News & Reviews Archive - Page 4 of 13

We recently discovered that one of our past members is living his dream as a cast member of Hamilton on the West End, London. Naturally, we had to know more. NZ Secondary Students’ Choir Manager Anna Bowron speaks with Manaia Glassey-Ohlson.

You were in the 2009-2010 NZ Secondary Students’ Choir and now you’re singing in a massive hit show on the West End. How did this happen…What was your path from NZSSC days to the West End?

Well what a HUGE START! As I’m thinking about how to answer this questions, I find myself being flooded with memories from my time with NZSSC. I think my love for musicals were evident from around that age as I remember connecting with quite a few members over the subject, comparing notes over lyrics and choreography from various shows. It was a relief to find like-minded people with a passion that matched mine. The shorter answer is that I studied Musical Theatre at what is now Te Auaha in Wellington. I managed to be involved in a couple of amateur productions while studying. After graduating, I was fortunate enough to land singing and musical jobs in Japan and Dubai. Very fun! I made the decision to move to the UK as the opportunity made itself available and I didn’t have much going on in NZ. It was a struggle in the OCEAN of talent to find my niche in such a demanding industry, but after some small shows both amateur and semi pro, a couple of singing gigs, I was in a place where I could feel comfortable with how I as a performer. I could bring what I had to the table instead of what I THOUGHT people wanted. I booked my first job at Hamilton West End and now I am currently in the Ensemble and understudy various roles such as Aaron Burr, George Washington, Mulligan/Madison and Lafayette/Jefferson.

What is your daily schedule working on the show?

Six days on, one day off. Tuesday-Sunday. Two shows on Thursday and Saturday. Warm up is an hour and a half before a 7.30 pm show (or 2.30 matinee) and rehearsal sprinkled in where we can, for a year contract.

What are your memories of the NZ Secondary Students’ Choir?

I’ll tell you what I don’t remember… a single note I sang! Hah! Again I’m flooded with moments that have stuck with me. I remember the ‘Banana’ warm up dance. The time Andrew (Withington) let me conduct a small part of a song and feeling the whole choir move with me. I remember all the naps on the bus in Canada. I remember making personal jokes with almost everyone. I remember the massage trains. I remember how chill Morag (Atchison) was giving us vocal advice that seemingly changed our lives as singers. I remember sitting on the swing outside St Mary’s College doubting whether I was good enough to even audition! I remember making a promise to Ben (Madden – now NZSSC Vocal Consultant) that we would do a back flip on a Broadway stage (I can’t back flip anymore but we got as close as possible to it on the West End). I remember the feeling of pride for representing my country. As I’m typing this I can’t help but get emotional. I remember the feeling of the sun on my skin as I jumped off the YATCH that one of our hosts took us out on in Vancouver (billeted during a tour to the International Choral Kathaumixw, 2010). It was such an incredible time!!!!

New Zealand Secondary Students Choir performing at Kathaumixw International Choral Competition. Manaia is front row third from right

Do you feel you learned anything in the NZSSC that you have taken into your career?

DO THE WORK! A big part of my success and what keeps everyone happy is my work ethic. I know when it’s time to shine as an individual and when it is time to serve the piece as an ensemble. Knowing that being a puzzle piece is just as important as having the spotlight. My ear was tuned in this choir. I know how to place myself in the sound to help make the piece shine as well as it can. I credit all of this to my time in the NZSSC. I learnt that ego is important for the confidence to be part of the team, but needs to take a back seat in service to the whole. I remember Kate (Spence) talking about the ‘face’ and that one small blemish can be noticed on a fresh face. Initially I thought that it meant ‘if you sound ‘bad’ then that’s the blemish, but I eventually realised that it is more about blending the sound as well as possible. I learnt to cover my job to the best of my ability and that is enough.

Any advice for our many young singers keen to perform in stage shows?

Morag gave me the best advice I believe. ‘Please keep singing’. There are soooo many logistical and practical pieces of advice that I could give but it all starts with the passion you have for what you do. Becoming a professional isn’t the goal. Sharing your passion is. There were times where doing it for free became the only realistic way of sharing any creativity for me and I was content with this. As long as I could keep singing. Keep learning, and exploring. Nothing is the be all and end all. Stay passionate, welcome the challenges, encourage growth and KEEP SINGING!

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A huge thank you to Manaia for taking the time to speak with us and share his journey. To see the next generation of West End stars, make sure to check out our upcoming concerts.

Commission new works

The national choirs regularly commission work from New Zealand composers which they perform publicly, take on tour and often record. To promote a musical legacy for the choral sector in New Zealand we have also established an annual composition competition for composers under 30 years of age, Compose Aotearoa!. Support from Amplify Collective makes commissioning new work possible and enables us to create meaningful opportunities for established and emerging composers.

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Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir
8pm, Friday 28 February 2014, Cathedral of St Paul, Wellington
Reviewed by William Dart, NZ Herald

There was an air of ritual about Requiem for the Fallen, the major music commission of the New Zealand Arts Festival.

It all took place on a raised stage in Wellington’s Cathedral of St Paul, with audience on either side, which worked well for some shorter choral items from Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, under Karen Grylls.

The ethereal textures of Purcell’s Hear My Prayer, O Lord gained poignancy with its shivery dissonances aloft in the building’s resonant acoustics.

Schnittke’s Drei Geistlicher Gesange had the singers moving from a circle formation to two opposing groups, delivering the piece’s almost primal passion with real fervour.

The New Zealand String Quartet contributed the central movement of Beethoven’s Opus 132 quartet. There was a hushed gravity to its song of thanksgiving, although the venue was not so kind to the floating scales of its andante sections.

Ross Harris and Vincent O’Sullivan’s Requiem for the Fallen was the key offering of the evening, acknowledging the centenary of World War I with a thoughtful mix of formal and personal, Latin liturgical texts blending effectively with O’Sullivan’s pithy verses.

Bringing together string quartet, choir and the taonga puoro of Horomona Horo, the innate drama of this score did not always need the sometimes distracting to-and-fro that director Jonathan Alver had imposed.

Horo’s exquisitely gauged improvisations ranged from a crystalline koauau introduction to a war-like pukaea in the Dies Irae, that evoked the horrors of hell itself, in tandem with Harris himself on thunderous bass drum.

Voices NZ and Grylls are a potent team and there was pride of ownership in their handling of Harris’ immaculately crafted score. The arching phrases of In Paradisum seemed to leap to heaven itself and, early on, tenor Lachlan Craig eloquently delivered the all-important lines, “He is one of us. His is one of our own.”

William Dart

We have several leadership roles within the NZSSC, and rely greatly on the students in these roles to help run rehearsals and sectionals, to teach repertoire (particularly our cultural pieces), to support members on a personal level, and to represent the choir at concerts and other events.

We are very proud to introduce you to our wonderful over-arching Choir Leaders for the 2021-22 cycle! These three individuals have the level of respect and comradeship required within the choir group to develop a close-knit choir family, to be the face of the choir at concerts and events, and to help keep the choir on an even keel through both happy and tough times.

What are you watching, eating and listening to right now?
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Michelle already has fingers in other choirs (literally…as pianist) including Auckland Youth Choir and Auckland University Students’ Choir, so we were keen to find out where it all started, and how this NZSSC experience compared to their other choir work.

It was their grandmother who first spotted Michelle’s rhythm – they used to play duets together on trips to visit family in China – so Michelle was given beginners’ piano books and lessons when back in NZ. At high school in Wellington, Brent Stewart (NZSSC Assistant Director/Accompanist and former HOD Music at Wellington East Girls College) overheard Michelle playing piano in the music rooms, and asked them to accompany Cantala, the school’s auditioned choir. Michelle was ecstatic at this, accompanying the choir for four years – and cannot overestimate the positive effect this had on their school years.

Michelle is in the final year of a BA/BMus studying Politics and Philosophy and Classical Performance Piano. A sense of curiosity led them to Politics and Philosophy – Michelle is a keen non-fiction reader, particularly interested in the philosophy of language and semantics. On top of piano, they are self-taught in bass and acoustic guitarist and listen to jazz, funk and rock, which balances the more classical piano programme at Uni. Michelle also loves video-gaming and is a mental health and disability advocate.

Playing for a couple of Auckland choirs has introduced them to the Auckland choral network. Auckland Youth Choir reached out to them, and Michelle was appointed Emerging Accompanist with Creative New Zealand funding.

Michelle says of this week with the NZSSC, “I am blown away by the talent in this group, seriously some of the most talented singers in the whole country. I did not know what to expect, but all my expectations have been exceeded”. Michelle accompanied two pieces at our concert – our new commission from Richard Oswin, In Flanders Fields, and jammed with our band for I Sing Because I’m Happy by Rollo Dilworth. They also spent a day working with Elise Bradley and the NZSSC Reserves.

Michelle has big dreams for the future, meaning a “diverse career, always to include teaching and choirs”. Next step would be a Master of Arts in collaborative piano performance, and eventually a PhD in Philosophy. They’d also love to play bar gigs in a cover band! Go for it Michelle!

Thank you Michelle, it has been wonderful to have you on our team for the week and we hope you have gained an insight into the accompanist role in a national choir.

We welcome accompanists, vocal coaches and conductors to submit interest in our Internship programme for all three national choirs: Voices NZ, NZ Youth Choir and NZSSC. Email Anna Bowron anna@choirsnz.co.nz for more information.