University music student Matt Wilson at his Dunedin flat,
which he will leave behind for the acoustics of Royal
Albert Hall, in London, when he sings with the National
Youth Choir of Great Britain in March. Photo by Linda
Robertson.
Tenor Matt Wilson is the latest classically trained
singer to emerge from the University of Otago's music
department "factory", having recently won a scholarship to sing
with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.
Mr Wilson (19) is flying to London to sing at the Royal
Albert Hall in March after winning a New Zealand Combined
Choral Orchestra scholarship recently.
"It's a bit of a dream come true to think I'll be singing at
Royal Albert Hall, really. The only other place I think I'd
prefer would be the Sydney Opera House,"
Mr Wilson's started his tilt at the scholarship by winning an
annual singing competition in Nelson held by the Teapot
Valley Summer School in conjunction with the New Zealand
Combined Choral Orchestra.
The unusually-named school was formed 12 years ago by Inga
and Carl Browning. Mr Browning is a co-founder of the
National Youth Choir of Great Britain and helped set up the
travel scholarship.
Mr Wilson, who was raised in Palmerston North, is in the
third year of his study of performance voice and the second
year of performance piano at the University of Otago .
A member of New Zealand Secondary School Choir, he has
graduated to the New Zealand Youth Choir, but expects another
step up when he sings alongside some of Great Britain's most
talented singers.
"I'm hoping it will open up some doors for me for pursuing
study there in the future. It's so much bigger than anything
I've ever been involved with before." The sheer size of the
British youth choir - it has 150 members compared with the
50-strong New Zealand Youth Choir - would bring its own
rewards, he said.
His trip involves 11 days of singing lessons and performance
alongside the British choral members. Mr Wilson is also
planning to visit the universities of Oxford and Cambridge
and go to Europe.
"I really want to visit Germany and have some [singing]
lessons there. Just because it's such a wonderful singing
language," he said.
Mr Wilson's singing coach, university senior lecturer in
voice Judy Bellingham, was full of praise for her charge.
"He is a true tenor and there is a shortage of tenors in New
Zealand. He is very musical, plays the piano, and is a
wonderful young man," she said.
Mr Wilson said he auditioned "on a whim" to join the
university's music school, which had been crucial to the
subsequent development of his voice.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.