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 the Amplify Collective makes commissioning new work possible and enables us to create meaningful opportunities for established and emerging composers.
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
A year ago we challenged ourselves to keep singing at a world-class level, as expected from Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, but in a way that is more locally focused when borders and alert levels keep us at home.
We’re excited now to debut our regional ensembles! With funding from Creative NZ’s resilience fund, we’re now rolling out the project in Wellington and Auckland.
The Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand Trust governs three national choirs with great domestic and international reputations – NZ Secondary Students’ Choir https://www.nzsschoir.com/, NZ Youth Choir https://www.nzyouthchoir.com/ and Voices NZ https://www.voicesnz.com/. The associated Choirs Aotearoa Foundation Trust manages an endowment fund to provide long term financial support to the charitable activities of the Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand Trust.
We are looking for new Trustees with specific skills for the Choirs Aotearoa Foundation Trust.
The Foundation has been well established with a simple structure and a modest investment base. We are looking for people to help take things forward with new ideas on how we might grow the fund to provide for the long term security of the choirs as well as providing the support to enable broad access and participation in our national choirs. We may also be looking for someone to chair the Foundation Trust in the future.
We are looking for skills in the areas of investment management, marketing and/or communications and community networks to oversee and grow the current invested funds, through bequests and donations.
We’d love to hear from you and invite you to send your governance CV to canztrustees@gmail.com by 18 June 2021.
If you have questions you can contact the current CANZ Chair at canztrustees@gmail.com.
Taonga Moana is heading to the mainland, the Festival of Colour in Wanaka for a one-night only concert on 14 April.
“For Voices New Zealand, Taonga Moana represents a significant moment in their performing career. When I founded the choir in 1998, the aspiration was to create a Chamber Choir on a professional level, to be visible alongside our national orchestra, national ballet and national opera company. The hope was also that such an ensemble would be something young singers could aspire to for a professional life in ensemble singing. This remains so…It is with great humility and pleasure that I invite you to share the journey of the kuaka with us…” – Karen Grylls, Artistic Director & Conductor
Starts: 12 April
Duration: 2 months (fixed-term); can be full-time or part-time
Based in Wellington, Downtown office
A rare opportunity to work with an iconic national music organisation during one of their tours. The job scope includes:
· Telling the story: creating content and providing communications for social media channels and databases for our three national choirs, NZ Secondary Students’ Choir, NZ Youth Choir and VOICES New Zealand chamber Choir.
· Cover the action: content creation (i.e. Filming and photography) of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir during their concerts and rehearsals in Wellington.
· Strategise new ideas: opportunity to develop strategies for other social media platforms
· Proof’s in the pudding: Checking key social media metrics for audience engagement
Would suit a graduate in marketing/comms, someone who is a natural writer and is good with social media, tech savvy and enjoys listening to great music making!
You will be supported by a highly experienced arts management team in a great environment, positivity plus!
Send us your CV and cover letter now to joinus@choirsnz.co.nz
Nzyouthchoir.com
Nzsschoir.com
Voicesnz.com
Voices Ensembles is a new project offering an exciting opportunity for professional singers in Aotearoa New Zealand to work and perform at a high artistic level. Choirs Aotearoa has received funding from Creative New Zealand to run a pilot scheme that creates small vocal ensembles of Voices NZ singers. The pilot is artistically led by Karen Grylls and Christopher Bruerton (current member of The King’s Singers) and will run from March to October 2021.
Auditions will be held 19 and 26 February.
Check out this additional information and how to apply.
A few weeks out from our brand new reimagining of early music When Light Breaks, we take a look at one person bringing the story to life. We’re excited to be working with Director Jacqueline Coats who has many feathers in her cap. She has worked as a director and an assistant director for the NZ International Festival of the Arts, NZ Opera, Victorian Opera in Melbourne, CubaDupa in Wellington and many more. She has won accolades from the NZ Fringe and the Wellington Theatre Awards, and in 2014 was ‘Director of the Year’ at the Dunedin Theatre Awards for her premiere of Anthony Richie’s This Other Eden.
Jacqueline has a passion for theatre and opera for young people. She has worked as an actor, a music director and a stage director for Capital E National Theatre for Children, most recently directing their touring production of Songs of the Sea. Jacqueline’s theatre credits include the original touring productions of Lines from the Nile and Home; a promenade production of Martin Sherman’s Bent; and co-directing two shows for Wellington Summer Shakespeare. She directed Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona for Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School at the end of 2018.
Jacqueline is not only directing When Light Breaks, but she has crafted the journey of the show, inspired by the quote “we are all broken, that’s how the light gets in.” The concert is set around the ritual of grief, moving through five stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, moving from darkness to light over the course of the performance.
The journey of the concert will be guided by puppetry from Little Dog Barking Theatre Company, a first for a Voices New Zealand concert.
We are head over heels with opera, wide eyed for Monteverdi and smitten for Britten. With the alert levels changing for the better, we can confirm that VOICES LOVE OPERA is coming to your stages in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington mid-October. Some of New Zealand’s best singers are debuting a new show that explores both the triumphs and the heartbreaks of love.
Composing for a large choir and a maximum of three instruments – that’s the challenge Choirs Aotearoa NZ is issuing to some adventurous Kiwi composers.
It’s a perfect time for composers to try something new. Concert plans are in disarray, thanks to the pandemic. And they’re likely to continue to face disruptions for the foreseeable future.
This is New Zealand’s first national competition specifically for choral song-writing – Compose Aotearoa.
