development & mentoring project
Auckland Youth Choir launched its Development & Mentoring project in 2021.
The project is an innovative and integrated choral development project that seeks to deepen the choir's impact in Auckland and provide young musicians with opportunities and experience for growth in the arts industry.
Emerging Conductor
An aspiring young conductor has the opportunity to gain experience working with a high-quality choir and to receive mentoring from our Director of Music. The Emerging Conductor will conduct the AYC in both rehearsals and performances, receiving feedback and training from our music team. The Emerging Conductor will also be a singing member of the choir. Open to ages 16-27.
Previous Emerging Conductors have included Takerei Komene and Blake Scanlen.
Miles timmis
Singer and conductor Miles Timmis is currently completing an Honours degree in Music at the University of Auckland, studying Classical Voice with Dr. Te Oti Rakena and Lindy Tennent-Brown.
He fell in love with singing as a member of the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir in the 2019-20 cycle, and has since completed the 2020-22 cycle with the New Zealand Youth Choir. Miles currently sings in Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, Auckland Chamber Choir, Auckland Youth Choir, and the New Zealand Opera Chorus.
Miles studied conducting with Dr. Karen Grylls and Jonathan Palmer as part of his Undergraduate degree, and was previously a Margot Lloyd Conducting Scholar with Harbour Voices. He also conducts a number of choirs on the North Shore: Two choirs at Northcross Intermediate, the lower voices choir at Rangitoto College, the North Shore Children’s Choir, and is a vocal consultant for the Rosmini College Chamber Choir.
EMERGING
Collaborative pianist
A talented musician studying piano will be mentored by our experienced accompanist and gain unique experience accompany AYC. The Emerging Collaborative Pianist will have the opportunity to accompany the choir in rehearsals and performance, receiving feedback and training from our music team. The Emerging Collaborative Pianist will also become a singing member of the choir. Open to ages 16-27.
Previous Emerging Collaborative Pianists have included Michelle Xu and Catherine Chang.
Krystal Wang
Krystal Wang is a graduate classic music performance student of University of Auckland who has been playing the piano since the age of 6. She has many years of experience as a piano teacher as well, sharing her knowledge and passion with students of all ages. Krystal's dedication to teaching has led to her students achieving success, with some even winning prizes in piano competitions. With a lifelong passion for music and performing, Krystal is also interested in developing her skills as a collaborative pianist and working with other musicians. She is excited to explore new avenues of musical expression through collaborative work.
YOUNG COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE
An emerging young composer will receive a commission for a work to be performed by the choir. The Composer will receive feedback on draft scores and mentoring from our music team. The composer will also sing in the choir and provide input in the rehearsal process of their piece. Open to ages 16-27.
Previous Young Composers in Residence have included Alex Taylor, Kitty Milner, Takerei Komene, Julia Francis, and Reuben Rameka.
Sarah Fouhy
Sarah Fouhy (b. 1999) is a composer from Auckland, New Zealand. Her professional career began in 2016 when she was awarded first place in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s ‘National High School Composition Competition’. This competition established Sarah as a young composer in New Zealand, where she later received a commission from Auckland Choral in 2017. In the following years, Sarah moved to Los Angeles to further her studies.
Sarah studied at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Composition in 2021. Her pieces are inspired by life experiences and environments around her, as she thematically explores external forces that affect the human psyche. During her time at CalArts, Sarah was awarded the Lillian Disney Scholarship, and in her final year became a notable scholar as the recipient of the prestigious Steven D. Lavine and Janet Sternburg scholarship. Sarah primarily composes
for choir, orchestra, chamber ensembles and soloists.
During her time in the USA, Sarah studied under renowned composers, Nick Deyoe, Michael Jon Fink, Sara Cubarsi, and Karen Tanaka. Additionally, Sarah studied audio engineering under the tutelage of Grammy award winner, John Baffa. Sarah has had World Premieres in both New Zealand and the USA where her works have been performed and recorded by world-renowned musicians such as Andrew McIntosh, Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick, The Isaura String Quartet, Derek Stein and The Ensemble at CalArts. After returning to New Zealand in 2022, The Magic Carpet String Quartet commissioned a new string quartet from Sarah for their 2022 South Island tour.
CHAMBER CHOIR
The Chamber Choir is a smaller auditioned group of singers drawn from the full choir. The Chamber Choir’s purposes are to enable the performance of more demanding repertoire, create diversified concert programmes and further develop the musicianship of our singers. The Chamber Choir rehearses for an hour ahead of each full choir rehearsal.
Previous Chamber Choir projects have included tours to Sydney and New York City, Bernstein's Rejoice in the Lamb, a recording session at Roundhead Studios, the Silver Scroll Awards, and the University of Auckland Distinguished Alumni Awards.
Auditions for the Chamber Choir are
held at the beginning of each year.
Impact & Engagement
AYC is developing an engagement plan which will guide it in broadening and deepening its impact within Tāmaki-makaurau. This plan will be founded on the aspirations of its choristers and operationalised by members of the Youth Arts Leadership programme to ensure that the outcomes and methods truly reflect AYC’s values as a youth cultural organisation.