World stages calling students

Taking Flight: Cecily Shaw, Aidan Phillips and Ellis Carrington will be performing in Te Awamutu prior to leaving for overseas to continue their studies.

Three talented young singers are soon to be taking flight overseas to further their studies in music and drama.

Te Awamutu Music Federation is pleased to be supporting them by holding a fundraising concert on Sunday, April 30.

Te Awamutu has watched Cecily Shaw compete in our local competitions over many years and heard her mezzo-soprano voice develop and mature.

She completed her first Master of Music at Waikato University under Glenese Blake and has been alto soloist with notable New Zealand choirs, performed in several opera productions and recently released an album of humorous songs for ukulele.

Federation members are thrilled to hear that she has now been accepted for study at Guildhall School of Music, London, where she will be studying vocal performance, as well as delving into the experiences of neurodivergent musicians with a view to empowering them with coping strategies.

Joining Cecily will be Aidan Phillips and Ellis Carrington, also well-known to us through the Te Awamutu Competitions.

Aidan is a baritone based in Hamilton.

He completed his MMus in Classical Vocal Performance under Kristin Darragh at Waikato University and has performed with many different groups and recently sang in Sir Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man at Hamilton Gardens.

In July he will depart for Germany where he will be part of the Dramatic Voices Programme Lieder Residency and will perform Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte with the Berlin Opera Academy before heading over to Glasgow Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Ellis has recently completed her honours degree at Waikato University and on an audition tour around the United Kingdom accepted an offer from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

She has performed at many prestigious events in New Zealand, was placed third in the Dame Malvina Major 2022 Aria Competition and loves to perform in fundraising concerts using her talents in music and drama.

She also teaches on the Rotorua Accelerando programme.

With three such gifted singers, accompanied by the incomparable Francis Cowan, the federation is sure of a wonderful concert, punctuated by Cecily’s comic songs for ukulele.

“It is a privilege for the people of Te Awamutu and the surrounds to be able to support these young singers as they take their place on the world stage.”

The Details

What: Taking Flight

When: 2pm, Sunday, April 30

Where: St John’s Anglican Church

Tickets: $20 cash at the door, students free