Dr Igelese Ete is Associate Professor and Associate Dean: Pacific at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts in Wellington. Igelese’s formative choral experiences include singing in his church choir from an early age and performing with the New Zealand Youth Choir from 1986-1992. Following a BMus in Performance and a Master’s in Composition, Igelese was the first Creative Fellow of Pacific Music at Auckland University’s School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2009, Igelese was awarded the prestigious Creative New Zealand Senior Pacific Artist Award for his contribution to the promotion and performance of Pacific music in New Zealand and the Pacific, and from 2011-2020 he was Head of Performing Arts at the Oceania Centre for Arts Culture and Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, in Fiji. With extensive conducting, composition, and teaching experience, Igelese was the NZ Choirmaster for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, working with composer Howard Shore and director Sir Peter Jackson. In 2016 he was contracted as choirmaster & music/choral consultant for Disney’s Moana featuring his Pasifika Voices choir from the University of the South Pacific.
