Introducing our new Board members

2 Apr 2025

Our AGM on 11 May will see the retirement of NZCF Chair Warwick Harvey and Board Member Igelese Ete. We have valued their contributions enormously, and both will be greatly missed.

Last month we called for nominations to the Governance Board to fill the two resulting vacancies. 
As we received only two nominations, a vote was not necessary, and we are pleased to advise that Henrietta Hunken and Sam Nicholson have been elected unopposed. Pete Rainey, Melissa Absolum, Kim Cunningham, Dr Karen Grylls, Robin Randall and Raymond Tan remain on the Board.

Introducing our newest Board members...

Henrietta Hunkin-Tagaloa is a passionate advocate for music, singing, cultural diversity, and community connection. She is a founder and Co-Director of the internationally-renowned and current national Barbershop champions, Pacific Connection Choir based in Porirua, Wellington, and was recently elected to serve as President of Barbershop Harmony New Zealand. She has represented NZ in international barbershop contests - both in champion quartets and choruses - since 2005.

Henrietta has served as a judge for The Big Sing Finale, was a judge at the World Choir Games in Auckland 2024 and is a current Singing Judge for the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges. She also performed in 'Mana Moana' as an alto in Signature Choir, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and is a Mentor in NZCF's Mana Pasifika Outreach programme, working with school choirs around Wellington. 

With a strong background in music leadership and a deep commitment to inclusion, Henrietta will bring experience, heart, and vision to the NZ Choral Federation Board. She is dedicated to elevating Pacific music, empowering leaders, and using music to bridge communities. Outside of music she is a wife, a mother of two, and is Pacific Director at Tū Ora Compass Health PHO.

 

Sam Nicholson sings in the New Zealand Youth Choir, Auckland Youth Choir and Auckland Chamber Choir.  Since 2020, he has been the Choir Manager of Auckland Youth Choir with responsibility for secretarial and treasurer duties, grant funding, concert coordination, and marketing and publicity. 

In 2023, he was appointed the Oceania representative on the inaugural Youth Committee of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM).  Sam plays clarinet in the West City Concert Band and is responsible for grant funding as a member of that group’s management committee.

Outside of the arts, Sam is an admitted barrister and solicitor and works as a judges’ clerk at the Auckland High Court.

Having participated in the Big Sing through secondary school, and having later attended Choral Connect and Sing Aotearoa, Sam understands and values the vital role NZCF plays in the New Zealand choral landscape — creating opportunities for group singing, providing professional development and training and advocating for group singing in all forms.  He is eager to contribute to NZCF’s governance and strategic direction, bringing a love and passion for choral music, a fresh youth perspective, and hands-on experience managing community music ensembles.

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