Moe mai rā, Andrew Withington
4 Jul 2025
We were very sad to learn of the death of Andrew Withington last weekend, following an illness of several months. Andrew was much admired and respected as a conductor, teacher, singer and mentor, and was a dear friend to many in our choral community.
Andrew’s contribution to the national and international choral scene was considerable, and his legacy is immense. As Music Director of the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir from 2008-2018, and through his various teaching and conducting positions, Andrew has had a deep impact on the musical development of young singers and conductors around New Zealand and as far afield as the United States. In 2024, Andrew was invited to adjudicate choirs from around the globe as a juror for the World Choir Games in Auckland.
Early career
Andrew began his conducting career at the age of 18, when he became Music Director of the Christchurch Boys’ Choir in 1997, taking them on tour to Japan the following year. During this period, he was a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir and toured with NZYC to the UK and Europe in 1999, where they won the 'Choir of the World' title at the prestigious Eisteddfod in Llangollen.
New Zealand Secondary Students Choir
In August 2008, Andrew was appointed Artistic Director of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir (NZSSC). Just two years later, at the 2010 International Choral Kathaumixw in Canada, the choir received ‘The People’s Choice Award’ and gained first place in the Adult Mixed Choir competition. Andrew also led the choir on tours to South Africa (2012) and Malasia & Singapore (2014), and in 2016 NZSSC returned to Kathaumixw as the invited Guest Choir, where Andrew served as head of one of the juries for the competition. Andrew’s final year with NZSSC was in 2018, when the choir toured to Hong Kong and China, performing as Resident Choir at the Belt and Road World Choir Festival and singing alongside the Vienna Boys Choir.
MD roles in Christchurch
During his tenure with NZSSC, Andrew also made a significant contribution to choral music in Christchurch as Music Director of the Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival (2011-2012), conductor of the University of Canterbury’s Consortia chamber choir (2013-16) and Music Director of the Christchurch City Choir (2014-15).
Teaching the next generation
After completing a Doctor of Philosophy in Music (Choral Pedagogy), Andrew taught choral/vocal and conducting courses, at the University of Canterbury and Westminster College (Pennsylvania), where he was recognised as Professor of the Year in 2020. His legacy extends to the student teachers he trained at the New Zealand Graduate School of Education.
More recently, Andrew has been a treasured colleague and mentor for NZCF, providing training to emerging and mid-career conductors at Giving Direction workshops and Choral Connect conferences, teaching and mentoring on our Young Conductors programme, adjudicating at The Kids Sing as well as The Big Sing regionals, Cadenza and Finale, presenting at Sing Aotearoa, and running Fine Tuning workshops for secondary school choirs.
An innovative choir tuning system
For his PhD, Andrew developed a system of annotation to assist singers with their tuning called AWJITS (Andrew Withington’s Just Intonation Tuning Symbols). He recently published a book which will be an ongoing legacy of his work in this area. You can read more about Andrew’s achievements on his AWJITS site: https://www.awjits.com/about-me-1
Farewell, Andrew
Andrew leaves behind a huge legacy and will be missed not only for his exceptional skills and musicianship, but also for his warmth, generosity, infectious laugh and the twinkle in his eye. Moe mai rā, Andrew.
A celebration of Andrew's life will be held at the Majestic Church, 189 Durham Street, Central City, on July 9, at 10.00am, with a private burial to follow. To watch the livestream of the service, please go to lambandhayward.co.nz/obituaries and click on the link in Andrew's obituary.