New Zealand Youth Choir and Gondwana Chorale join forces

New Zealand Youth Choir and Gondwana Chorale join forces.

7.30pm Saturday 9 July
Theatre Royal, TSB Showplace, New Plymouth

The New Zealand Youth Choir will put on a trans-Tasman serenade when the Australian Gondwana Chorale joins them for a concert at the TSB Showplace on July 9.

It’s part of a developing relationship between two choirs whose members are drawn from the best young voices in their respective countries.

Last year the NZYC’s international tour included a joint concert with the Gondwana Chorale in Brisbane. This concert gives the NZYC the chance to return the favour for 25 singers from the Australian choir, accompanied by their Principal Guest Conductor, Paul Holley.

The choirs will meet up at Vertical Horizons Camp in Inglewood for a few days of intensive rehearsal before performing.

Audiences for the concert will see a new face on the podium. As part of a bid to develop new talent on the choral scene, the NZYC is trialling two guest conductors during its concerts this year. Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand’s Artistic Director Karen Grylls, who has conducted the Youth Choir since 1989, is leading the search to find a new Music Director.

New Plymouth audiences will see American-born conductor Ravil Atlas lead the choir in a programme of works by Palestrina, Brahms, Schumann, Stanford and Ritchie.

Atlas draws on wide experience ranging from participation in the famous San Francisco chorus Chanticleer, his work with world-renowned choral director Paul Hilliard, over seventy leading tenor roles ranging from Lloyd-Webber to Verdi, and a stint in the chorus of the famed opera house at La Scala, Milan.

It is three years since the NZYC last performed in New Plymouth.

Tickets go on sale from Friday 17 June.

Unreserved seating
$15 Adults, $10 Children/Students
Tickets from TSB Showplace Box Office or Ticketmaster
(Booking Fee will apply)
Tel: 0800 111 999 www.ticketmaster.co.nz

/ENDS

Biographies

THE NEW ZEALAND YOUTH CHOIR has achieved considerable success since its formation in 1979. Performances around New Zealand and eight international tours have firmly established the choir’s reputation for consistency, energy and excellence. The Choir is nationally auditioned with membership open to young singers between the ages of 18 and 25. One of the Choir’s greatest achievements was in 1999 winning the ‘Choir of the World’ title at the International Music Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales.

RAVIL ATLAS, Guest Conductor NZYC, has quickly established himself as a highly sought after voice expert in classical music, musical theatre and choral performance. Since arriving in New Zealand in late 2009 he has tutored and presented master classes at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts and at the prestigious National Singing School, and has acted as interim choral director at Burnside High School where he led two choirs to gold medals at The Big Sing competition.

GONDWANA CHOIRS has under its umbrella Australia’s finest choral training programs for young people: the Sydney Children’s Choir, the Gondwana National Choral Program and the Gondwana National Indigenous Children’s Choir. The misson of Gondwana Choirs is to develop a unique Australian choral voice. Gondwana Chorale is mixed choir for singers aged 17 – 25. It’s the perfect way for former members of Gondwana Voices and new choristers to take their singing to another level.

PAUL HOLLEY is a choral conductor, educator and motivator. His personal warmth and passion for choral music have inspired many singers to discover and develop their skills and achieve personal fulfilment as choral musicians. Presently he is the Associate Director of Voices of Birralee and conducts two ensembles within this organisation. He is also a choral director and teacher at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. This is Paul Holley’s fifth year as Principal Guest Conductor of Gondwana Chorale.

ENDS

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