Life Membership for Dr Karen Grylls CMNZ

22 May 2026

At last month’s AGM, Dr Karen Grylls was awarded Life Membership in recognition of her exceptional and sustained contribution to NZCF, the ACD, and the wider choral sector in New Zealand and internationally.

 Karen’s contribution to the New Zealand Choral Federation has been long and deep. She has contributed at a governance level as a board member, and as Chair/Vice Chair of the Association of Choral Directors. Karen has served as a clinician and mentor for many of NZCF’s activities – Choral Connect, Giving Direction and Fine Tuning Workshops, and as an adjudicator for The Big Sing and the World Choir Games.

The impact of Karen’s artistic direction of Choirs Aotearoa NZ and directorship of the New Zealand Youth Choir and Voices NZ Chamber Choir has inspired audiences here and overseas and has motivated many of the singers to undertake their own musical journeys.

Education has been at the core of Karen’s life.  She has trained aspiring musicians at the University of Auckland’s School of Music and her work continues in co-directing the New Zealand Children’s Choral Academy.

Karen has had a significant impact on the choral landscape through her advocacy for New Zealand composition and her leadership in bringing waiata Māori to the forefront of choral performance in Aotearoa, amply demonstrated in the recent performances “Ihi. Wehi. Mana” and “Ara Hura – A visionary Journey”. Karen has also represented NZ choral interests internationally as a clinician, adjudicator and former board member of the International Federation for Choral Music.

In 1999 Karen was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) and in 2023 was promoted to a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for her services to choral music.

Click here to read Karen’s full citation.

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