The Semi-Finals (Part Three)
We hear more from the second group of six semi-finalists in New Zealand's premier singing competition. Introduced by Rodney Macann.
- Marlena Devoe
- Kawiti Waetford
- Isabella Moore
- Moses MacKay
- Grace Park
- Amitai Pati
Marlena Tifaimoana Devoe
Age: 25
Voice: Soprano
Resident: New York, United States
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
Marlena Devoe graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in 2009. She followed this with a language exchange programme in Florence before returning to undertake a Bachelor of Music Honours in performance voice under Dr Te Oti Rakena and Rosemary Barnes which she completed in 2011. Marlena discovered her passion for music at a very young age, joining the NBR New Zealand opera’s Children’s Chorus at age 11. She has been a member of the Auckland Opera factory since 1999, where she has performed with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and other opera stars in concerts across New Zealand. Marlena is currently a Masters candidate at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and has recently performed in The Ghosts of Versailles and Les Contes d’Hoffman with the Manhattan School of Music Opera Studio of which she is a member. Marlena has also been accepted into the voice programme of the Chautauqua Music Festival for 2012.
Kawiti Waetford
Age: 21
Voice: Baritone
Resident: Dunedin
Hometown: Whangarei
Kawiti Waetford is in his third year of a Bachelor of Music with Honours at the University of Otago, majoring in performance voice under the tutelage of Isabel Cunningham. Kawiti brings to his performance considerable stage experience, with a background in Māori oratory, kapa haka and theatre. He was the recipient of the prestigious Ngarimu VC & Māori Battalion Scholarship in 2010. At just 21, Kawiti has already performed alongside many of New Zealand’s great singers, including Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Simon O’Neill. In 2011, Kawiti attended the Solti Te Kanawa Accademia di bel canto; a three week international singing course held in Tuscany. Kawiti is engaged to play Figaro in Opera Otago’s 2012 production of Le Nozze di Figaro.
Isabella Moore
Age: 21
Voice: Soprano
Resident: Wellington
Hometown: Auckland
Isabella Moore is in her third year of study towards a Bachelor of Music majoring in voice performance under the tutelage of Margaret Medlyn at the New Zealand School of Music. Isabella’s passion for singing began with her choral experiences at school and led on to the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir, the National Youth Choir and the Auckland University Chamber Choir. In 2011, Isabella was a finalist in the NZ Aria competition where she was awarded first place in the ‘own selection’ category. Isabella has been selected twice to attend the New Zealand Opera School. Isabella plans to travel overseas to complete advanced training and gain international singing experience.
Moses Mackay
Age: 22
Voice: Bass/Baritone
Resident: NZ
Hometown: North Shore City
Moses Mackay is a graduate of the University of Auckland where he obtained a Bachelor of Music Performance. His first taste of singing was at The Big Sing in 2007. From here he went to make his first operatic debut at 19 with the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus in the NBR New Zealand Opera’s performance of The Marriage of Figaro. Representing North Harbour in Rugby and Athletics, in 2010 his hopes of a sporting career were ended when he suffered a serious knee injury. Since then Moses has concentrated solely on his singing ability and has performed a number of roles with the NBR New Zealand Opera, sung the national anthem at the final of the RWC 2011 with the NZ Choral Foundation and appeared on stage with George Benson, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Andrea Bocelli. Moses is a 2011/2012 PWC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist.
Grace Park
Age: 21
Voice: Soprano
Resident: Dunedin
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea (but I would call Auckland my home, since I grew up there from the age of 4)
Grace Park is currently studying classical voice under the tutelage of Isabel Cunningham at the University of Otago, working towards a Bachelor of Music with Honours. Grace credits the development of her musicianship to being a member of the award-winning Key Cygnetures of Westlake Girls High School with whom she has travelled from Copenhagen to Vienna, Budapest to Singapore. Grace is also an active composer and was the national winner of the New Zealand Choral Federation and SOUNZ Big Sing Student Composition Competition and SOUNZ Finalist of The Trust’s Secondary Students Composition Competition, both in 2009. Grace will perform her first opera role of Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in 2012 with Opera Otago.
Amitai Pati
Age: 22
Voice: Tenor
Resident: Mangere
Hometown: Auckland
Amitai Pati is a voice performance major and studies at the University of Auckland. He has extensive experience in choral singing, having performed and toured with the New Zealand Youth Choir, the Graduate Choir and the Auckland University Choir. He has also performed as a backing vocalist on George Benson’s and Andrea Bocelli’s New Zealand tour. Most recently Amitai has performed in NBR New Zealand Opera’s Hōhepa for the New Zealand International Arts Festival and Rigoletto. Later this year he will perform as the lead tenor in Auckland Youth Orchestra’s tour of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony before heading to the Wales International Academy of Voice to further his studies.
