Grace is a graduate of the University of Auckland, completing a Bachelor of Music (Honours), received with First Class Honours in 2016.

Grace is passionate about choral singing and as a member of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, she has performed in multiple projects with the New Zealand String Quartet and the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra.

Grace teaches singing privately and works for Student Horizons, as the Head of Music Tours – New Zealand. Grace also has her dipABRSM in singing and performs regularly as a soloist throughout the country.

Christine Argyle was a member of the 1982 NZ Youth Choir.

She studied French, German and Music at Canterbury University and also holds an LTCL diploma in Singing and a Diploma in Performing Arts (Opera) from Auckland University.

Christine has sung with Voices New Zealand since its formation in 2018 and has travelled with the choir to Spain, Singapore, Australia, the UK, France and Germany. She is a former member of the NZ National Youth Choir, London Symphony Chorus and Auckland Opera Chorus.

Following conducting studies at Auckland University with Karen Grylls and Uwe Grodd, Christine founded Wellington’s Nota Bene chamber choir and the Wellington Young Voices children’s choir.

Christine is currently the CE of the New Zealand Choral Federation.

Thomas is originally from Christchurch and lives in Auckland.

He is a primary school teacher.

Katherine grew up in Masterton and has always had a love of Singing. She was a foundation member of the NZ Secondary Students Choir in 1986 and then went on to join National Youth Choir in 1989. Katherine was lucky enough to travel with the World Youth Choir to South America and Quebec. She joined Voices NZ in 1998 when it was formed and went on the first tour to Bilbao, Spain.

Katherine Lives in Wellington and enjoys singing Early Music with Baroque Voices. She is a Secondary School Music Teacher and Conducts two school choirs.

Helen Acheson (mezzo soprano) studied classical voice at the University of Auckland and the University of Otago, graduating in 2012 with a BMus Hons (first class) in Performance Music. Helen is a full-time itinerant singing and classroom music teacher, conductor, and vocal coach for shows and range of choirs. She has been a member of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, since 2010 sings in a professional vocal quartet, and performs around the country on a regular basis as a soloist. Helen has a particular interest in contemporary repertoire and has premiered works by a number of New Zealand composers including roles in Eve de Castro Robinson’s opera Len Lye, and Chris Adams’s River Lavalle.

With a love of singing choral and early music, Andrea was in the New Zealand National Youth Choir from 1985 to 1993 and then again in 1996. She has sung with Voices New Zealand since 1996 and also sang with the World Youth Choir twice in her younger days. Andrea also sings with The Tudor Consort and Baroque Voices in Wellington.

After working in the arts and adult education and a stint as a stay-at-home-parent, Andrea is now re-training to be a pre-school teacher.

Sponsored by Fay Pankhurst (2019, 2020, 2021)

Victoria’s musical training began in early childhood on the piano and cello, and then in a singing capacity, through her involvement in church and school choirs. She has been actively involved in the NZ choral and chamber music scenes for approximately 20 years and has performed with many groups as a chorister and a soloist. She was a member of the Auckland University Chamber Choir from 2001-2012 and the NZ Youth Choir from 2001-2004, touring with them both nationally and internationally.

Victoria has been a member of Voices NZ Chamber Choir since 2006 and is a current member of the St Matthews in the City Vocal Quartet with whom she performs on a weekly basis. In addition to singing roles, she is also an artist, mother and independent midwife.

Sponsored by
Ron & Lynn Holbrook 

Shona McIntyre-Bull has been a member of Voices NZ since 1999. She was a founding member of the NZ National Youth Choir, and sang with the choir from 1979 – 1984. She was a member of New Zealand Singers which performed in 1994. Shona holds a BA in History and an Exec Dip Mus in singing. Shona trained as a primary school teacher. From 1989 – 2000 she was Music Advisor to schools in the Auckland region, and then took up a post as Lecturer in Music Education at the Auckland College of Education.

Since 2006, Shona has been a teacher at Diocesan School for Girls, holding various positions. Currently she teaches in the Learning Support programme and is also the Director of the schools Choral Programme. Of the 7 choirs in the school, Shona conducts the award winning Year 9-10 Bella Cantoris choir, along with the school’s èlite choir: St Cecilia Singers, which currently enjoys the position of being one of the top three secondary school female-voice choirs in the country.

Shona sings with a number of local Auckland choirs and small ensemble groups.

Pepe Becker, well-known for her vocal purity and flexibility, began her musical training in Nelson as a Cathedral Choir chorister, pianist and oboist. Completing a BMus (in Composition) at Wellington’s Victoria University in 1987, she then studied (baroque) singing with Jessica Cash in London, and at The Hague’s Koninklijk Conservatorium, 1991-1993. She has sung professionally with a number of early music groups in Europe; has been a soloist alongside renowned international singers such as Emma Kirkby and Andreas Scholl, and continues to appear regularly as soprano soloist with chamber groups, choirs and orchestras throughout New Zealand.

As well as being a member of Voices NZ Chamber Choir since 1999, Pepe directs her own vocal ensemble, Baroque Voices (founded in 1994), which is reputed for innovative performances of both early and contemporary music. Pepe is a recording artist for Radio NZ Concert; has featured as a soloist on several commercial CDs; has released two duet CDs, “Rustic Revelry” (2006) and “Love’s Nature” (2011); has taught Musicianship at the NZSM; composes music; teaches piano, theory and singing, and also practises and teaches karate and astrology.

For more info, please visit:

www.baroquevoices.co.nz

www.facebook.com/PepeMusician/

www.sounz.org.nz/contributor/composer/1257

Jane is from Wellington.