CONCERT PROGRAMME
Conductor: Elise Bradley, MNZM, KCM
Collaborative Pianist: Francis Cowan
Guest Conductor: Dr Karen Grylls, CNZM
Guest Conductor: Maria Colvin
Guest Pianist: Chris Greenslade
Festive Alleluia
Lyn Williams
Jubilate Deo
Peter Anglea
Verleih uns Frieden
Felix Mendelssohn
A Star Shall Rise Up Out of Jacob
Felix Mendelssohn
Conducted by Dr Karen Grylls, CNZM
Ubi Caritas
Ola Gjeilo
Conducted by Dr Karen Grylls, CNZM
Libera Me
Lajos Bardos
Song to the Moon
Z. Randall Stroope
Flute: Maria Colvin
Oboe: Jordan Wise
Ihi, Wehi, Mana
Robert Wiremu
Conducted by Dr Karen Grylls, CNZM
Intermission
Kyrie from the Nelson Mass
F. J Haydn
Der Gang zum Liebchen
Johannes Brahms
Locus Iste
Anton Bruckner
Lammaa Badaa Yatathanna
arr. Shireen Abu-Khader
Here is the River
Fergus Byett
Conducted By: Maria Colvin Soprano Soloist: Stef Gibson-Muir
Matariki
Takerei Komene
Additional Pianist: Chris Greenslade
Ritmo
Dan Davison
Additional Pianist: Chris Greenslade
*Speeches & Cake*
Oculi Omnium
Charles Wood
And now, for our final little challenge of the evening! Before dessert can be served, you’ll need to bid at our auction for the notes and bars of this piece. The winning bids will unlock the music — and only then can we hear the piece sung in full! So, get those bidding hands ready…
Celebrate!
Please enjoy dessert & music in the Victoria Room, Bar Open until 11pm.
Programme Notes
Festive Alleluia – Lyn Williams
Lyn Williams is Australia’s leading director of choirs for young people. Her composition Festive Alleluia is a vibrant and rhythmically energised work that captures the spirit of celebration through layered textures and dynamic interplay. Composed by one of Australia’s leading choral educators and conductors, the piece showcases Williams’ flair for writing music that is both accessible and artistically compelling. Bursting with rhythmic vitality, shifting meters, and a joyful sense of momentum, Festive Alleluia is a jubilant affirmation of voice and community, inviting singers and audiences alike into its spirited musical exclamation.
Jubilate Deo– Peter Anglea
Peter says “I decided upon an asymmetrical meter (10/8) for this piece because it brings energy and exuberance to the music and because it fits the declamation of the text perfectly. The form is a modified rondo in which the recurring theme is the one set in 10/8. The rest of the piece bounces between differing meters – 6/8, 3/4, 4/4, and even 8/8. The layering of different rhythms on top of each other helps build the momentum and excitement throughout
Jubilate Deo omni terra
Servite Domino in laetitia
Alleluia, alleluia, in laetitia!
Alleluia, alleluia, in laetitia!
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:1, 5).
Verleih uns Frieden- Felix Mendelssohn
Written during Mendelssohn’s formative travels through Italy. The piece reflects his deep fascination with sacred vocal polyphony and historic liturgical texts. Celebrated for its serene beauty; Robert Schumann famously likened its pristine craftsmanship to a Raphael Madonna. The text is Martin Luther’s poetic plea for divine protection:
Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich,
Herr Gott, zu unsern Zeiten;
Es ist doch ja kein andrer nicht,
der für uns könnte streiten,
denn du, unser Gott, alleine.
“Graciously grant us peace, Lord God, in our time; for there is no other who could fight for us, save You alone, our God.”
A Star Shall Rise Up Out of Jacob– Felix Mendelssohn
“A star shall rise out of Jacob” (or “come forth from Jacob”) is a famous biblical prophecy found in Numbers 24:17 of the Old Testament. Spoken by the seer Balaam, it declares that a, “star and a scepter will arise from Israel” to bring victory, often interpreted as a messianic promise for a future king or ruler. The “star” and “scepter” are understood as symbols of royal authority, sovereignty, and divine power
Ubi Caritas – Ola Gjeilo
The text for this song is generally attributed to an anonymous author. It contrasts the heat and light of the sun with the winter landscape, calling on the sun to “make this winter night our beauty’s Spring.”
Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Exultemus, et in ipso iucundemur.
Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.
Amen
Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ’s love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart. Amen.
Libera Me – Lajos Bardos
Lajos Bárdos’s Libera me is a dramatic, a cappella mixed-choir motet that portrays the terrifying awe of the Last Judgment (Visio de Judicio Ultimo). Known for his profound impact on Hungarian choral music, Bárdos infuses the traditional Latin text with stark dynamic shifts, urgent rhythms, and vivid emotional contrasts:
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna,
in die illa tremenda:
quando caeli movendi sunt et terra;
dum veneris iudicare saeculum per ignem.
Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo,
dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira.
Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae,
Dies illa, dies magna et amara valde.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
“Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death,
on that terrible day:
when the heavens and earth will be shaken;
when you will come to judge the age with fire.
I am made to tremble, and I am afraid,
since trial and anger are coming.
That day, a day of anger, disaster and sorrow,
That day, a mighty day, and one exceedingly bitter.
Give them eternal rest, Lord,
and may light perpetual shine upon them”
Song to the Moon – Z. Randall Stroope (1953-)
The text of Song to the Moon paraphrases a small portion of a text by Czech author Jaroslav Kvapil. The English translation aims to capture the essence of the original text. It centres around a water nymph (named Rusalka) who lives in a fairytale kingdom. She yearns to be human so she can fall in love with a human prince who visits her pond to bathe. Song to the Moon conveys Rusalka’s request for the moon to find her lover (the prince) and tell him that she loves him.
Ihi, Wehi, Mana– Robert Wiremu
The dedication of Ihi Wehi Mana by Robert Wiremu reads as follows: “Commissioned for the 2026 Auckland Arts Festival in honour of a special friendship.”At the centre of the Auckland Arts Festival commission was Ataahua Papa who wrote the kupu for this very special piece. Her desire was that we sing in Te Reo and Robert created this piece to celebrate the relationship between kapahaka group Te Waka Huia and mareikura (highly respected) Dr Karen Grylls, one that had started with Ngāpō and Pimia Wehi in the 1990s. The concert in the festival, March 20th and 21st, took the name of this piece. Ihi Wehi Mana talks of spiritual power, awe and prestige connecting all the voices which are represented by the kotuku, the tūī and the huia. For Robert, the kotuku’s high and rare status refers to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the tūī to her exceptionally beautiful voice. The unity of the two worlds refers to the kapa haka team, Te Waka Huia, and the choral world created by Karen Grylls.
The musical style is purely Robert’s, always accessible, always sensitive to the text and its meaning, and sometimes a little “cheesy”, in his case a little over dramatic! The last statement of Ihi Wehi Mana is marked “Hollywood finish”!
Very tragically, Robert Wiremu passed away on July 18th this year. It is with his permission and in his honour that we perform his piece. Moe mai ra, e hoa!
I puta mai te whakaaro
Kia tūhono nga reo katoa.
He mahinga tahitanga
He piki kotuku, He manu korokī
He korokoro tūī. He huia tīoriori
Ka whā naumai he kapa Motuhake
Te Kotahitanga o ngā ao e rua
He mea whakahirahira (significant)
He rongomaiwhiti (sacredness)
The spiritual power, awe, and prestige.
The thought was born
to connect all voices.
A joint endeavour,
A rare white heron plume, a singing bird,
a tūī’s resonant throat, a resounding huia.
Welcome forth a special group
the unity of two worlds
a significant thing
a sacred essence.
Kyrie from the Nelson Mass– F.J Haydn
Haydn called his mass Missa in Angustiis (Mass in a Time of Anxiety). The previous year, Napoleon had defeated the Austrian armies and threatening Vienna, and then, in the summer of 1798, he had conquered the allied naval blockade and appeared set to attack Egypt. Times were fraught and uncertain, but in mid-September, about a week before Haydn’s new mass was to be performed, word reached Vienna that the British Admiral Horatio Nelson had destroyed Napoleon’s fleet in a brilliant victory at Aboukir. Exactly how or when Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis became popularly known as the Lord Nelson Mass is something that no one even at that time was able to say for certain, but surely the first listeners would have associated the terrifying trumpets and timpani of the opening Kyrie and the jubilant, dramatic music that followed with the political turmoil – and then the military victory – that was on everyone’s minds.
Der Gang zum Liebchen – Johannes Brahms
Meaning ‘the walk to the beloved’s home’, this song uses text that Brahms found in a collection of German Folksongs. His setting of the text is folksong-like in its use of recurring rhythmic patterns and melodic ideas. The text describes the worries of a lover as he makes his way to the home of his beloved, tortured by anxious thoughts of her unfaithfulness or even her death. The flickering changes between minor and major keys reflect the mood swings of the quickly pacing lover. The piano accompanies in a dance-like manner.
Es glänzt der Mond nieder,
Ich sollte doch wieder
Zu meinem Liebchen,
Wie mag es ihr gehn?
Ach weh, sie verzaget
Und klaget, und klaget,
Daß sie mich nimmer
Es ging der Mond unter,
Ich eilte doch munter,
Und eilte daß keiner
Mein Liebchen entführt.
Ihr Täubchen, o girret,
Ihr Lüftchen, o schwirret,
Daß keiner mein Liebchen,
Mein Liebchen entführt!
The moon shines down
So I should set out
Again to my love,
How is she, I wonder?
Alas, she’s despairing
And lamenting, lamenting
That she’ll never see
Me again in her life!
The moon went down,
But I hurried off happily,
Hurried so that no one
Should steal my love.
Keep cooing, you doves,
Keep whispering, you breezes,
So that no one
Should steal my love!
Locus Iste – Anton Bruckner
Locus Iste premiered for the dedication of the votive chapel at the New Cathedral in Linz, Austria, where Bruckner previously served as cathedral organist. Written to celebrate the opening of the sacred space, it uses a traditional Latin gradual text assigned for the anniversary of the dedication of a church:
Locus iste a Deo factus est, inaestimabile sacramentum, irreprehensibilis est.
“This place was made by God, a priceless sacrament; it is without reproach.”
Lammaa Badaa Yatathanna – arr. Shireen Abu-Khader
Lammaa badaa yatathannaa is a popular Arabic muwashshah. The muwashshah, a strophic song form, originated in Cabra (near Córdoba) during the Muslim rule in Spain (until 1492). In the many centuries since then, this song type has spread throughout the Arab world, where it survives in oral tradition.
The source of Lammaa badaa yatathannaa is uncertain; however, it may have originated in Egypt as late as the nineteenth century. The song is in the samai rhythm, a complex rhythm used for Arab classical music and notated in 10/8. The melody, based on the maqam nahawand (equivalent of the Western harmonic minor scale), is commonly used for composing or improvising Arab music. Also typical of the muwashshah style is the pairing of voices against a single voice that has a different role (for example, the duet in the soprano and alto against the longer notes in the tenor in mm. 18 and 19).
In the poetry, a man refers to the way that his beloved is dancing and gracefully swaying (“tathanaa”) from side to side. Until recently, it was improper for men to sing about their yearnings for women. Therefore, the male singer decides to use the masculine pronoun “he.”
Lammaa badaa yatathanna (Aman, aman)
Habbi jamal lufatana (Aman, aman)
Awma bila hazu atsarna
Ghusnu thana hina mal
Wadi wayah hirati
Manli rahim shekwati
Filhobbi min lawati
Illa malik il jamal
When she appeared walking with a swaying gait,
The beauty of my love has seduced me.
How with a single glance she captured our hearts!
When she bends, she is like a tender branch caught in the breeze.
Oh, my destiny, my dilemma,
There is no one to answer my appeal,
Or heal me from the pain of love,
Except the queen of all beauties.
Here is the River – Fergus Byett
At a choir fundraising concert, chorister Liz Carpenter made the winning bid in an auction for a new choral composition by Fergus. Her partner, a keen reader of New Zealand poetry, had recently discovered Waikato karakia by Bob Orr, a poem reflecting on life alongside the Waikato River. With the poet’s permission, we shared the text with Fergus, suggesting that he focus particularly on the poem’s second half, which resonated deeply with them.
here is te awa
here is the Waikato our wandering mother
and here by the banks of
Kirikiriroa
I have sat down beside her.
Bob Orr wrote Waikato karakia during a residency at the University of Waikato. The full poem explores the river and its surroundings by day and by night; the excerpt set in Here is the River comes from its nocturnal section, where moonlight and stars “weave tukutuku panels on the river”. Images of a “waka with paddles of fire” evoke the river’s past, while lovers walking “arm in arm” connect the poem to the present day. Across successive generations, those living beside the Waikato experience the river’s flow as a constant presence in their lives, linking those who have gone before with those yet to come.
An especially striking feature of Orr’s poem is its use of repetition, echoing the style of traditional karakia, in which key words or phrases recur to create resonance and emphasis. Repeated references to “the river” give the text a chant-like quality, grounding the poem in the enduring presence of te awa itself.
Matariki – Takerei Komene
Takerei Komene is an Auckland-based Māori composer, conductor, and singer (Ngāpuhi, Te Whānau-a-Apanui) who has written prominent contemporary choral pieces celebrating Matariki, including the choral work titled “Matariki” and the ode to Hiwa-i-te-rangi called “Our Youngest Star” This piece “Matariki” was commissioned for the New Zealand Children’s Choral Academy 2025. Te Kaituku / Kaitaki i te tae: “The giver or bringer of colour.”
Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi, Waitī, Waitā, Pōhutukawa: These are five of the individual stars within the Matariki cluster, each associated with a different domain of nature or wellbeing.
Matariki, Matariki
He kaituku i te tae
Matariki, Matariki
He whaea, he kaitiaki
Matariki
Tupu-ā-nuku
Tupu-ā-rangi
Waitī
Waitā
Waipuna-ā-rangi
Ururangi
Hiwa-i-te-rangi
Pōhutukawa
He mārama o te tau hou
Ko koe tēnā, Matariki!
Matariki, Matariki
The giver of colour
Matariki, Matariki
Mother, guardian
Guardian of wellbeing and health
Guardian of kai from the soil
Guardian of kai from above us
Guardian of fresh water
Guardian of salt water and the ocean
Guardian of rainwater
Guardian of the winds
Carrier of wishes
Guide for the souls of those who have passed
Light of the new year
That is you, Matariki!
Ritmo – Dan Davison (1956-)
This energetic Latin-style piece is all about rhythm. Featuring an accompaniment for four-hand piano and the choir’s own “rhythmic” body percussion, this piece is a celebration of the joy, peace, and hope that music offers our lives. With a Spanish text by the composer, Ritmo urgently calls all people and all voices to join together in song.
Ritmo.
Batir las manos al ritmo. Hábilmente.
Batir las manos al ritmo.
Canten en coro gozoso, Con amor y esperanza.
Cantaremos en ritmo. Cantaremos en coro. Cantaremos en ritmo.
Levanten sus voces. (Todas las voces) Levanta su corazón.
Con instrumentos musicales, Cantaremos de libertad y de amor.
Hagen en harmonia.
Vamos a cantar y a jugar.
Totas voces, todas gentes Hábilmente,
con todas voces, con Instrumentos, con esperanza, y con ritmo.
Batir las manos al ritmo.
Batir las manos con toda la gente,
Con Todas voces, con alegría y con gozo.
Cantaremos con gozo.
Con amor y esperanza. Cantaremos de paz.
Cantaremos de amor.
Cantaremos con alegría y con gozo. Ritmo.
Rhythm.
Clap your hands to the rhythm. Capably.
Clap your hands to the rhythm.
Sing in joyful chorus, With love and hope.
We will sing in rhythm. We will sing in chorus. We will sing in rhythm.
Lift your voices (All the voices) Lift your heart.
With musical instruments, We will sing of freedom and love.
Make harmony.
Let’s go and play.
All voices. All people. Capably,
With all voices, with Instruments, with hope, and with rhythm.
Clap your hands to the rhythm. Clap your hands with all the people,
With all voices, with happiness, and with joy.
We will sing with joy.
With love and hope.
We will sing of peace.
We will sing of love.
We will sing with happiness and with joy. Rhythm.
Oculi Omnium – Charles Wood
Like Stanford, his teacher, friend and colleague, Charles Wood (1866–1926) was Irish by birth. After studying at the Royal College of Music in London, Wood took up residence at Selwyn College, Cambridge, moving to Gonville and Caius College upon his appointment as Organist-scholar (1889–1894) before being elected to a fellowship. After the death of Stanford (his former teacher at the Royal College of Music) in 1924, Wood proceeded to the professorship.
Wood’s influence on music was widely felt through his pupils: Vaughan Williams, Armstrong Gibbs, Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir William Harris, and Sir Michael Tippett. But it is evident that Wood appears not to have been an ambitious man and most of his music was published posthumously. He spent much of his life in the shadow of Stanford; Wood’s own compositions have their origins in his teacher’s style and harmonic vocabulary.
Most of Wood’s church music was written with the Cambridge college choirs in mind, with their ability to sing double-choir music with relative ease. Much of his music is beyond the abilities of most parish church choirs. By way of contrast, Oculi omnium is the second of two easy, short, four-part introits published in 1927. Widely used in churches, universities and monasteries, as a Christian Grace before eating
Tonight, the audience must bid on the music
‘Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine et tu das escam illorum in tempore oppotuno. Gloria tibi, Domine, Amen.’
‘The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Glory to Thee, O Lord. Amen.’
Biographies
Elise Bradley
MNZM, KCM
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 to her from Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition of her services to Music. In March 2025, she was awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal for her outstanding service and dedication to the Toronto Children’s Chorus and to the wider community in Canada.
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 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 has received many invitations to conduct, adjudicate choirs, and present at conferences around the globe, recently including 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), the Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival (China), the World Choral Symposium in Turkey in 2023, the AOV International Choral Festival (Philippines) and the Bandung International Choral Festival (Indonesia).
Since her return to New Zealand, Elise has co-founded the company “Choral DirectioNZ”, 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 NZCCA Senior Choir, Nota Bella Junior Choir at Westlake Girls’ High School, the Ficino Primary Choirs and Takapuna Grammar School’s Leona Ensemble.
Francis Cowan
Francis Cowan studied piano with Ruby Campbell and then Judith Clark at Victoria University. Following completion of his degree in Piano Performance, he trained at Wellington Teachers College where he continued to major in music.
Francis was appointed Director of Music at St Mark’s Church School in 1989.
In 1994, Francis moved to Hamilton inspired by the respected tradition of music at Southwell School. At Southwell, he trained the Boys’ Choir to international standards and devoted himself to achieving the highest possible level in all aspects of the annual Opera. This included designing and painting the sets and overseeing the artistic direction.
In 2009, Francis was appointed Director of Music at St Paul’s Collegiate School expanding his teaching experience into senior Cambridge and NCEA classes.
Following two years splitting time between St Paul’s Collegiate as Director of Vocal Performance and Norah Howell Fellow Piano Accompanist for the University of Waikato, Francis was appointed as full time Head of Collaborative Piano at the University in 2015. He has enjoyed a busy schedule of coaching and accompaniment for voice and instrumental students. He re-joined the team of pianists for the New Zealand Opera School in 2021, and re-joined Hamilton Civic Choir as collaborative pianist in 2025.
Dr Karen Grylls CNZM
Dr Karen Grylls ONZM (1999), CNZM (2023) is an Honorary Associate Professor in Choral Conducting at the University of Auckland. She conducted the New Zealand Youth Choir from 1989 to 2011, founded Voices NZ in 1998 and Artistic Director of three internationally acclaimed national choirs: these two and the NZ Secondary Student’s choir till 2024. From 2011 to 2013, Karen was also Artistic Director of Toronto’s Exultate Chamber Choir.
Her performances with the Youth Choir and Voices NZ have won international competitions and awards: 1992 with NZYC, The Silver Rose Bowl in the BBC Let the Peoples Sing competition, NZYC Choir of the World, Llangollen (1999), TOWER Voices CD Spirit of the Land took the 2006 Tui Award for Best Classical Album, and the CD Voice of the Soul was a finalist in the 2013 Vodafone NZ Music awards. Her work with the national choirs in New Zealand has been acknowledged with her appointment as Artistic Director Emerita to Choirs Aotearoa NZ in 2025.At the University of Auckland, Karen established a postgraduate pathway in Conducting at the Masters and Doctoral level. Students from the university are regularly accepted into overseas courses of study and have successfully taken on high-level conducting positions specifically with the national choirs in New Zealand. Many prize-winning conductors from The Big Sing, the national secondary schools choral competition, have studied with her. Karen received an Auckland University Distinguished Teaching Award in Music (1996), and an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 1999, and Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in 2023, for her services to choral music. She is also the recipient of two national citations for services to New Zealand music.
Karen is much in demand as an adjudicator for competitions and festivals worldwide, most recently in Bali and Taipei, the 48th International competition in Tolosa, and the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition, Bavaria. She is sought after internationally as a choral clinician and regularly conducts international masterclasses and workshops. In August 2019 Karen was a plenary speaker at the Oxford Conducting Institute at the Sydney Conservatorium Conference and in 2022, Karen was a jury member for the International Tokyo Choir Competition.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic online lecture appearances have included Toronto, Los Angeles, Boston and Montreal. Online lecture appearances also included the Sydney International Series (Gondwana) In 2025 Karen presented lectures online to Temple University Philadelphia and Nuorten Kuoroliitto Helsinki and in July, she the International Jury in Bali, and present at the ECA International Singing week at Ghent.
Chris Greenslade
Chris Greenslade was a student of Bruce Greenfield before continuing with Richard Mapp at the Wellington Conservatorium of Music. He completed his postgraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music with Mark Ray, and was the 2005 recipient of the RNCM Julius Scholarship.
As both a soloist and collaborative pianist, Chris has appeared regularly with concert societies throughout New Zealand. He has worked with St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra and served as principal pianist from 2019 – 2024 for Civic Choir, collaborating with conductors Elise Bradley and Dr Karen Grylls.
Alongside his performing career, Chris maintains an active commitment to music education. He has previously served as a Performance Fellow at the University of Waikato and has presented masterclasses for the Institute of Registered Music Teachers (IRMT) and the New Zealand Examinations Board (NZMEB). He also maintains a private teaching studio, where his students have achieved regular success in local and national competitions, including the Chamber Music New Zealand Secondary Schools Chamber Music Contest and the Wallace National Junior Piano Competition.
He currently also teaches piano and chamber music at St Paul’s Collegiate School in Hamilton and St Peter’s School, Cambridge. He has been a regional coach and adjudicator for the CMNZ chamber contest and is regularly invited to adjudicate for for piano competitions.
In addition to his teaching and performing work, Greenslade contributes to the wider musical community as a member of the National Council of the Institute of Registered Music Teachers New Zealand and as an examiner for the New Zealand Music Examinations Board.
Maria Colvin
Born in Hamilton, Maria Colvin is a choral and orchestral conductor, flautist, singer, and is the Director of Music at Waikato Diocesan School for Girls. She is a current participant in Hamilton Civic Choir’s Artist Development Programme. Maria conducts the award-winning Dio choir Bel Suono, and formed the Hamilton Festival Choir and Treble Choir for Arts Festival performances with Hamilton City Brass – Jenkin’s “The Armed Man” in 2023 and Tin’s “To Shiver the Sky” with soloists Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono and Elaine Wogan in 2024.
Maria has sung in the London Philharmonic Choir, Graduate Choir, Repertoire Choir, Tauranga Civic Choir, Hamilton Civic Choir, and plays in the Hamilton Pops Orchestra, Trust Waikato Symphony, Civic Players and for numerous school and community musical theatre productions.
Jordan Wise
Having been involved in both vocal and instrumental music from a young age, Jordan Wise is excited to be playing alongside the Hamilton Civic Choir for the first time. Jordan’s musical adventures began at the age of 10 with the saxophone. Never one to turn down the opportunity to try something new though, the past fourteen years have also seen him play the piano, clarinet, tenor horn, oboe and pipe organ. Jordan graduated from the University of Waikato in 2022 with a conjoint degree in electronic engineering and music, having studied pipe organ under Philip Smith.
Jordan has since embarked on postgraduate study in physics and continues to be involved with a number of community ensembles, playing oboe and cor Anglais with the Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton City Pops Orchestra and Waikato Symphonic Band, and tenor horn with Cambridge Brass Band. Also working semi-professionally as an organist, he plays regularly at St. Paul’s Collegiate School, St. Aidan’s Church and Southwell School. This year also sees Jordan performing with Hamilton Operatic Society for their upcoming production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Choir Members
HAMILTON CIVIC CHOIR
Sopranos
Amanda Kelly
Amanda Wood*
Angela Taverner
Bianca Verdonk
Emer Lea
Holly Hampson-Tindale
Idelle Hiestand
Jenny Lewy
Jo Arthur
Karen Johnson
Karena Fleming
Laura Duntsch
Lilian Lescun
Maria Colvin
Meryl Nicol
Ocean Daniel
Poppy Lethbridge*
Stef Gibson-Muir
Susan Woodhouse
Altos
Alec Fernandez*
Alexandria Burnell
Angelina Young
Diana Scruby
Elizabeth Ordelheide
Esther Termaat*
Fran Crowther
Hannah Goldmanu
Julie Poot
Kate Lethbridge
Lisette Ingram
Liz Carpenter
Mary Raleigh
Tammy Wong
Tara Jeory
Tiffany Sayer
Tenors
Aiden Vanner
Christoph Maubach
Damian Tomic
Hans van den Dolder*
John Heritage
Basses
Chris Glassey
Conall O’Toole
Felix Lau
Greg Morton
Harry Neil
Hugh Goodman*
Humphrey Pullon*
Isaac Albery*
Jae Hyun Jeong
Jamie Spooner
Peter Winder
Steve Adams
Tony Antoniadis
Zach Howell
*Denotes members not singing in the current concert
Upcoming Concerts
12th December at 5pm in The St Peter’s Cathedral Hamilton— KIA TIPU O NGAA WAIATA: LET THE SONGS FLOURISH
Handel’s Messiah (Part One) & Messe de Minuit pour Noël (Charpentier)
Ngaa mihi nui to our sponsors:
Community Organisation Grants Scheme Kirikiriroa / Hamilton
Sincere thanks to our generous donors, these contributions have been essential in enabling the choir to stage varied and interesting concerts:
Margaret Fairhurst
Sue Collinge
Bob Armstrong
The Hamilton Civic Choir committee would like to especially thank:
- Choir members who have volunteered helping with the Silent Auction, The Oculi Omnium Auction and the “Buy a Note” fundraiser and making the yummy dessert treats!
- All the members of the choir for their enthusiasm and hard work in preparing for the concert – without their commitment and involvement, there would be no choir 💛
We’re grateful to our supporters for making this concert possible:
Stage Manager
Front of House Team
Family & Friends
Support Us
Give A Little
Did you know that the Hamilton Civic Choir has a Give A Little page? Any donations of over $5 are eligible for a NZ charitable giving tax credit.
If you’d like to donate, please click the button, or you can visit our Give A Little page.
Or, if you’d like to discuss making a larger contribution to the choir please email our treasurer, accounts@hamiltoncivicchoir.org.nz
Hamilton Civic Choir Foundation
The enduring purpose of the Foundation is to assist the Hamilton Civic Choir to perform quality music to a high standard for inspiration and enjoyment of audiences and performers alike. The Foundation holds an endowment fund which generates income to provide Hamilton Civic Choir with support for special projects and back up for unforeseen circumstances.
Donations to the Foundation qualify for a tax rebate as it is registered as a charitable organization. If you would like to make a donation and/or bequest to the Hamilton Civic Choir Foundation please contact:
Hamilton Civic Choir Foundation
Contact: Kath Barnsley
Email: kbarnsley@xtra.co.nz
Join our email list
Want to make sure you don’t miss a concert? Then sign up for our email list on Mailchimp!
We promise that only a handful of emails are sent out each year, such as notices about our concerts or special choral opportunities.