Soprano Carleen Ebbs Photo: Supplied
It was Covid that brought Carleen Ebbs home.
London had been a base for the Motueka-raised soprano for 15 years. First she completed her singing training there, then she worked as a freelance soprano - until the pandemic struck.
As work dried up, she decided to return to Aotearoa where she landed a job with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as its Development Manager.
But Ebbs hasn't given up on singing, and this month she's embarking on a short tour of the South Island that includes gigs in Takaka and in her old home town.
Touring with pianist Gabriela Glapska, Ebbs describes the concerts as a "musical hug of adored art songs".
Carleen Ebbs, and Gabriela Glapska. Photo: Supplied, Tabitha Arthur (Gabriela Glapska image)
Ebbs says while she enjoyed many musical highs working in London, the city can sometimes be a tough place to live in.
She's enjoying the musical freedom she's found back in New Zealand, and so far has had plenty of opportunities to make music, when not working with the NZSO.
And while her parents no longer live in Motueka, Ebbs says plenty of her old friends are coming along to this evening's concert in the town's Chanel Arts Centre.
