Geoff Sewell has never regretted tossing in his accounting career to sing professionally — until last year, that is.
"For 22 years the music industry has been my sole income and I’d never looked back."
It had treated him well. He has performed for royalty and celebrities, created the first opera band, Amici Forever, and its successor, Bravo Amici, and has a successful London-based entertainment agency.
However, all that changed when Covid-19 hit. He was in the middle of a Bravo Amici tour in the United States when New Zealand started to close its borders and he realised he needed to get home.
The tenor had to postpone Bravo Amici’s 2020 New Zealand tour and "hit the pause button" on his London business as the music industry shut down in Europe.
"We were conscious we had a lot of mouths to feed in terms of our business. We ploughed a lot of our savings into the business as we didn’t know how long this would last."
After six months with no income and another lockdown in England, he made the difficult decision to mothball his London business.
"It’s definitely been the toughest year of my life. It’s tough enough to sustain an income in the music industry anyway. It was the first time in my life I’d questioned my decision to give up accountancy."
It is a story he often recounts in the motivational talks he gives (a new endeavour post-Covid to bring in some income).
Sewell was a chartered accountant working in a bank, when his sister death at the age of 22 made him refocus his life.
"I realised life is too short to do something you don’t love; that I didn’t love what I’m doing and that there must be something else out there."
That something was singing. So he packed his bags and headed to the United States to train at the Boston Conservatory of Music.
"It was a big risky move and a lot of people thought I was crazy but I thought if I failed I’d just come back to New Zealand and go back to banking."
After graduating, he moved to London in 1997 and established himself on the West End and set up event entertainment agency Incognito Artists with wife Simone.
Then, in 2002, the couple came up with the concept of an opera group combining pop songs with classical music, but struggled to get people to buy in to the idea.
"Amici, as a concept, took 15 people before we got one to say yes."
Sewell takes great satisfaction that despite those who thought it could not work — including British television and music celebrity Simon Cowell — the group had sung in front of the Queen within three years of forming and had appeared on Good Morning America.
"For five and a-half years it was a fantastic ride."
He learnt having persistence and to not accept no for an answer, Sewell realised the key was to believe in a project.
"Walk your own path. We tell our girls that."
That path, however, was not without its difficulties.
"Being the first at something is always the hardest, but we have paved the way for others, like Sol3 Mio."
SEWELL moved his family back to New Zealand about three years ago so his two daughters Olivia and Sienna could experience a similar upbringing to that he’d had. Sewell would commute to London and the US to sing or for business.
"The girls were born in London, had developed English accents — that wasn’t the plan."
So it was from his New Zealand base that Sewell found himself trying to keep afloat during Covid.
"You realise the only market is here."
He did some work online and began a motivational speaking business with "music meeting motivation" talks.
All up, his workload was reduced to 10% of its pre-Covid level.
"You have to make the most of the opportunities you have here."
This year, Sewell decided to re-boot his Bravo Amici tour and set about getting visas, flights and spots in MIQ for the rest of the group.
"There is just so many hoops to go through. Then the MIQ spots we managed to get didn’t match the flights. It was just so hard."
In the end he had to tell the singers they could not come, which he found very difficult.
"They were gutted. To make the phone call to tell them it was not happening was just crushing."
It was made doubly hard hearing the news that The Wiggles and cast and crew of The Lion King managed to get into the country.
"I just wanted to get four people in. It was so frustrating."
But instead of cancelling or postponing, he and the promoter decided the show must go on. Coincidentally, Jonathan Lemalu was just out of quarantine in New Zealand and looking for opportunities.
"He was excited as he’s never really done the cross-over thing before."
Sewell also knew Cameron Barclay, who sings in cross-over group The 10 Tenors, was in New Zealand, having not been able to tour.
"Ten Tenors and Amici have followed each other around the world, so I knew Cam was a great guy. All of us haven’t been able to work. It was serendipity."
Other members of the earlier tour — pianist Carl Doy and the Black Quartet — were already in New Zealand and ready to go.
"We’re all really excited to get back to performing."
While fully backing New Zealand’s response to Covid, Sewell has been disappointed at the lack of support throughout the world for music and the arts during the tough times.
"Music heals. We are told music is not an essential service, but that is so far from the truth. I know what I’ve been doing for 22 years touches people’s hearts and minds.
"I say the biggest wellbeing hack to boost for your immune system is to sing. You can’t not feel good when you sing — that is why we get audiences to sing along with us. It’s about fun."
To see
Geoff Sewell and special guests
- May 25, Dunedin Town Hall
