2019 Season

Becky O'Gram

My earliest memories of singing were car songs, where my sisters and I were squashed in the back of the car while my mother lead the chorus from the front. I started singing in small groups and choirs at age 12 for church events and friends' weddings. I've been a member of some form of choir ever since and now count myself very lucky to be a member of Auckland Choral. I joined in January 2017, with my first concert being the huge St John Passion by Bach. We performed it at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, in German! Singing out that first loud "Herr" gave me goose bumps and was an unforgettable experience. In December that year I got to perform in the Messiah for the first time and hope to do the same every Christmas for a long time to come.

Ann Whitehouse

I learnt to sing on my mother's knee and have been singing ever since! In school in Wales I sang in small and large choirs in the eisteddfod. As soon as I left school I joined a choral society and have always been a member of one choir or another. I joined Auckland Choral in 2006 and have been on the management committee for the last 2 years. Choral singing has given me opportunities to make and keep wonderful friends, to travel, to see magnificent buildings, to hear all the major works and many new compositions, and to be part of a fabulous music making machine, always striving to improve. I have sung Handel's Messiah in 4 continents, in 2016 clocked up my 70th Messiah, and I still love it. I am also a semi retired speech language therapist and enjoy spending time with my 5 grandchildren.

Traude Leibbrand

Traude has been a choral singer since 1998 and she is the immediate past Chair of Auckland Choral. In this role she has been instrumental in updating the way the organisation operates and she has learnt valuable lessons about running a voluntary, community based organisation - something she feels very passionate about.  As a health professional running her own business, she is aware of the many positive effects that choral singing has on one's well-being - physically, mentally and socially. 

In 2015 she was invited to become a trustee of the Auckland Choral Foundation, a role in which she can continue to actively contribute to develop and nurture choral singing in New Zealand, and Auckland Choral in particular.