There’s so much to talk about with Shona across the arts, sport and family that her decade as NZSSC accompanist almost feels like a blip in her exceptional career—one that’s seen her awarded many accolades including the Queens Service Medal and the National Excellence in Teaching Award.

During nearly 40 years’ involvement with Tawa College, 21 as head of the music department, Shona has also directed her own award-winning choirs. We asked Shona about her love of music and her time with NZSSC …

Shona, what did you enjoy most in your ten years as NZSSC accompanist?

I loved that the choir brought students together from all over New Zealand, from both large and tiny schools.  I was particularly proud when students took what they had learned in NZSSC back to help their own choirs, Katie MacFarlane (choir director and Choirs Aotearoa board member) did that for her school in Timaru.

I always enjoyed the cultural diversity and that we had so many boys wanting to sing! That doesn’t happen everywhere and was commented on when we toured to Australia in 1998.

It was humbling to get the chance to travel to see other cultures and other choirs. What a privilege!  Sometimes at festivals, where many languages were spoken, music might be the only commonality—our common language. The image above is of me at the Bosendorfer Grand Piano in Victoria Hall when we were on tour in Singapore.

In 2000, NZSSC was part of a massed choir in Canada, directed by Robert Sund

I remember the trip to Canada in 2000 with great excitement. The massed choir performance directed by Robert Sund was incredible. In Calgary, we sang with the Calgary Youth Choir during ‘stampede week’ when everyone dressed up as cowboys.

NZSSC music team during ‘stampede week’ on the Canadian tour

Do you keep in touch with past students?

 Absolutely, I love staying in touch through Facebook and watching the progression of past-students and how they still use their music.

NZSSC in Brisbane, 1998

Opera singer Amelia Berry and Emily Mwila are two I follow closely and am still in touch with. I remember baritone Johnathan Lemalu very fondly from NZSSC. He stayed with us as a 6^th former and had a great sense of humour. It’s amazing to think that Rowan Johnson, who now directs award-winning choirs at Westlake High School, was once such a shy boy!

Your own music taste is quite eclectic …

 I really love Elton John.  I’m going to my fifth Elton John concert in Australia in January. James Galway said that Elton is ‘the Schubert of our times’!

I’ve been Involved with baroque, avant-garde and rock. When Charlotte was a baby, I musically directed SaulTalk, a home-grown rock musical that was initially performed at the Mana Arts Festival and then toured nationwide. We did 36 performances in all.

I’m passionate about breaking down stereotypes of who can sing and the hierarchies that exist around music genres. It’s the same in music education, kids shouldn’t specialise too early – they need as wide an experience as possible.

Shona, where do you think your love of music came from?

Some of my earliest memories are of dancing and singing along with Chinese street parades. I was born in Honan Province in China; my parents were missionaries who worked in a famine relief camp there. We moved back to New Zealand when I was seven. My father was a minister, and a fine violinist and choir enthusiast. I was often called on to play for him and for the congregations and choirs. The church played a huge part in my musical beginnings and this is where my love of accompanying and conducting began.

In my fourth form year, we moved to Tawa in Wellington and I went to Mana College where I was taught by David Sell (later a professor at Canterbury University and music reviewer for The Press). He directed huge choirs and had a big impact on me.

On leaving school I went to Teachers College and throughout the 70s, while raising my children, I undertook a Bachelor of Music in Performance  (Pipe Organ) under Maxwell Fernie and completed my LRSM and LTCL in piano. I continued to learn piano, taking lessons with Judith Clarke.

You and your husband Bruce Murray have also raised four high-achieving children …

Music and sport is in the blood, Bruce is also a singer and was a former NZ cricketer. My granddaughter Amelia Kerr, is already a world-record-scoring cricket player!

My daughter Charlotte Murray was in NZSSC and is now a music teacher and choir director. She directs two choruses at Tawa College, Maiden Tawa and Acafellas and this year has made history alongside  four other women qualifying as judges for  the Men’s International Barbershop Harmony Society in the USA.  She’s also directed the Musical Island Boys (gold medal-winners, International Barbershop Quartet, Las Vegas 2014) and still directs Vocal FX (ranked in the top 10 choruses in the world).

My husband Bruce was also involved with NZSSC. He was the first Chair of the Board in 1997.

You’ve directed both young and old singers …

 I took over from Guy Jansen directing an older group called the Summerset Singers. I bring students in from Tawa College to sing with us. It’s great to bring young and old together.

Music has also taken me into prison. When I was a teenager, my father was the chaplain at the Arohata Borstal and I would accompany him on visits and play the piano. That’s how I made friends with Juliet Hulme, who the film Heavenly Creatures was based on. She’d come to lunch at our house and I taught her how to knit a dress!

Who influenced you most in your career as a music educator?

 Everything goes back to Guy Jansen and his role as National Officer for Music for the  Department of Education.

Music and the other performing arts were hugely valued in our Teachers College training back then, that’s where I had singing lessons, and all schools had music advisers.

In the early days of NZSSC, I had the privilege of being the accompanist for Professor Rodney Eichenberger, who Guy regularly brought out to New Zealand. We learned so much from him about the power of gesture in conducting a choir.  His video ‘What they see, is what you get’ also impacted choral directors throughout NZ.

Roy Tankersley had a lot to do with the success of Tawa College. He was Head of Department for music when I started teaching there part-time in 1977. Roy was also the director of the Wellington Bach Choir when I was the accompanist and assistant director. I loved working with him. His daughter Jayne Tankersley was in NZSSC with my daughter Charlotte, under the direction of Roger Stevenson.

I took over as Head of Department at Tawa College in 1984 and developed several successful choirs over the years.  We took the chamber choir Twilight Tones to San Francisco in 2006. This chamber choir included Year 12 student Isaac Stone, now the director of his own chamber choir, The Blue Notes.  Isaac has been a member of  NZSSC and the National Youth choir. He currently sings in Voices New Zealand.  As well as leading the  choral programme at Tawa College, he also directs Wellington choir, Supertonic.

Tawa College’s ‘Twilight Tones’ win in San Francisco 2006

In this new environment of uncertainty, we are dedicated to keeping our singers safe. In stylish black, all our national choirs will be wearing our uniquely designed mask for singers. These masks are designed to hold the fabric away from the mouth, and allow for full jaw movement.

Our singers and artistic staff have all reported back that they are far easier to sing in than normal masks as the singer is not constantly inhaling fabric.

They include a label to mark the singers name.

Please note: If you are purchasing a mix of SMALL and LARGE masks, only select shipping once.

Cost:

$35 (incl GST) plus shipping (if applicable)

Quantity 8-10

BUY SMALL  –  BUY LARGE

Quantity 11-20

BUY SMALL  –  BUY LARGE

Quantity 20+

BUY SMALL  –  BUY LARGE

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.

1. 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.

(more…)

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!

–

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.

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?
(more…)

Utilising your expertise, qualification and training in well-being and mental health, you will develop systems and processes that support the well-being of the singers in this iconic national choir. You will be on tour with the choir up to 4 times a year, mainly during school holidays, and once internationally in the second year of the choir cycle.

Your work will support the high-performance nature of this choir enabling the teenaged singers to achieve best possible results while keeping them well and happy.

Does this sound like you?

We accept applications now to joinus@choirsnz.co.nz  but no later than Monday 13 March 2023.

You can find more info about this role in this JOB SCOPE

Chair of the Choirs Aotearoa NZ Trust, Amanda Barclay, expressed the organisation’s gratitude, saying, “It’s been our privilege to benefit from Dr Karen Grylls’ expertise through her musical direction of Voices New Zealand and the NZ Youth Choir, and as Artistic Director of all four of our national choirs. Karen is a tireless promoter of choral music and brings a great deal of heart to her unrelenting pursuit of choral excellence. On behalf of the Trust Board, I congratulate Karen on this well-deserved honour.”

Reflecting on this significant recognition, Dr Karen Grylls shared her deep appreciation for the opportunity to contribute to choral music in New Zealand, saying, “I am deeply honoured to receive the CNZM in the King’s Birthday and Coronation Birthday Honours, 2023. I consider myself very privileged to have worked and performed with so many choral musicians, and to be a voice for choral music in Aotearoa.

In receiving this award I acknowledge these many musicians and colleagues who have supported me along the way: composers, singers, stage directors, international and national conductors and pedagogues and the many managers who have made it happen. This award honours them also.”

Dr Karen Grylls’ passion for singing and its transformative power has been a driving force throughout her career. “The opportunity to have worked with and trained ensemble singers and conductors over several decades as part of my long-standing work with Choirs Aotearoa NZ has given me the greatest opportunities which I acknowledge here with heartfelt thanks.” She expressed her hope that young musicians feel empowered to lead and become global musical citizens themselves.

As Dr Grylls looks forward to the immediate future, she eagerly anticipates the upcoming tour with Voices New Zealand and Chamber Music New Zealand. The tour, titled ‘Reimagining Mozart,’ features a new full-length work by composer Robert Wīremu for choir and instruments promising to be a captivating exploration of Mozart’s timeless Requiem from a fresh perspective.

We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Karen Grylls on this well-deserved honour. Her unwavering commitment, extraordinary talent, and visionary leadership have elevated choral music in New Zealand and beyond, leaving an indelible impact on the cultural landscape.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Arne Herrmann

Chief Executive
Choirs Aotearoa NZ

027 276 1751

ceo@choirsnz.co.nz

About Dr Karen Grylls:

Dr Karen Grylls is an acclaimed conductor and the Artistic Director of Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand. She established the renowned Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir in 1989, which she continues to lead. Dr Grylls’ pioneering efforts have made an indelible mark on the international choral music landscape, and her visionary leadership has shaped the future of choral excellence in New Zealand.

Fiona Wilson has just been announced as the inaugural 2024 Assistant Conductor for Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand, the body that governs our four national choirs. This new role is part of a dedicated annual mentoring programme that will see Fiona working one-on-one with acclaimed New Zealand conductor and Choirs Aotearoa Artistic Director, Dr Karen Grylls (CMNZ). The programme is designed to develop future choral leaders for Aotearoa, and Karen will actively mentor Fiona for 12 months.

“The role of Assistant Conductor was hotly contested,” says Karen, “The calibre of applicants was impressive, which bodes well for a healthy future for choral music in Aotearoa. I’m delighted to announce that Fiona is the successful candidate for 2024. Many of the choirs she’s led have won competitions, here and overseas, and in April 2023, she represented New Zealand in the Conducting Masterclass at the World Choir Games in Istanbul.”

Fiona has been Head of Music at Westlake Girls High School for ten years during which time she’s earned the school half a dozen gold medals at the highly-competitive Big Sing Finale – New Zealand’s national choral festival for secondary schools. Fiona is also a singer and is currently a soprano in Voices New Zealand, our premier national chamber choir. Fiona has toured with Voices to the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Germany and performed with internationally acclaimed artists Eric Whitaker, The Kings Singers and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, here and overseas. In her new role, Fiona will also work with Voices NZ as a conductor, including at the Compose Aotearoa workshops later in 2024 when she will work with the winners of the national choral composition competition.

“I’m excited to be selected for this new role and look forward to working with Karen Grylls, the other national choirs’ music directors and, of course, the talented members of our national choirs,” says Fiona. “I’ve always worked hard to empower singers to explore a diverse range of vocal colours and expressions and ignite a profound appreciation for music, enabling every member to thrive as both an artist and an individual”.

As well as Fiona’s work at Westlake Girls’, recent highlights include last year conducting competition pieces with Voices NZ and composers at CANZ Composers Workshop in Wellington and working with community choirs for the Northland region local community. In 2022, Fiona shadowed Karen Grylls as Chorus Master for Voices NZ in concert with Eric Whitacre and his award-winning work, The Secret Veil. In 2021, she was Chorus Master for Voices NZ in concert with the APO for ‘The Blue

Planet’.

This year, Fiona’s been the Chorus Director for the recent New Zealand Opera Summer School and coming up soon, Fiona will be leading workshops and performance to open the Auckland Arts Festival in Choirs Aotearoa’s event Waiata Mai.

More about Fiona Wilson & Dr Karen Grylls

Fiona Wilson

Fiona has a Bachelor of Music from Auckland University, a secondary teaching diploma from Auckland College of Education and a Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of London Institute of Education (2002–2006). She is trained in the Kodály method of teaching music.

Fiona was a member of the BBC Symphony Chorus, London (1997–2001) with the choir included in annual concert programming for the BBC promos and touring to Istanbul and Vienna. She is a current soprano in Voices New Zealand choir and toured internationally including to the Tolosa International Choral Competition, Spain (1998). Fiona was a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir (1991–1996) and toured to the World Symposium of Choral Music in Sydney in 1996 and the World Symposium of Choral Music in Vancouver in 1993.

As director of the Westlake Girls’ choir Cantare:

2023: The Big Sing Finale: Gold Award. Best Performance of Choral Art Song (joint winner)

2023: The Big Sing Auckland Regional: Best Festival Programme by a Female Choir. Best Performance of an Unaccompanied Work

2022: The Big Sing Finale: Gold Award. Best Performance of Choral Art Song

2022: The Big Sing Auckland Regional: Best Festival Programme by a Female Choir

Best A Cappella Performance in Any Genre. Adjudicators Award for any Performance of a Single Work.

2021: The Big Sing Auckland Regional: Best Festival Programme by a Female Choir.Spirit of the Festival Award.

2019, 2018, 2017: The Big Sing National Finale: Gold Awards

2018: Concert with Toronto Children’s Chorus on New Zealand tour

2017: National Choral Conference and ASPIRE Music Festival, Brisbane – Best Performance Award

2016 & 2015: The Big Sing National Finale: Silver Awards

As director of the Westlake Boys’ and Girls’ choir Choralation:

2023: The Big Sing Finale: Gold Award. Auahi Kore Performance Award for Best Performance of a piece with text in Te Reo Māori

2023: The Big Sing Auckland Regional: Best Festival Program by a Mixed Choir. Adjudicators Award for any Performance of a Single Work

2023: Concerts with Auckland Chamber Choir, APO, recording and featured in the NZ film Tinā

Dr Karen Grylls CNZM

Karen founded Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir in 1998 and is its artistic director. Karen was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2023 for services to choral music. She led the NZ Youth Choir to international recognition as Best Mixed Choir at the 2007 Cantonigrós International Music Festival, Choir of the World at the International Eisteddfod and Overall Best Choir at Cantat Grand Prix in 1999. Karen was appointed Kaitiaki of Te Whānau Wehi and Waka Huia in 1999, bringing Māori music to the forefront of choral performance in New Zealand for more than two decades. She is founding director and Conductor Emerita of the University of Auckland Chamber Choir, having been principal conductor from 2006 to 2022. She established the University’s postgraduate choral conducting programmes in 2006.

Karen is also co-Artistic Director of the New Zealand Children’s Choral Academy founded in 2022. From 2002 to 2008 she was a Board member of the International Federation of Choral Music and has been a Founding Board member of the New Zealand Choral Federation since 1985.