More judges will be added as contracts are signed.

New Zealand Aria Open Section - Merlyn Quaife

A performer of great versatility, the distinguished soprano Merlyn Quaife has performed opera, oratoio, lieder, chamber music and contemporary music to great acclaim throughout Australia and Europe. She has also performed as soloist with the Singapore Symphony and the Voronesz Philharmonic in Russia. Merlyn has appeared with all the State Opera Companies in roles ranging from the bel canto Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor to the minimalist Chiang Ch’ing in Nixon in China. She has performed with all the Symphony Australia orchestras, featured in repertoire of every conceivable style from Handel to Ligeti, as well as recording a number of CDs including Aria for John Edward Eyre by David Lumsdaine, which won her a Sounds Autralia Award. Her recordings appear on the Naxos, Move, Tall Poppies and ABC Classics Labels.

Education has also been an important part of Merlyn’s career. Between 1995 and 2007 she was the Head of Department for Vocal Studies at the Faculty of Music at the University of Melbourne. Since 2005 she has also been guest teacher at the Lotte Lehman Woche Summer School in Pereleberg, Germany and has been invited to teach and perform in Vienna and the USA. For further information, please visit www.merlynquaife.com.

New Zealand Aria - Open Section - Peter Lockwood

Peter Lockwood was born in New Zealand, where he received his initial musical and linguistic training. His interest in music and theatre led him to work as repetiteur and accompanist on numerous projects throughout the North Island from 1976-1980. He travelled to London in 1980 where he continued his studies in piano, continuo work and conducting at the Royal College of Music (1980-81) and the National Opera Studio (1981- 82).Peter Lockwood joined the music staff of Scottish Opera under Sir Alexander Gibson in 1982, working with the main company and with its touring arm Opera-Go-Round, taking opera to towns and regions that the main company could not reach.

His desire to work with an European company then took him to Brussels, where he became a member of the music staff of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1983, working under its director Gerard Mortier and conductors Sir John Pritchard, Marek Janowski, Sylvain Cambreling, Michael Schoenwandt, Friedemann Layer and Christoph von Dohnanyi during the time that the company gained and confrmed its reputation as one of the leading European contemporary opera houses. Singers he worked with during this time included José van Dam, Gwyneth Jones, Ann Murray, Felicity Lott, Alberto Cupido, Jaime Aragall, Teresa Stratas, Kurt Streit, Sharon Sweet, Malcolm King, Montserrat Caballé, Stewart Burrows, Robert Lloyd, Eva Randova, Anja Silja and Franz Grundheber.

He was invited to join the music staff of De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam in 1993 by its intendant Pierre Audi and chief conductor Hartmut Haenchen. Conductors with whom he has collaborated there include Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Chailly, Edo de Waart, Yves Abel, Carlo Rizzi, Marc Albrecht, Friedrich Haider, Constantinos Carydis, Ralf Weikert, Ed Spanjaard, Hans Vonk, Daniele Callegari and Paolo Carignani; singers with whom he has worked there include Nadine Secunde, Linda Watson, Reinhild Runkel, Annick Massis, Danielle de Niese, Luca Pisaroni, Charlotte Margiono, Katarina Dalayman, Violeta Urmana, Dennis O’Neill, Michele Crider, Richard Margison, Piotr Beczala, Bryn Terfel, Joseph Calleja, Catherine Malftano, Rita Gorr, Helga Dernesch, John Tomlinson and Chris Merrit.

He has accompanied many of the above singers for appearances on French, Belgian, Dutch and German radio and television.

His repertoire includes more than two hundred operas, including all of Wagner’s operas, all the Mozart operas from Idomeneo onwards, the majority of the Verdi and all of Puccini’s operas as well as Berg’s Wozzeck and Lulu.

He works regularly with young singers at the start of their careers and has given master classes and courses for young singers and repetiteurs in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Great Britain and the United States. He has also been a jury member for vocal competitions and conservatory examinations in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Albania.

Peter Lockwood formed a piano duo with Julian Reynolds in 1995. Recordings made by them include two CDs of transcriptions of operatic excerpts for two pianos (Opera 4 Hands Vols. 1 & 2) and a CD of Saint-Saëns’ Le Carnaval des Animaux in its original version for two pianos and chamber ensemble. Other recordings by him include a CD entitled Oh Fair To See of songs by Finzi, Vaughan Williams and Britten with tenor Donald Kaasch and a recording entitled You’d Be Surprised of songs by Irving Berlin, Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Noel Coward and Stephen Sondheim with the British musical artist Barbara Kennedy.

New Zealand Aria Under 21 - Vernon Midgely

Vernon Midgely immigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1998 after thirty-seven years as one of Britain’s most popular singing stars. He now lives in Christchurch and teaches singing alongside Dame Malvina Major at the University of Canterbury.

He was a distinguished student at the Royal Academy of Music and in 1990 he was awarded an Associateship. Since leaving the Academy, Vernon’s career has embraced oratorio, recitals, opera and celebrity concerts, working with top international coaches and appearing with many leading orchestras and conductors and at most of Britain’s major concert halls including those at London’s South Bank and Royal Albert Hall.

Vernon spent two seasons with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera where he met his wife, the New Zealand soprano Alexandra Gordon. Their daughter Juliet Reynolds Midgley also lives in Christchurch and is rapidly making a name for herself as a jazz singer.

Vernon has been a regular guest singer internationally and has sung with Dame Malvina Major both here and abroad. His repertoire includes eight languages. He has recorded for most of the major recording companies and on MVM, a label he created with his sister, soprano Maryetta. These two singers performed together regularly to great acclaim and were household names on the BBC. They were both honoured on a number of occasions to sing for various members of the Royal Family and were personally chosen by the Queen Mother to appear in the Royal Gala Concert celebrating her 85th birthday.

New Zealand Aria Under 21 - Nancy Woolford

Nancy (Stayner) Woolford was a senior vocal tutor at the Nelson School of Music for 27 years, teaching singing and voice production at all levels, singing workshops, conducting choirs, directing musical productions. She is enthusiastic about competitions and examinations for performance opportunities and qualifcations, and as a motivation for young singers. Preparation of students for examinations and diplomas in Trinity College, Associated Board and A.M.E.B., she taught in Nelson, Motueka, Golden Bay and Westport, also as an itinerant teacher in most secondary schools in the region. Nancy was also a well-known soloist, particularly for oratorio with choirs and orchestra, and solo performances. She was a fnalist in the Mobil Song Quest, choral conductor and adjudicator.

In 1983 she was awarded a Certifcate of Achievement by the Nelson City Council for “people who by excellence in their feld have achieved distinction at a national or international level and brought pride and pleasure to the citizens of Nelson”.

Nancy has directed a number of musical productions and is also a teacher of speech and drama. She taught at Nga Tawa school after moving into the Manawatu for four years. In 2005 Nancy retired as a singing teacher to dedicate more time in the area of adjudicating, aiming to return to the art which has given her so much, some of the energy and enthusiasm which has motivated and inspired her work over the 30 years of teaching. In the past three years she has adjudicated at competitions, festivals and scholarships in Hutt Valley, Dunedin, Palmerston North, Napier, Nelson, Westport, North Shore and Christchurch.

New Zealand Aria Maori Song - William Winitana

William frst studied music with the Takitimu Performing Arts School in 1986 under the tutilage of Tama Huata. He graduated and became a member of the touring group “Kahurangi” performing Kapahaka and travelling extensively.

He later chose to continue his studies through vocal performance at his local Institute of Technology, before doing his post graduate studies at the University of Auckland, in vocal performing arts opera.

He later auditioned for the Emerging Artists Programme with N.B.R. Opera New Zealand and was not only successful in gaining one of the four places available, but also became the programme’s “Circle 100 Scholar”.

Willliam continues to sing, and manages to get home to Hawkes Bay where he teaches youth choirs from various high schools in the region.

In addition, once a year he dedicates his time to teach Musical Theatre with the National Youth Drama School of New Zealand.

New Zealand Aria Maori Song - Mere Boynton

Mere Tokorahi Boynton is a Maori singer and actor of Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngati Oneone and Tuhoe descent. She has had formal training in voice at the Conservatorium of Music in Wellington, but her desire to sing in te reo Maori and her extensive experience in Maori performing arts and music has meant that Mere has developed a style of singing that draws on her classical training and her taha Maori.

Some of her most memorable singing engagements to date have been performing in Gareth Farr’s Te Papa, which was composed specifically for the opening of Te Papa Tongarewa (Museum of New Zealand), singing and touring nationwide in the dance opera Jerusalem by Michael Parmenter, singing in Te Rangimarie which was composed for the Gisborne Millennium celebrations and featured Kiri Te Kanawa, performing the role of Frasquita in Bizet’s opera Carmen and singing in the acclaimed movie Te Tangata Whairawa o Weneti (The Maori Merchant of Venice).

In November 2001 Mere travelled as a member of the then Prime Minister’s cultural entourage to South America, supporting the Prime Minister at various engagements with concerts. More recently Mere has performed in the Maori music/dance spectacular Maui in the title role of Taranga and in November 2006 she performed in a production entitled Requiem which is a tribute to Mozart in Vienna and Brussels.

She also performs regularly for private and corporate functions and has just launched her debut CD Waikohu (The Mist) which is an eclectic range of compositions which have been given different vocal and musical treatments, from kapahaka style to classical string quartet with karanga.

Guest Artist - Ben Makisi

Benjamin is becoming a very distinguished and established Pacific Operatic Tenor. Born in Wellington, he is of Samoan and Tongan descent. He has graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Performance) from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand and also a Master of Performance (Opera) from University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

He has won many awards and International competitions: Francesco Vinas Internationale Concourso Semi Finalist (2005) Barcelona, Spain; Wellington Pacific Island People’s Arts Award (2003) Wellington, New Zealand; Iosefa Enari Memorial Award (2002) Auckland, New Zealand; Sydney McDonalds Aria Competition First (2002) Sydney, Australia; Rotorua Lockwood Aria Competition First (2001) Rotorua, New Zealand; Willi Fels Memorial Award (1996 - 2005) Wellington, New Zealand. Herbert Sutcliffe Scholarship (1992).

He has appeared in many Musicals and Operatic shows; Ferrando in MOZART Così Fan tutte NZ Tour (2004), Gisborne Choral Society Pollione in BELLINI Norma Gisborne, NZ (2004), NBRNZOpera tour Count Almaviva in ROSSINI Barber of Seville NZ Tour (2003), SEL/GFO Productions Australia Prisoner, Muleteer, Turkish Moor, Understudy to Sancho Panza in WASSERMAN Man of La Mancha, Melbourne and Sydney Australia (2002).

He also performed the role of Mome in Opeloge Ah Sam’s Samoan opera – Fa’amusica ‘Aua e te tagi’ in 2006 in Auckland, and continues to audition extensively in London, Italy, New York, Houston, LA, San Francisco, and the NYIOP, USA.

He is a regular concert performer for NZ Opera Friends at Ayrlies Auckland, Orpheus Choir Wellington, NSW Country Women’s Association, Australia, Operatunity Daytime Series Concerts NZ, Strictly Singing Brisbane Australia and NSW Opera Vocal and Arts support group. He has performed for HRH Prince Charles at Aotea Center, Auckland. He has sung for many dignitaries including former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, Prime Minister of Australia Hon. John Howard, HRH King Ta’ufahau of Tonga, Parliamentary dignitaries of Western Samoa and also the Pacific Leaders Forum (2003) in Auckland, New Zealand. He was a semi finalist for the More Than Opera – German Australian Opera Grant in cooperation with the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden to work and live in Frankfurt, Germany and also featured in NBRNZ Opera main productions in 2007.

He still pursues his goal of becoming an International Opera singer and he hopes to inspire under- privileged children and to combine his musical operatic abilities along with his Pacific Heritage music and to encourage the importance of being a Pacific Islander through his cultural identity.