Ten of the best at Lexus Song Quest final this month

Lexus Song Quest Grand Final
Auckland Town Hall
July 23

Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin are home to some of New Zealand’s finest young voices, with the 10 semi-finalists from these four centres now chosen to continue their Lexus Song Quest journey.

The contestants selected this week to take the next step towards the Grand Finals at the Auckland Town Hall in July are Madison Nonoa (soprano, Auckland), Imogen Thirlwall (soprano, Wellington), Harry Grigg (baritone, Dunedin), Filipe Manu (tenor, Auckland), Tavis Gravatt (bass baritone, Auckland), Jarvis Dams (baritone, Hamilton), Benson Wilson (baritone, Auckland), Emily Mwila (soprano, Wellington), Bradley Christensen (baritone, currently overseas) and Sophie Sparrow (soprano, Dunedin).

Some 50 contestants competed in the initial round and preliminary judges Graham Pushee and Patricia Price commented on the high calibre of singers overall. "I arrived in New Zealand feeling hopeful and honoured to have been invited to judge such a prestigious competition. My expectations were fully met! The organisation was most impressive, and the singers we listened to were of the highest quality, vocally and artistically. It was a very satisfying experience indeed,” Ms Price said.

Emily Mwila of Wellington said she was “still buzzing” a few days after hearing she made it into the next stage of the Lexus Song Quest competition.

The 10 semi-finalists will meet in Wellington in early July to work with head international judge Yvonne Kenny and will submit a detailed study proposal to be discussed with Ms Kenny during an intensive masterclass week.

With $85,000 in prizes to be won this year, the Lexus Song Quest can be a life-changing course for the top contestants, with the winner receiving a total prize of $50,000, and the runner-up receiving an immediate cash prize of $8000, supported by the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, plus a study scholarship of $10,000. 

Third and fourth place getters receive $1000 each. A further $15,000 prize, sponsored by the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, will be awarded to the singer who has demonstrated great potential through the semi-finals stage of the competition.

The judge, Sydney-born Yvonne Kenny is a professor of voice at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She made her operatic debut and won the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1975, after which she joined the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Both internationally and within Australia she built an enviable reputation as a dazzling interpreter of works by Handel, Mozart, Donizetti, Britten and more recently for her interpretations of the Richard Strauss heroines. She performed the role of Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier for the New Zealand International Festival in 2002.

Tune into NBR Radio’s Sunday Business with Andrew Patterson on Sunday morning, for analysis and feature-length interviews.