Peter de Blois' musical career is made up of two halves.
There's Peter de Blois the singer, chorister, choral conductor and judge. Then there's Peter de Blois the music teacher.
Peter de Blois, ONZM Photo: Supplied
The Dunedin-raised, now Invercargill-based musician received recognition for both when he became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year's King's Birthday Honours.
From founding the Dunedin Youth Choir, to stints with Voices New Zealand singing tenor, to Director of Music at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, de Blois has been an integral part of the nation's choral music scene since the late 1980s.
But finding ongoing employment as a musician can be a tough gig.
After being out of regular work for the best part of a year de Blois decided - very reluctantly - to retrain as a teacher.
A few weeks into his teacher training course, he was asking himself why it had taken him so long.
RNZ Concert spoke with de Blois following the announcement of his King's Birthday honour, looking back on his performing and choral career, but also sharing his love of teaching - especially music. He recalls how challenging one struggling teenager to write a piece of music based on numbers opened up that young mind not only to the possibilities of sound, but also to the wonders of mathematics.
He's now Head of Music at Southland Girls’ High School. His talents as a singer and singing conductor are not entirely lost, though. He directs Sanguine, the Year 9‐13 all-comers choir and is co-director of the school’s premier choir, Femme, a regular fixture at the annual Big Sing secondary school choir competition.
