Arne Herrmann has worked for over 25 years in Arts and Festival Management in New Zealand.

He held senior management positions at New Zealand Festival, Auckland Arts Festival, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, UNITEC School of Performing and Screen Arts and the contemporary dance company The Human Garden. Arne was the Festival Director of the National Jazz Festival and Garden&ArtFest in Tauranga. His work also included the Lexus SongQuest, Michael Hill International Violin Competition, Wellington Jazz Festival and National Youth Jazz Competition.

As freelance consultant Arne’s clients included the New Zealand Opera, Indian Ink Theatre, Te Matatini Kapa Haka Festival and the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival.

Arne Herrmann took up the role as Chief Executive of Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand in May 2016.

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.

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.

Elise repatriated home to New Zealand at the end of 2021, after 14½ years as the Artistic Director of the Toronto Children’s Chorus. During her tenure, the Chorus recorded professionally, commissioned Canadian compositions, collaborated with numerous international and national artists, and represented Toronto on nine international and four national tours. She also produced a virtual recording for the ACDA National Conference in 2021 and for the Hong Kong World Choral Festival in 2022. The Chorus is internationally recognized for the high standard of its performances, and for its challenging repertoire which spans diverse cultures, languages, and traditions. Its latest CD, Sounzscapes: From Our Lands, directed by Elise Bradley, was named the most Outstanding Choral Recording by Choral Canada in 2014.

In addition to her work as Artistic Director of the Toronto Children’s Chorus, Ms. Bradley received many invitations to conduct, adjudicate choirs, and present at conferences around the globe, including recently the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music (Spain), Dozan wa Awtar (Jordan), the inaugural New Zealand National Children’s Choir (Auckland, NZ), the IFCM World Choral Expo (Macau), Gondwana Voices (Australia), Orientale Concentus (Singapore), Crystal Children’s Choir (United States), Carnegie Hall, (United States), and Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival (China). She has also been invited to present at the World Choral Symposium in Turkey in April 2023.

Since her return to New Zealand, Elise has co-founded the company “Choral DirectioNZ” and the New Zealand Children’s Choral Academy, and has completed a number of Kodály Music Certificates in preparation for her return to the primary music classroom as part of the Creatives in Schools initiatives. She is currently the Music Director of the Hamilton Civic Choir, Nota Bella Junior Choir at Westlake Girls’ High School, Leonessa at Takapuna Grammar School, Ficino Primary Choirs, Kristin ‘Noteworthy’ Choir and she conducts the Chiron Choir for the Chiron Music Academy.

Ms. Bradley is dedicated to inspiring young singers through the study of the choral art, and to helping build not only their musical abilities, but also their self-confidence and life skills. Through music, she believes that they also learn about leadership and responsibility while experiencing the special joys and friendships that participation in the choir provides.

Ange comes to the CANZ with a background steeped in the Arts industry and believes she ‘came of age’ in the vibrant Wellington music and arts scene at one of the most incredible times (late 90’s). Starting out as retail manager of Real Groovy in Wellington in the early 2000’s, she soon after met her now husband, NZ composer/musician Warren Maxwell, and quickly shifted into managing his career in Film/TV composition as well as two of his bands, Little Bushman & Trinity Roots, all while raising a young family. Over the last 20 years Ange managed bookings for the band at some incredible NZ & Australian music & arts festivals, one or two that our CANZ CEO, Arne Herrmann, managed! It was in this role that Ange really developed her love for all things Arts Administration and she likes to think of herself as a creative’s Creator of things.

She has also worked as Artist Liaison for the NZ Art Show and in 2012, alongside her husband, co-founded the Wairarapa’s first ever, exclusively live music/performance venue & bar, King St Live (KSL). During their three-year stint with KSL, Ange managed the venue’s artistic bookings, which included hosting Dave Dobbyn, Katchafire, Tiki Taane, the Shapeshifter Sound System, NZ Comedy Fest shows & Pokey LaFarge, and many other community-based shows.

After taking a break from the music and arts industry in 2015, her role as NZSSC Manager marks her excited return to an industry that has always held a special place in her heart.

She currently resides in Featherston, South Wairarapa, with her husband and their two teenage children. In her spare time, she loves pottering around her garden, lounging in her hammock with a crossword or singing karaoke with friends.

Lee was a founding member of the Auckland Youth Choir. She has always enjoyed singing in choirs, having spent 6 years in the University Singers and then several years with Colla Voce. Currently Lee sings with the Pohutuhawa Singers who meet in Albany. When she’s not singing, you can usually find her at the piano. Lee has twice been awarded the Accompanist of the Year at the National Brass Band contest, and has accompanied choirs, singers and brass players for more than 30 years. For 13 years Lee ran the education, community and outreach programmes at the Auckland Philhamonia Orchestra, and subsequently worked for Creative New Zealand for 7 years. Lee lives in Auckland and has a daughter and two stepsons, and is married to Kerry who is a business coach by day and a trumpet player when off duty!

Growing up in Christchurch, Rosa Elliott completed a BMus and BA at the University of Canterbury, going on to complete her MMus in Composition through the University of Auckland. Rosa’s love for singing began at Burnside High School where she sang as a soprano in Bel Canto. She continues to sing in the Christchurch Youth Choir and currently conducts the Christchurch Girls’ High School choir Cantrices. Rosa’s passion for composing for the voice was kickstarted by winning the SOUNZ Big Sing Composition award in 2015, and she has since been fortunate to have choral works performed by NZ Secondary Students’ Choir and NZ Youth Choir. In 2021 Rosa was named a category winner of the inaugural Compose Aotearoa competition and held a composer-in-residency position with Choirs Aotearoa.

Born in Wellington, Alex is currently working towards a Bachelor of Music in Classical Performance Voice at The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī. She attended college at St Matthew’s Collegiate in Masterton, during which time she sang with the NZSSC in 2019-2020. She has sung with the national choirs in collaboration with Eric Whitacre, the NZSO, Voices NZ, Gondwana Choirs and the Toronto Children’s Choir, and recently performed with the New Zealand Opera Chorus for the 2024 season of Le Comte Ory. She is excited to be the Soprano II Section Leader for this cycle.

Ivan is a Law and Music student at the University of Auckland, studying Voice under Dr. Te Oti Rakena. He was part of the 2019-2020 NZSSC cycle and currently also sings with the Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, Auckland Youth Choir, and Auckland Chamber Choir. Outside of choir, he is the 2023 President of the School of Music Student’s Association and has also represented the University in the UNSW Trans-Tasman Case Competition and the UTS Global Case Competition.