NEWS

Arne Herrmann, CE of Choirs Aotearoa NZ (CANZ), is delighted to announce that Jessica Kinney has accepted the newly established role of Manager Artistic Planning and Outreach. CANZ is the body that manages our national choirs, including the NZ Youth Choir that this year was crowned Choir of the World at the Llangollen Eisteddfod in Wales and won the Grand Prix of Nations at the European Choir Games in Denmark. Jessica and her husband will be moving to Wellington from Cambridge, UK, to take up this new position, and her first day with the CANZ artistic team is 19 January 2026.

Jessica joins the national choirs from her role as Artist Manager at James Brown Management, a leading international agent for classical music artists including conductors, instrumentalists and ensembles. While there, Jessica spent several years leading operational management of The Tallis Scholars – spearheading the planning and execution of more than 300 performances across 25 countries for this world-class ensemble. Her wider portfolio included supporting conductors Daniel Hyde and Nicholas Chalmers as well as the multi-Grammy-winning Attacca Quartet.

Jessica has Bachelor of Music (Hons) and Master of Music from Royal Holloway, University of London. Her connection with Aotearoa New Zealand was seeded when she spent a year on international exchange at Te Kōkī – New Zealand School of Music, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.

“Jessica told me that she fell in love with Aotearoa when studying in Wellington, and we are very excited that she will now return for this new fulltime role,” says Arne Herrmann, “Her incredible choral and international experience will not only strengthen our understanding of the global choral scene but also give us new perspectives for our mahi as the national choirs in and for Aotearoa.”

Jessica also brings extensive experience as a professional choral singer; she was one of only eight young singers on the VOCES8 Scholars programme, a training scheme for emerging professional singers coached by the world-renowned vocal group of the same name. Jessica has also enjoyed singing on the freelance choral circuit across the UK and Europe, as well as acting as ‘choral fixer’ for a variety of projects including Carols at the Royal Albert Hall and the Edington Music Festival. She sang regularly with St John’s Voices (Graham Walker) and the Choir of Trinity College (Stephen Layton). Solo appearances included Bach’s St John Passion for Cambridge University Chamber Choir and Robinson Chapel Choir, Handel’s Messiah for St John’s Voices, and Vaughan-Williams’ Serenade to Music with Alumni of Clare College Choir.

For more information and images: Rachel Healy, Choirs Aotearoa NZ Publicist T: 027 2706105, E: rachel@rachelhealy.co.nz