A ‘hit’ from its first performance in Dublin in 1742, Handel’s Messiah is performed by choral groups large and small around the globe every year and remains the most popular oratorio of all time. Whether you are hearing it for the first time or for the fiftieth time, the work never fails to move its audience as it retells the most famous story of all time.
Christmas isn’t Christmas without Auckland Choral’s Messiah under the baton of the effervescent Uwe Grodd.
Marlena Devoe, Soprano
Wendy Dawn Thompson, Mezzo-Soprano
David Hamilton, Tenor
Martin Snell, Bass
Auckland Choral
Pipers Sinfonia
Uwe Grodd, Conductor
Our Messiah Soprano just got a super award: Marlena Devoe: Bel Canto prizewinners
Monday 14 December & Tuesday 15 December, 7.30pm
Auckland Town Hall
Richard has been a singing member of Auckland Choral for over 14 years, as a member of the Bass section, and is currently Deputy Chairperson and a member of the Finance and Management Subcommittee. He strongly supports the vision of the current Music Director, to develop Auckland Choral as a major symphonic choir, working with international and local artists and professional orchestras. 
Keith spent most of his life as a self-employed freelance graphic designer after graduating with a degree in fine arts. Over several further years of study he obtained professional qualifications in advertising, marketing and tertiary teaching, enjoying being a tutor for fifteen years introducing graphic design to young students, then seven years as a part-time senior lecturer in graphic design at AUT University. He has been a self-taught church organist from the age of thirteen, and since 2002 he has been the Parish Elder, Administrator and Organist in the large multicultural Onehunga Co-operating Parish. His love of singing, church and organ music was nurtured from an early age in a musical family. Since 1980 he has sung Bass in Auckland Choral, conducted by Ray Wilson, Peter Watts, Professor Uwe Grodd and many other inspiring and talented musicians. To quote from Hallelujahs & History “...for bass Keith Guyan, Auckland Choral has everything: thrilling repertoire, inspiring conductor, friendly and caring singers, satisfying discipline, high musical standards and the privilege of performing some of the masterpieces of choral writing”.
Hi, I’m Neil Hawkes - I have been singing for a while: Tewkesbury Abbey choir from the ages of 5 to 30yrs, then a variety of English choirs before coming to NZ. When I arrived in Auckland I sang with the Choral Society, then with the Anglican Cathedral Choir and the Graduate Choir, before being stopped by a heart condition (since fixed 100%).
