International Choral Kathaumixw Festival in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada, this time as Guest Choir. The festival finale was a massed choir concert of one thousand voices led by the innovative Finnish conductor, Sanna Valvanne.
In 2016, NZSSC marked its 30th birthday with the establishment of a Student Support Fund and a concert at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Wellington, where the choir was joined on stage by some of its alumni, including former director, Roger Stevenson (left in second photo).
In 2018, NZSSC toured to Hong Kong to work with the Wah Yan College Kowloon Boys’ Choir on a new commission by David Hamilton and attend the Belt and Road World Choir Festival as Resident Choir. Then it was on to Shanghai for three more days of musical and cultural adventures, including a performance at NZ Central and working with local choirs including the Vienna Boys Choir Shanghai Choir.
During this period, Artistic Director Andrew Withington completed his PhD, focused on creating his own system to teach choirs to more reliably and consistently sing in tune. Listen to an interview with Andrew discussing this research with Kim Hill on RNZ ( https://www.rnz.co.nz/…/andrew-withington-teaching-the… ).
Watch Andrew Withington’s final concert with NZSSC: Big Sing Finale 2018, courtesy of NZ Choral Federation
From our whānau:
For the 10 years that Andrew conducted the NZSSC he reported to me as the Chair.
It was a privilege to work with someone so young and talented. Andrew reached out to me last year and in response to one of our email exchanges I replied, “You can stand tall and proud of the expertise, experience and opportunities you gave to NZSSC choir members for over a decade. This is your legacy”.
Rest in peace Andrew
Linda Webb MNZM
CANZ Board & Foundation Trustee
I am devastated at the passing of Andrew Withington. He was a friend, colleague and mentor.
Andrew was an amazing musician, conductor, teacher, and singer who inspired so many young, and not so young, choral singers across New Zealand and beyond.
From leading the Primary School’s Music Festival in Christchurch to being the AD of the NZSSC for 10 years and then to working in the US university system, his legacy will be his passion and enthusiasm for choral excellence.
Thank you Andrew, for encouraging me as a conductor. It is my privilege to have followed you as MD of the NZSSC.
Rest in Peace dear Andrew.
Ngā mihi nui
Sue Densem
Music Director, NZSSC
Andrew took over the artistic leadership in 2008 for a whole decade.
Here are a few highlights of what he and the choir achieved in that time:
The 2009/10 choir toured to Canada, again achieving great success at the International Choral Kathaumixw. The choir won the Adult Mixed Voice competition and came second in both Youth Choir and Folk And Cultural Traditions competitions. A new award was created especially for the NZSSC, the People’s Choice Award, as a result of the way thousands of people at the Kathaumixw responded to their music, as evidenced by standing ovations at every concert, including some audiences of over 2,000 people.
The 2011/12 choir sang in Auckland, in Christchurch as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival and Christchurch Sings, the one year commemoration to the September 2010 earthquake, in Ashburton, in Napier, and in Wellington. Andrew Withington led the choir on a tour to the Ihlombe Music Festival in South Africa, singing alongside international and South African choirs. This was an extraordinary musical and cultural experience for our members.
The 2013/14 choir sang in Wellington, Tauranga, Auckland, Queenstown, Wanaka, Alexandra, Christchurch. Highlights included performing at the ANZAC Dawn Parade in Wellington, 2014, and appearing on What Now children’s television show! The choir toured to Singapore, performing at the Orientale Concentus Festival, and in Malaysia.
The 2015/16 New Zealand Secondary Students Choir enjoyed another very successful international tour to the International Choral Kathaumixw Festival in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada, this time as Guest Choir. The festival finale was a massed choir concert of one thousand voices led by the innovative Finnish conductor, Sanna Valvanne.
In 2016, NZSSC marked its 30th birthday with the establishment of a Student Support Fund and a concert at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Wellington, where the choir was joined on stage by some of its alumni, including former director, Roger Stevenson (left in second photo).
In 2018, NZSSC toured to Hong Kong to work with the Wah Yan College Kowloon Boys’ Choir on a new commission by David Hamilton and attend the Belt and Road World Choir Festival as Resident Choir. Then it was on to Shanghai for three more days of musical and cultural adventures, including a performance at NZ Central and working with local choirs including the Vienna Boys Choir Shanghai Choir.
During this period, Artistic Director Andrew Withington completed his PhD, focused on creating his own system to teach choirs to more reliably and consistently sing in tune. Listen to an interview with Andrew discussing this research with Kim Hill on RNZ ( https://www.rnz.co.nz/…/andrew-withington-teaching-the… ).
Watch Andrew Withington’s final concert with NZSSC: Big Sing Finale 2018, courtesy of NZ Choral Federation
From our whanau:
For the 10 years that Andrew conducted the NZSSC he reported to me as the Chair.
It was a privilege to work with someone so young and talented. Andrew reached out to me last year and in response to one of our email exchanges I replied, “You can stand tall and proud of the expertise, experience and opportunities you gave to NZSSC choir members for over a decade. This is your legacy”.
Rest in peace Andrew
Linda Webb MNZM
CANZ Board & Foundation Trustee
I am devastated at the passing of Andrew Withington. He was a friend, colleague and mentor.
Andrew was an amazing musician, conductor, teacher, and singer who inspired so many young, and not so young, choral singers across New Zealand and beyond.
From leading the Primary School’s Music Festival in Christchurch to being the AD of the NZSSC for 10 years and then to working in the US university system, his legacy will be his passion and enthusiasm for choral excellence.
Thank you Andrew, for encouraging me as a conductor. It is my privilege to have followed you as MD of the NZSSC.
Rest in Peace dear Andrew.
Ngā mihi nui
Sue Densem
Music Director, NZSSC

The world’s longest running national youth choir, NZ Youth Choir (NZYC), is getting ready for its 14th international tour: to Singapore and Europe. The traditional “farewell” concert will take place at Auckland’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, Friday 27th June, with tickets selling fast. The following day, NZYC will head to Singapore for concerts before flying to Europe to compete in the 6th European Choir Games and Grand Prix of Nations in Aarhus, Denmark. The choir will then return to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales where they previously won “Choir of the World” in 1999.

This is the New Zealand Youth Choir’s first European tour since before COVID-19. The choir gathers New Zealand’s finest young voices aged 18–25 and offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from our top conductor and vocal coaches, with the three-year membership culminating in an international tour. Director David Squire will end his time with the choir at the completion of the tour. David has directed NZYC since 2011 and was himself a member from 1985–1991 before becoming a founding member of Voices NZ and going onto an illustrious career in music education.

“It’s been my great honour to direct the New Zealand Youth Choir for the past 15 years,” David says, “As an NZYC alumnus, I’ve always considered this role bigger than any person who has the opportunity to conduct it and, with that in mind, 2025 is the time for my tenure with the choir to come to an end”.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral concert on Friday 27th June will be David’s last New Zealand concert as New Zealand Youth Choir director.

“David is one of New Zealand’s most prominent conductors, and his extraordinary legacy with New Zealand Youth Choir will be cherished and celebrated,” says Arne Herrmann, Choirs Aotearoa NZ’s CE, “While David’s tenure with NZYC will come to an end, his mahi with CANZ will continue. We will announce the new Music Director closer to the commencement of their start date in early 2026 – and once the recruitment process is complete”.

While overseas, NZYC will also sing in Singapore and the UK: Oxford, Barnsley and a concert at Sinfonia Smith’s Square,  London – where NZYC in 2016, the last time they were in Europe led by David, recorded their “Live in London” DVD and won the Grand Prix at the 2016 IFAS in the Czech Republic in 2016. NZYC has a Give-a-little page to support their 2025 tour.

NZ Youth Choir Farewell Concert at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, Auckland
7:30pm, Friday 27 June, 2025

 

For more information, contact: Rachel Healy, PUBLICIST. 027 2706105, rachel@rachelhealy.co.nz 

 

MORE ABOUT DAVID SQUIRE

David has taught music in schools for 35 years and in 2011 won a New Zealander of the Year Local Heroes Medal for services to music education. His ensembles have won many awards at local and international music festivals, such as the NZCF Big Sing. His Rangitoto College mixed-voice chamber choir, The Fundamentals, won the platinum award at the 2008 NZCF Big Sing Finale in Wellington – the first time for a mixed-voice choir. David’s upper-voice choir from Kristin School, Euphony, was third in the open female choir competition at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales, in 2013. In 2019, Euphony represented New Zealand at the Budapest International Choral Festival, winning the Youth Choirs of Equal Voices category, coming 3rd in the open Musica Sacra category and was invited to compete for the Grand Prix. David’s Westlake Boys High School lower-voice choir, Voicemale, won the Grand Prix at the 2nd Leonardo da Vinci International Choral Festival in Florence in 2018, and David won the award for best conductor at this event. David has been music director of the Westlake Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, and it has won more gold awards at the KBB Music Festival than any other ensemble. In 2014 the orchestra was placed first equal at the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in Vienna.

David is also the director of the Auckland Youth Choir, Vice-Chair of the New Zealand Association of Choral Directors, is a national conducting advisor and tutor and was a governance board member of the New Zealand Choral Federation for 9-years. He completed his undergraduate study at the University of Auckland, with an emphasis on conducting and composition, later graduating with a Master of Music degree with first class honours in choral conducting. He studied singing with Isabel Cunningham, Glenese Blake and Beatrice Webster, and conducting with Karen Grylls and Juan Matteucci. He has sung with many top choirs in New Zealand, including the Auckland Dorian Choir, University of Auckland Chamber Choir and the New Zealand Youth Choir. He was a founding member of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir and the V8 Vocal Ensemble.

 

David has previously led the New Zealand Youth Choir on four international tours, including the USA and Canada in 2013, which featured performances of the War Requiem by Britten in the Walt 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. At the end of 2019 the choir embarked on a Pacific tour aboard the cruise ship MS Maasdam, taking in Tonga, Niue, Fiji, New Caledonia and Sydney. In 2022 the choir toured Australia, presenting performances in Tasmania, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and at the Sydney Opera House.

 

As a freelance musician, David has conducted several local ensembles, including the Auckland Philharmonia and the St Matthews Chamber Orchestra. He was the assistant musical director of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, founding musical director of the Auckland Youth Big Band, chairman and administrator of the KBB Music Festival, and a live performance reviewer for Radio NZ Concert. David is often involved in session and recording work, particularly as a conductor, adjudicator, clinician and singer and was choir director on the recent New Zealand film, Tinā. He has also served as the choir director for Synthony, and is the chorus master for the International Schools Choral Music Society based in China.

 

For more information, contact: Rachel Healy, PUBLICIST. 027 2706105, rachel@rachelhealy.co.nz 

Reviewed by: Brenda Harwood
Otago Daily Times
4 April 2025
The vaulted ceilings of St Paul’s Cathedral provided the perfect acoustic for the glorious sound of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir is a wondrous performance of Reimagining Mozart last Sunday for Dunedin Arts Festival.
Composed by Robert Wiremu, this extraordinarily beautiful and moving piece takes Mozart’s Requiem and cleverly adjusts it in tribute to those lost in the Mt Erebus disaster in 1979….
Read on
Reviewed by: Brenda Harwood
Otago Daily Times
4 April 2025
The vaulted ceilings of St Paul’s Cathedral provided the perfect acoustic for the glorious sound of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir is a wondrous performance of Reimagining Mozart last Sunday for Dunedin Arts Festival.
Composed by Robert Wiremu, this extraordinarily beautiful and moving piece takes Mozart’s Requiem and cleverly adjusts it in tribute to those lost in the Mt Erebus disaster in 1979….
Read on

Please follow link for full review by Elizabeth Bouman for Otago Daily Times.

 

Reimagining Mozart
St Paul’s Cathedral
Sunday, March 30

Patrons filled St Paul’s Cathedral on Sunday for Reimagining Mozart (2023), Robert Wiremu’s (Auckland) unique hour-long choral piece commissioned for Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir (Karen Grylls) and chamber ensemble.

Jono Palmer conducted.

Wiremu conceived Reimagining Mozart by blending memories of the 1979 Erebus tragedy with thematic material and passages from Mozart’s famous Requiem, imagining a hypothetical passenger had been listening to Requiem on a Sony Walkman, which continued to play on in Antarctica’s icy silence.

…

Wiremu has crafted an outstanding programmatic work in memory of a great tragedy and, along with the large audience, this was a unique performance I will always remember.

Please follow link for full review by Elizabeth Bouman for Otago Daily Times.

 

Reimagining Mozart
St Paul’s Cathedral
Sunday, March 30

Patrons filled St Paul’s Cathedral on Sunday for Reimagining Mozart (2023), Robert Wiremu’s (Auckland) unique hour-long choral piece commissioned for Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir (Karen Grylls) and chamber ensemble.

Jono Palmer conducted.

We are looking for a new team member to manage the activities of our iconic national choirs, which include New Zealand Youth Choir, NZSSC and Voices New Zealand.

We are working out of a groovy office in Victoria Street and deliver the management of our three internationally-awarded national choirs, a national academy and nationwide outreach and engagement program.

Your role in 2025 would include managing the logistic preparation and planning of the ionic New Zealand Youth Choir’s activities, travel arrangements, scheduling and administration. For 2025 that includes a tour to Northland, Wellington and international tour to Europe. Your role includes tour-managing and leading the touring party and artists on the road. If you like good systems, have attention to detail and work well with creative people, this job could be yours.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work for an iconic national organisation and grow as an arts manager in New Zealand’s vibrant creative sector.

You can find more info about this role on our website choirs.nz/jobs

Get in touch now or send your application to joinus@choirsnz.co.nz no later than 12noon 20 January 2025.

Interviews will take place before 25 January and immediate start is possible.

 

 

Location: Wellington (preferred)

Essential: previous Tour Management experience

0.8 FTE to Full-Time