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
Hi! I'm Maria Millar. I'm an Alto 1, and also convener of the Auckland Choral Music Committee. I first joined Auckland Choral in 2015, in time for the Missa Solemnis. I come from a musical home, with a Dad who played Organ at church and piano for the local pantomines and performances. Thanks to his influence, I've sung for most of my life. I studied singing with Margaret Medlyn when I lived in Wellington, as well as singing simultaneously with both the Bach Choir and the Orpheus Choir. I was also a performer in two International Festival of the Arts operas: Salome and Madam Butterfly. I lived in Sydney for three years, and stepped away from the predominantly classical choir style, and sang with the gay & lesbian choir, whose repertoire was more contemporary in nature. Then, in 2001 I moved to London, and while there returned to my classical roots and sang with the Wimbledon Choral Society for a number of years. I took a bit of a break from singing when my two children came along, finding it a struggle to juggle full time work and a young family. It was when we finally moved back to NZ in 2014 that I decided it was time to get back into singing. I returned to singing lessons under the tutelage of Claire Martin, and joined the Auckland Choral Society, which was exactly what I was looking for. By day, I work as a marketing researcher and strategist, a job which I've been doing for 20 years, and which has taken me all over the world. When I'm not working or singing, my happy place is in the kitchen. I love to bake - bread, cakes, anything!
I think I’ve been singing my entire life and life without singing is a little empty. I’ve sung in choirs since Primary School and with churches. I’ve sung in bands, concerts and on stage. Nowadays I sing in operas, concerts, and for the last few years with Auckland Choral. I have sung in the US, Canada, with Symphony orchestras in Australia and New Zealand, with opera companies in Australia and New Zealand. There is nothing more magical, inspiring, uplifting and energising than when you are making absolutely beautiful music with the entire team of musicians and giving enjoyment to many, to transport the listeners into their own world of music and fantasy. For those times where I resonate with the words, the composer or story – then words cannot express that amazingness, but music can! I have chills by the time I am finished Handel’s Messiah and that is my icing on the cake every year thanks to Auckland Choral.
I have always enjoyed singing, one of my ealiest memories is rehearsing a small item “me and my teddy bear” as a preschooler. Music is fundemental to who I am and have been fortunate to recieve encouragment and opportunities to improve my ability and to perform. I have performed with: Auckland Boys Choir, NZ Opera (Turandot), Auckland University Singers, Rennaisance singers (Palmerston North) and Auckland Choral since 2012. I attained Grade 8 (highest level) singing with the Royal School of Music under the tutalage of Evelyn Hatfield. I’ve also been onstage in several gang shows with Scouts NZ and school shows at Avondale College.
