As a singer, Robert was a member of all the national choirs – the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir (NZSSC), New Zealand Youth Choir and Voices NZ – and from 2007-08 was music director of NZSSC, leading the choir on tour to Brazil and Argentina. Robert served as Artistic Advisor at CANZ and was recently part of the Aotearoa Choral Academy’s artistic team and trustee on the CANZ board.

Robert inspired two decades of tertiary students through his teaching roles at the University of Auckland and guided thousands of secondary students with his work for The Big Sing choral competition. He served on the New Zealand Choral Federation Board (2018–2022), was Deputy Director of the New Zealand National Singing School, part of the artistic team for the New Zealand Children’s Choral Academy, Co-chair of SOUNZ Centre for NZ Music and a trustee of the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation.

As a composer and arranger, Robert’s works often featured voice and were strongly influenced by Te Ao Māori sounds and perspectives. Earlier this year, Robert’s full-length arrangement of Mozart’s Requiem – Reimagining Mozart – was performed by Voices NZ as part of the Aotearoa Festival of the Arts and last year to international critical acclaim in Hamburg and in London, where Voices NZ was joined by the BBC Singers. Other pieces arranged by Robert for CANZ ensembles include Tuirina Wehi’s ​’Waerenga-ā-Hika’ for NZYC.

“Robert was a much loved and influential figure in the Aotearoa New Zealand choral scene, and we will all miss him very much. I will remember him as warm, thoughtful and possessing extraordinary musical talents,” says Richard Sorrenson, Chair of the CANZ Board of Trustees.

Karen Grylls (CNZM), CANZ Artistic Director Emerita and founder of Voices NZ, gave a tribute to Robert on RNZ Concert, 20 July 2026: “Robert was just brilliant,” she said, “For him, it was all about musical connection … between te ao Māori and the Western choral tradition. He would wish that we continue that journey – take risks and be ourselves. And that’s what I admired about Robert; he was prepared to be himself. Haere atu rā e te whetū tārake o te ao waiata tira, kua wehe atu ki a Pōhutukawa kia pīata iho mai i te uma o Ranginui (Farewell the stand alone star, the peerless star that has gone to Pōhutukawa (Matariki star) to become a shining star in the chest of Ranginui – Ataahua Papa)”.

Arne Herrmann, CANZ Chief Executive, says Robert’s music, teachings and philosophy will be his legacy, one which will be cherished for years to come, “Haere ra, Robert Wiremu, with deepest respect and gratitude from your fellow trustees from the CANZ board, our staff, artistic colleagues and singers. We will miss you”.

Image credit: Arie Hoeflak

Voices New Zealand, our premier national chamber choir, is welcoming esteemed Slovenian conductor Ana Erčulj to Aotearoa. Ana has conducted the world-renowned, Grammy award-winning Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Choir of the Slovenian Philharmonic and most recently the Honour Choir Tokyo. In New Zealand, she will conduct Voices in two performances of Eternal Light – Fauré Requiem, 26th June in Auckland and the 27th in Wellington. Ana is also bringing music from her homeland, introducing local audiences to works by Slovenian composers Andrej Makor, Aldo Kumar, Damijan Močnik and Lojze Lebič, paired with a newly commissioned New Zealand piece – the world premiere of “Awatea” featuring kupu (words) by Bianca Beard set to music by Rosa Elliott.

“I’m especially excited to be performing Gabriel Fauré’s masterpiece “Requiem”, the centrepiece of the New Zealand concerts,” says Ana Erčulj, “I’ve designed a programme around it, incorporating Slovenian composers and exploring the theme of light – particularly eternal light, which in Slovenian folk tradition is closely associated with the sun.”

“Ana brings a wealth of international experience, and her work with Voices will provide a significant contribution to our singers and our organisation,” says Jessica Kinney, Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand’s Manager Artistic Planning and Outreach, “I can’t wait to welcome her to Aotearoa”.

Ana says, “I’m travelling to New Zealand with both anticipation and deep respect for the work of Voices NZ founder Karen Grylls, whose many years of dedication have shaped the ensemble’s distinctive sound”. Following the Wellington and Auckland concerts, Ana will tour with the NZ Youth Choir, which last year was name Choir of the World.

Beyond classical music, Ana is committed to promoting contemporary music, especially Slovenian compositions; acting as an ambassador of Slovenian music and culture on international stages. She is the founder and artistic director of the vocal group Gallina, conductor of the vocal instrumental ensemble Musica Emonica and currently the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra “Vladimir Lovec” and Gorizia chamber choir

Eternal Light – Fauré Requiem. Voices NZ in concert, conducted by Ana Erčulj

26 June: 7pm, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland

27 June: 7pm, Wellington Cathedral of St Paul

Tickets HERE

More about Ana Erčulj

Last year alone, Ana Erčulj conducted the Athens State Orchestra, the orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic and worked with the Grammy Award-winning Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. She also led the Choir of the Slovenian Philharmonic in five concerts dedicated to the 70th anniversary of composer Aldo Kumar’s career.

Ana is also the founder and artistic director of the vocal group Gallina, conductor of the vocal instrumental ensemble Musica Emonica and currently the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra “Vladimir Lovec” and Gorizia chamber choir. Specialising in vocal-instrumental music, her passion lies in blending instruments and vocals across opera, musicals, vocal instrumental works and concert repertoires. Beyond classical masterpieces, she is committed to promoting contemporary music, especially Slovenian compositions, acting as an ambassador of Slovenian music and culture on international stages.

In 2022, Ana completed her studies in orchestral conducting at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under the mentorship of Prof. Marko Letonja and Prof. Simon Dvoršak, performing the overture to the opera The Magician (CM von Weber) and Pulcinella (I. Stravinsky) with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. Earlier, she graduated in in Choral Conducting under prof. Sebastjan Vrhovnik at the Academy of Music Ljubljana (2017) and Musicology and Sociology of Culture from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana (2013). Ana also broadened her studies internationally at the University of Utrecht and the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, under the guidance of Prof. Johannes Prinz.

Ana has also conducted renowned orchestras, Cameristi della Scala, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Northern College of Music, Orchestra Padova e Veneto, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, RTV Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi.

Ana has worked extensively with Slovensko Komorno Glasbeno Gledališče and SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, premiering the opera Španska vas by Nana Forte and Jure Ivanušič and conducting the first performance of Rok Golob’s opera The Sound. Ana has served as assistant conductor for operas such as Ksenija and Carmina Burana at the same institution. Additionally, she has contributed as repetiteur and conductor of musicals at the City Theatre of Ljubljana and SNG Drama, with works including The Addams Family, Rent, Fiddler on the Roof, Turandot, and Orlando.

Ana has participated in numerous masterclasses worldwide with distinguished mentors like Risto Joost, Loukas Karytinos, Oleg Caetani, Uroš Lajovic, Martina Batič, Gary Graden and Ragnar Rasmussen and has collaborated with renowned vocal groups such as Singer Pur and Rajaton. Her artistic collaborations extend to composers Aldo Kumar, Andrea Basevi Gambarana, Nana Forte, Andrej Makor, Ambrož Čopi and others. She has also worked with musicians including Alexander Gadjiev, Laibach, Sara Briški Cirman (Raiven), Maja Horvat and Neža Torkar, as well as theatre directors like Stanislav Moša, Dragan Živadinov, Aleksander Popovski, Barbara Hieng Samobor and Eva Hribernik

Stabat Mater

NZSO
Auckland Town Hall

September 3

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The NZSO latest concert “Stabat Mater featured two works based on the image of the Virgin Mary standing at the site of Christ’s crucifixion which had led to numerous compositions and art works has which has added to the church’s iconography and rituals.

Rossini’s Stabat Mater complete in 1841 was based on the medieval Latin poem describing the Virgin Mary’s grief at the crucifixion of her son while Victoria Kelly’s Stabat Mater was a response to both Rossini’s work and the medieval text. Kelly’s work was less of a sorrowful meditation on to the event but rather a reflection on the misogynistic nature of the text.

Rossini’s Stabat Mater featured three New Zealand singers: soprano Madison Nonoa, mezzo-soprano Anna Pierard, tenor Filipe Manu along with Australian bass-baritone Jeremy Kleeman.

The singers were joined by Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, which also performed during Kelly’s new work.

The orchestral opening of Rossini’s Stabat Mater was very operatic contrasting with the low, soft sounds of the choir, as though angelic voices were descending.

The Air that followed had a rather breezy tone and Filipe Manu finely nuance delivery was rich in emotion as he sang about the sword that pierced the Virgins heart. Jeremy Kleeman in a later Air displayed a fine tightly controlled voice with a luxurious sound.

The duet revealed the colourful voice of Madison Nonoa along with the more fulsome sounds of Anna Pierard. Together they were able to convey the torment and grief of the Virgen.

The Quartet which saw the four soloists elegantly interpreted the text, their voices complementing g each other. Their singing did highlight one of the problems with Rossini’s major failing with the work in not assigning characters at the crucifixion to the individual singer – The Virgin, Mary Magdalen, John, the two thieves.

In the Cavatina section Anna Pierard showed drama in her voice along with some terse vibrato and in her Air  Madison Nono started off with barely a whisper which was take up by the choir which turned inti a thunderous sound, her light, piercing  voice seeming to be the Virgin overwhelmed by the choir

In the final quartet the four soloists emphasised their individua voices, seemingly disconnected unfocussed somehow replicating the discord and cacophony which would have occurred during the time of the crucifixion. All this was brought to a conclusion with the chorus and their transcendental Amen.

Victoria Kelly’s response to the medieval text and Rossini use of it “provoked an overwhelming sense of rase and sorrow in me” she has written. Rather than see the texts and the event form a religious perspective she has seen the misogynistic and religious oppression which is tied to much of the church’s teachings. She has taken a revisionist approach and her text for the work is full of critical lines such as

“She wants no choirs castrated,

No congregation tithed,

no people bound and silenced.

no false priests fellated.

The work opening with a low electronic sound leading to the murmuring strings which created a sense of travel or /transition as though we were being transported back to an earlier time.

Much of the time the work sounded like a lament, the sombre singing of the choir and the music interwoven, the text reinforced by the tension and intensity of the choir.

The choir displayed a nice balance between singing and choral speaking their quality, pitch, power, tempo, effective in conveying the meaning and emotion of the work.

The phrase” She does not mourn” occurred several times through the work and was repeated at the conclusion as the words slowly and softly disappeared.

The dark brooding sounds of the final moments of the music contrasted with the angelic voices of the choir and rather than end with a b ang something triumphant like the Rossini it ended with a whimper.

Making her New Zealand debut was Italian conductor Valentina Peleggi whose lively conducting, sweeping gestures and close attention to the soloists and choir ensured an impressive performance.

To subscribe or follow New Zealand Arts Review site – www.nzartsreview.org.

Rossini Stabat Mater: A mother’s love

Presented by: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Conducted by: Valentina Peleggi

Michael Fowler Centre, 2nd Oct 2025

Reviewed by: Tamsin Evans

Rossini Stabat Mater: A mother’s love put side by side two interpretations of the 13^th-century Christian hymn that portrays Mary’s suffering during the crucifixion of her son. Each was quite different from the other and both were unlike traditional settings. Victoria Kelly’s Stabat Mater was commissioned by the NZSO as a response to Gioacchino Rossini’s Stabat Mater. Rossini’s piece strongly reflects his career composing operas in the bel canto style of virtuoso singing and elaborate vocal ornamentation.

Although the melodic and dramatic influence was there, it did not overwhelm the seriousness of the text which came through in the performance. Valentina Peleggi’s direction brought out the mood of each verse and the vocalists responded with feeling, especially when their solo voices were on display. Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir were excellent as ever. Led by music director Karen Grylls, their perfect diction, timing, phrasing, and dynamics are extraordinary and the best you will hear in Aotearoa.

The world premiere of Kelly’s Stabat Mater was an experience that lasted in my mind and body long after the performance. The music was profoundly emotional and somehow deeply, urgently visceral and beautiful all at once. In this Stabat Mater, Kelly’s reimagined Mary does not accept her son’s sacrifice, she does not weep nor mourn, but wields a sword and saves him. Kelly’s response to the eternal narrative of the suffering of women and mothers is a primal sense of rage and sadness expressed in an almost gentle, but powerfully nuanced and subtle simplicity.

Kelly wrote her own text and thanks to the vocal skill of Voices New Zealand, her perspective was plain to hear, as was the musical representation of Mary: a white crystal singing bowl, sometimes to the fore, other times absent.

Fittingly, the commission was funded by a consortium of female patrons, and honours for the evening went to a trio of women – composer, conductor, and choir director.

After more than 3 decades of incredible mahi, we are celebrating Karen’s journey with Voices New Zealand and the New Zealand Youth Choir with this gala concert.

If you have sung under Karen or are a current or past CANZ singer who has been influenced by Karen’s work, we invite you to SING in this concert as part of the alumni massed choir.

Apart from the obvious rehearsal time for these massed alumni choir pieces, there will be many chances to socialize and see other events in this year’s Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts in Wellington.

If you want to sing, this is what is required:

– be available for at least 2 hours of joint rehearsals on Saturday 14 March in Wellington,

– be available for the dress rehearsal at Michael Fowler Centre on Sunday 15 March and concert at 6.30pm

– purchase a very discounted ‘alumni singer seat‘ in a premium position in the stalls, from which you can then enter the stage for the joint items.

If you want to attend but NOT sing, here is a link for discounted general alumni tickets.

Social events:

• see Voices 16 perform live on stage with the New Zealand Dance Company in GLORIA as part of the Festival.
  Get tickets for Friday night or Saturday night

Now, please fill in this short survey and tell us your plans to attend this special weekend!

FAQ around bringing your ‘plus one’

Let’s make this a big celebration, we look forward to sharing this with you.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Applications will also be accepted to hold both currently advertised roles for the right candidate (noting that one, the Music Director Voices New Zealand, is fixed term, the MAPO is permanent)

(1) Music Director Voices New Zealand

(2) MANAGER, ARTISTIC PLANNING & OUTREACH (MAPO)

Please follow link for full review by Elizabeth Bouman for Otago Daily Times.

Reimagining Mozart
St Paul’s Cathedral
Sunday, March 30

Patrons filled St Paul’s Cathedral on Sunday for Reimagining Mozart (2023), Robert Wiremu’s (Auckland) unique hour-long choral piece commissioned for Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir (Karen Grylls) and chamber ensemble.

Jono Palmer conducted.

Wiremu conceived Reimagining Mozart by blending memories of the 1979 Erebus tragedy with thematic material and passages from Mozart’s famous Requiem, imagining a hypothetical passenger had been listening to Requiem on a Sony Walkman, which continued to play on in Antarctica’s icy silence.

…

Wiremu has crafted an outstanding programmatic work in memory of a great tragedy and, along with the large audience, this was a unique performance I will always remember.

Location: Wellington (preferred)

Essential: previous Tour Management experience

0.8 FTE to Full-Time

We are looking for a new team member to manage the activities of our iconic national choirs, which include New Zealand Youth Choir, NZSSC and Voices New Zealand.

We are working out of a groovy office in Victoria Street and deliver the management of our three internationally-awarded national choirs, a national academy and nationwide outreach and engagement program.

Your role in 2025 would include managing the logistic preparation and planning of the ionic New Zealand Youth Choir’s activities, travel arrangements, scheduling and administration. For 2025 that includes a tour to Northland, Wellington and international tour to Europe. Your role includes tour-managing and leading the touring party and artists on the road. If you like good systems, have attention to detail and work well with creative people, this job could be yours.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work for an iconic national organisation and grow as an arts manager in New Zealand’s vibrant creative sector.

You can find more info about this role on our website choirs.nz/jobs

Get in touch now or send your application to joinus@choirsnz.co.nz no later than 12noon 20 January 2025.

Interviews will take place before 25 January and immediate start is possible.