SingFest

Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

If you’ve seen the movie The Choral, you likely left the theatre longing to sing the music … and now you can, because on 15^th and 16^th May, Michael Stewart,  will be leading the workshop and performance of Sir Edward Elgar’s choral masterpiece.

The most popular of Elgar’s choral works, The Dream of Gerontius takes the listener – and the singers – on a profound musical experience, as it tells the story of a dying man, Gerontius, and his soul’s journey into the next world. 

Learn and perform a landmark choral work, by one of the great composers. 

Wellington May SingFest Schedule

Friday 15 May
7pm to 10pm

Saturday 16 May
9.30am to 5.30pm
Concert - 7.30pm

Workshop Costs

Adult $65
Adult NZCF Member $55
Student – $15

Concert tickets

Door sales (Eftpos available):
Adult - $30
Adult NZCF Member - $25
Student - $15

BUY CONCERT TICKETS

For further information please contact Juliet Dreaver - juliet.dreaver@nzcf.org.nz

Music Director: Michael Stewart

Michael Stewart is at the forefront of choral conducting in New Zealand, as well as being one of the country’s leading concert organists. He is Organist and Director of Music at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, Music Director of The Tudor Consort, and Deputy Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir. Michael has led critically acclaimed performances of Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt and J S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and St Matthew Passion with The Tudor Consort, and has prepared both The Tudor Consort and Voices New Zealand for performances with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Jared Holt (tenor)
as Gerontius

Jared started his singing career as a baritone. In 2000, he won the Mobil Song Quest before travelling to London to study at the Royal College of Music. He was a Young Artist on Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Jared made his debut as a tenor in April 2018 joining with the New Zealand String Quartet to premiere a new song cycle, In Memoriam, by New Zealand composer Janet Jennings. His engagements as a tenor since then have included covering the title role in Werther for Opera Australia, performing the roles of Prologue/Peter Quint in Britten’s Turn of the Screw, and MacDuff in Verdi’s MacBeth, for New Zealand Opera, and as a soloist with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch City Choir,  Auckland Philharmonia, the Auckland Choral Society, and Wellington Opera.

Maaike Christie-Beekman (mezzo)
as The Angel

Maaike began her vocal and pedagogy studies at the Amsterdam Conservatorium and at the Conservatoire de Metz in France. Maaike has performed widely across the Netherlands, Europe and New Zealand, with experience spanning opera, chamber music and oratorio. Since moving to NZ in 2010 she has performed regularly with orchestras and ensembles throughout the country, including the Orpheus Choir, City Choir Dunedin, and Christchurch City Choir. Alongside her performing career, Maaike is a dedicated voice and performance coach. She works with choirs as a vocal consultant, conducts Wellington's Nota Bene, and continues to share her passion for singing through teaching, coaching and ensemble performance.

Simon Christie (bass)
as The Priest & the Angel of Agony

Simon was a member of De Nieuwe Opera Academie (2001–2003) in The Netherlands, performing roles including Figaro, Papageno, and Le fauteuil from L’enfant et les sortilèges. With De Nederlandse Opera, he appeared in Götterdämmerung, Norma, L’amour des Trois Oranges, Peter Grimes, and Samson. As a bass soloist, he performed Oratorio across Europe at festivals in France, Italy, Slovenia, and Denmark, and regularly throughout the Netherlands. Since returning to NZ 2010, Simon has sung major Oratorio roles with the Tudor Consort, Nota Bene, Bach Choir, Orpheus and Kapiti Chorale. He has also performed with Days Bay Opera in roles including Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte) and Il Commendatore (Der Rosenkavalier).