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Opening, Closing and Awards Ceremonies

Spark Arena has earned its reputation as New Zealand’s leading venue for concerts, indoor sporting events and large-scale corporate events.

As the country’s first entirely multi-functional and largest indoor venue, the arena is well established on the international tour circuit and attracts the biggest names in the world of entertainment, regularly appearing on Top 10 lists of venues of its size in the world.

At maximum capacity Spark Arena seats up to 12,000 people, but reduction curtaining and retractable seating also make it a very versatile venue.

The arena is within walking distance of Auckland City Centre and is close to the major public transport hubs of Britomart railway station and the Downtown ferry terminal.

Games Hub, Registration, Catering Centre

Designed with flexibility in mind, Aotea Centre is a contemporary, purpose-built performing arts and events centre. It houses New Zealand’s largest tiered auditorium, as well as a unique black box theatre, multiple function rooms and spaces, the vibrant Terrace Café, and the funky pop-up Container in the Square Café.

Aotea Centre is also located in the heart of Auckland’s central business district, close to the city’s major shopping, dining and entertainment precincts.

Competitions, Evaluations, Celebration Concerts

Auckland's premier opera and ballet theatre, Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre is a 2139-seat, tiered auditorium that can be configured acoustically for choral performance. Attracting such huge international stars as Prince, Ed Sheeran and Tom Jones, among many others, the theatre is New Zealand’s largest tiered auditorium.

Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre is also the Auckland home of New Zealand Opera and the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

Its approximate reverberation time in choral mode is 1.8 seconds.

Workshops

Herald Theatre is Auckland Live’s home for cutting-edge new performance and drama and is located within the Aotea Centre complex. An intimate theatre with 186 seats, the venue also has its own theatre bar and the large foyer space spills outdoors into a courtyard area.

Competitions, Evaluations, Celebration Concerts

The Auckland Town Hall is a prominent civic landmark, built in the neo-Baroque style and featuring attractive stained-glass windows, original kauri floors, ornate plasterwork and spectacular chandeliers. Taking pride of place on Queen Street in Auckland’s CBD, it houses two fine concert venues: the famed Great Hall and Concert Chamber.

The Great Hall is Auckland’s premier venue for classical music performances and home to the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. It seats up to 1529 people on three levels and is considered to have among the finest acoustics in the world.

Its occupied reverberation time is 1.8 seconds.

Competitions, Evaluations, Individual Coachings

The Auckland Town Hall is a prominent civic landmark, built in the neo-Baroque style and featuring attractive stained-glass windows, original kauri floors, ornate plasterwork and spectacular chandeliers. Taking pride of place on Queen Street in Auckland’s CBD, it houses two fine concert venues: the famed Great Hall and Concert Chamber.

An intimate hall renowned for its excellent and clear acoustics, the Concert Chamber is adjacent to the Great Hall and seats 431 patrons on two levels. It is the preferred venue for entertainers who prefer a more intimate setting.

Its occupied reverberation time 1.6 seconds.

Competitions, Evaluations, Individual Coachings

St Matthew-in-the-City is a historic Anglican church renowned for its arresting, neo-Gothic style and attractive acoustics. Just a 5-minute walk from the Aotea Centre, St Matthew’s holds up to 400 people and is well known as a city arts venue. Its architecture and atmosphere add a unique quality to performances and other events.

Its occupied reverberation time is 3.2 seconds.

Competitions, Celebration Concerts

Auckland’s Anglican Cathedral is well known as a performance space for classical music, with an adjustable stage and lighting rig. The 1100-seat venue is situated 3km from Aotea Centre.

The Cathedral Nave is regularly used as a concert venue. Its vibrant stained glass creates an uplifting effect during the day and is atmospheric in the evening. The building’s clear acoustics work well for choral music.

Competitions, Evaluations, Individual Coachings

Ideally located next to the Auckland Town Hall in the heart of Auckland’s Aotea Precinct, Q is a dynamic and flexible medium-sized venue and a home for the independent performing arts.

Q’s main performance space, Rangatira, is a state-of-the-art, flexi-form auditorium with a capacity of 341. Its dry acoustic is ideal for the spoken word or amplified musical theatre and popular music performance.

Workshops

Ideally located next to the Auckland Town Hall in the heart of Auckland’s Aotea Precinct, Q is a dynamic and flexible medium-sized venue and a home for the independent performing arts.

Q’s heritage space, Loft, featuring character timber beams and art deco floor-to-ceiling windows, is an intimate multi-use studio with a capacity of 131 seats. Its relatively dry acoustic is suited to theatre and workshops.

Competitions

The Dorothy Winston Centre theatre was built in 1988 on Auckland Girls' Grammar School's beautiful central-city campus. The theatre has good acoustics and sight lines and is very accessible to both hirers and patrons. The theatre has a tiered 791-seat auditorium with a sprung, rimu-wood stage.

• directed internationally awarded choirs such as the University of Visayas Chorale, University of the East Chorale, University of Asia and the Pacific Chorale, Koro Ilustrado
• formerly featured as conductor of the Busan Metropolitan Chorus, Asian Youth Choir, and Indonesian Youth Choir
• alumna and artistic board member of the Philippine Madrigal Singers
• founder of two national workshop and festivals "Musikalinangan" in Manila, Philippines, and "Musikaalam" in Cebu, Philippines
• member and former artistic board member for 9 years, Philippine Choral Director's Association
• internationally awarded choral arranger

• Dr Michael Barrett was the Director of Choral Activities and Conductor of the University of Pretoria (TUKS) Camerata from 2013 - 2025.
• He is an active clinician and workshop presenter, having been invited all over the world to lecture, conduct performances and adjudicate festival.
• He has presented and performed with his choirs at conferences and symposiums across the globe, including being invited as the Headline Choir of the National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association (Dallas 2025) and the World Choral Symposium (Barcelona 2017).
• His choirs have won numerous choir competitions and have produced several albums all to critical acclaim.
• Michael has conducted honour choirs in Texas (2024), South Korea (2024), Oman (2023), Missouri (2022), Beijing (2019), Florida (2019) and many more.
• Michael is the co-founder and producer of Capital Singers, South Africa's largest community choir.
• In April 2026, Michael Barrett will make his Carnegie Hall debut. He is an active composer and arranger.

• member of the World Choir Council
• National First Class Conductor (rank of professional title in China)
• President of Shenzhen Chorus Association
• founder and Artistic Director of Shenzhen Star Bright Choir
• founder and Director of Guangdong international choral pedagogic education project
• directed many choirs which have won champion titles in numerous choral competitions, both home and abroad in past few decades

• has been directing choirs in the professional, educational and community realms for almost 50 years
• founder and Conductor Emeritus of the multi-award-winning Adelaide Chamber Singers, having been Artistic Director & Conductor of the choir from 1985-2021
• co-conductor of Gondwana Chorale and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Adelaide where he also teaches Conducting and conducts the University Chorale
• has been a guest conductor, choral clinician and adjudicator throughout Australia and internationally
• in 2007, was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to music and was inducted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame in 2021

• distinguished figure from the vibrant village of Fatausi in Savai'i, he is a living testament to cultural richness and artistic brilliance
• holding the prestigious Samoan chief title, he serves as the Associate Professor and Associate Dean at the Pacific at Massey University's College of Creative Arts in Wellington, New Zealand
• recognized with the Senior Pacific Artist Award, he chaired the Fiji Arts Council Board and played key roles in iconic films as choirmaster for "The Lord of the Rings" and Disney's "Moana"
• his legacy, epitomized by the groundbreaking musical "Malaga," is a beacon of inspiration that transcends borders, promoting empowerment and universal resonance

• choral singer, conductor and music educator
• is on the board of Music Education New Zealand Aotearoa and is currently undertaking her doctorate in music education at the University of Auckland
• passionate about children’s singing and her work as a conducting and singing mentor sees her visit schools throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, working with teachers and inspiring students

• currently professor of choral music at the Thornton School of Music (USC), conductor of the USC Thornton Concert Choir, and Vice-Dean for the Classical Performance and Composition Division
• born in Venezuela, he earned degrees from the Simón Bolívar University (MM) in Caracas, Venezuela, and the University of Miami (DMA)
• award-winning conductor and composer, has participated in numerous festivals, workshops, conferences, and events as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and lecturer all over the world
• served in numerous international artistic committees including Songbridge and the World Youth Choir; chaired the Artistic Committee for the World Choral Expo 2019 and served in the Artistic Committee for the World Symposium on Choral Music in 2023; and served as one of the Vice-Presidents of the International Federation for Choral Music
• started a new Choral Series entitled "The Choral Music of Latin America and the Caribbean" published by Gentry Publications as an editorial outlet for Latin American choral repertoire

• Director of Music at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Hamilton
• senior lecturer at the University of Waikato Conservatorium of Music, Hamilton where she teaches Music history, ear training and directs the University choir
• performs as harpsichordist and organist with many ensembles across New Zealand, including the early music groups Affetto, and NZBarok, and recently as soloist with the NZSO
• a current passion is for the editing and performance of 17th and 18th century sacred cantatas, in which she directs the ensemble Vox Baroque, a 12-voice choir with a small band of instrumentalists
• has music degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and the University of Auckland

• member of the World Choir Council
• Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Auckland
• currently Artistic Director of the Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand (CANZ) Trust, the managing body for the NZ Secondary Students' Choir, the Aotearoa Academy Choir, the NZ Youth Choir and Voices NZ Chamber Choir which she founded in 1998 and currently directs
• her legacy of choral conductor training, professional choral performance and long-standing relationships with Te Ao Māori and Pasifika musicians, has been recognized nationally and internationally through competitions and international juries
• in 2023, she was honored in the King's Birthday and Coronation Honors, as a Companion, for services to Choral Music

• was Head of Music at Epsom Girls Grammar School (Auckland) until the end of 2001
• has been Deputy Music Director of Auckland Choral (1996-2011) and Composer-in-Residence with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (1999)
• works part-time in music education as a composition tutor and choral conductor
• well-known as a choral composer and conductor, workshop leader and adjudicator
• his choral music is widely performed, and is published in the UK, USA, Germany, Spain and Finland
• won numerous competitions in New Zealand, and also internationally

• President of Japan Choral Association
• as Conductor Laureate and Honorary Artistic Director of the Little Singers of Tokyo she has led and contributed to their success
• was Chairperson of the Artistic Committee at the 7th World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto, and conductor of the 1st and the 3rd Asia Pacific Youth Choir
• former Vice President and was a Board member of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) over 20 years
• awards received include the Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2023 Autumn Conferment of Decorations for many years of service to the music culture and the Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner's Award in 2019

• 20+ years experience in singing, coaching, conducting, and judging barbershop harmony singing, representing New Zealand on the international stage many times in choruses and quartets since 2005
• founder and Co-Director of Pacific Connection Choir - Barbershop Harmony NZ Champions 2022 with the highest score on record in New Zealand
• Master Director 600 Sweet Adelines International, Vice President of Barbershop Harmony New Zealand and Singing Judge in the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges
• vocalist on Avatar - The Way of Water soundtrack with 7 other members of Pacific Connection
• mentor for the New Zealand Choral Federation in the Mana Pasifika Outreach program

• obtained three master's degrees in music for classical guitar, chamber music and orchestral conducting at the Lemmens Institute and took several masterclasses in choral conducting, e.g. with Prof. Andre de Quadros (USA), Lone Larsen (Denmark), Prof. Markus Utz (Geneva)
• currently conducts the Mechelen-based Vokalis and the Chamber Choir Flanders and with this latter young ensemble, he has won meritorious prizes in international choral competitions in recent years
• In August 2019, up a new challenge, bringing together several passions, as general manager of Koor&Stem vzw, the Flemish amateur arts organization for vocal music.

• member of the World Choir Council
• teaches at the Rīga Cathedral Choir School and at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music
• since 1998, Art Director of the "Rīga Cathedral Boys' Choir", which has been granted the Latvian Grand Music Award - the highest State award in music and Latvian Music Recording Award
• elected Chief Conductor of the Great Song Festival 2008 and 2013, and Artistic Director of the Great Song Festival in 2018
• one of the Chief Conductors of the IX and X Latvian Youth Song and Dance Festivals
• in 2015 Mārtiņš Klišāns got the highest State award – The Order of Three Stars

• conductor-composer renowned for his visionary approach to choral music
• as the founder and Artistic Director of the Voices of Singapore, he orchestrates nationwide concerts and festivals while leading a vibrant choral community through the VOS Choral Society of 30 choirs and over 1200 singers
• his extensive involvement in the music world extends globally through his roles as CEO of The Voice Company, Board Member of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM), Council Member in the Asia Pacific Choral Council, and the Board Chairman of the World Alliance of Children's Choirs

• member of the World Choir Council
• choral and orchestral conductor
• former choirmaster at The Royal Danish Opera
• former Artistic Director of the Copenhagen Concert Society and The Danish Boys Choir
• international adjudicator, conductor and guest lecturer
• jury member at ten editions of the World Choir Games and Senior Advisor of the INTERKULTUR World Choir Council

• choral composer and arranger, whose music has been internationally sung by many well-known vocal groups and choirs such as Rajaton, King's Singers, Cantus
• experienced music teacher, choral conductor and a grounder of the Vivace Choirs and Ocarina Choirs and actively co-operating with many choral theme projects
• lecturer and teacher of composing master classes, clinician specially with children singing, rhythm and creativity in choirs
• founder and producer of the nationwide MunKuoro (MyChoir) -network in Finland for un-auditioned children and youth choirs

• choral conductor, musicologist, and professor of Choral Singing at "Luigi Boccherini" Conservatory of Lucca
• has worked in the main Italian theatres and abroad, collaborating with renowned personalities such as Zubin Mehta, Fabio Luisi, Daniel Oren, Ivan Fischer, Hirofumi Yoshida
• official conductor of the children's choir of the "Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino" and Educational Director of the institution's School of Choral Singing for Children in Florence
• Director of the musicological magazine "Codice 602" (ed. Sillabe)
• often invited to be part of jury panels in national and international choral competitions, is a frequent speaker at conferences and conventions, and the author of numerous publications

• member of the World Choir Council
• Professor Emeritus of Music at Ewha Womans University
• Director of Ewha Chamber Choir and conducted Ansan City Choir for 25 years
• President of KCMA (Korea Church Music Association)
• Broadcasting host of FEBC FM
• Artistic Director of 2023 World Choir Games
• received the 2021 University of Colorado Distinguished Choral Alumnus Award

• member of the World Choir Council
• Artistic Director of the renowned Toronto Children’s Chorus with over 300 singers and eight levels of ensembles ages 4-18
• teaches Vocal Pedagogy for Choirs at the University of Toronto
• founding Board Member for the World Alliance of Children's Choirs, Honorary Artistic Director of the Hamilton Children's Choir, founder of Choir School in Kazakhstan and curator/editor for the choral music publisher, Cypress Choral Music
• passionate musician with 38 years of experience as an educator, award-winning conductor, and internationally respected adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor

• renowned composer whose works have been performed by ensembles such as The Takacs Quartet, and soloists such as Bella Hristhova
• Professor of Music at The University of Otago in Dunedin, and Head of the School of Performing Arts
• founder member of the National Youth Choir and conducted the Southern Youth Choir and Southern Children Choir
• in 2016 was joint winner of The NZ Classical Album of the Year, and in 2018 his oratorio "Gallipoli to the Somme" was performed in London and Oxford
• album of choral music Survivors: Choral Music by Anthony Ritchie was recorded by Aquarius in Belgium, and released on Atoll Records in 2016

• member of the World Choir Council
• active music educator promoting music and choral education in Malaysia
• currently lecturer and choir director at the Faculty of Music at the University of Malaysia and the Malaysian Institute of Art
• established the Young Choral Academy in Kuala Lumpur in 2007, a venue for choral lovers and teachers to learn more about vocal and choral education
• regularly invited to be a member of the jury for various international choir festivals
• active Working Committee member of the Asia-Pacific Choral Council, under the auspices of the International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM) and currently Vice-President of the International Kodaly Society, the World Youth and Children Choral Artists’ Association, and the Malaysian Association for Music Education

• known as the "Father of Contemporary A Cappella" (Entertainment Weekly) for having created and popularized the modern sound including vocal percussion
• music director, arranger and producer for all 3 Pitch Perfect Films
• vocal producer and music director of "The Sing Off" (US, South Africa, China, Netherlands)
• arranged over 2,000 a cappella arrangements and written 6 books on vocal harmony
• judge and clinician for Eurovision Choir 2019
• produced gold albums including "Straight No Chaser", "Committed", "DCappella" and was on screen in "Pitch Slapped", "Pitch Battle"
• produced and arranged first all a cappella musical on Broadway: "In Transit"

• Director of Music of ChoirWorks, the founder and Musical Director of fusion, and conductor of Vintage Voices
• enjoys the adventure and global embrace of a career dedicated to music and thrives on the creative discovery that flows from collaborative musical opportunities, whether working with combinations of choirs or with other composers, dancers, orchestras, visual artists and cultural groups
• holds degrees in Music Education (BMusEd, DipKodEd, MMusEd), and Choral Conducting (DM) from various institutions including the Kodály Intézet (Hungary) and Indiana University (USA)

• accomplished Indonesian choral composer, arranger and conductor
• well known for his fusion of Indonesian colors and elements with modern techniques and harmonies and his creative works have made important contributions to the development of choral music in Indonesia
• holds degrees from The Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music, Philippines and California Baptist University, USA
• Principal at Methodist Charles Wesley Music Vocational High School
• conductor and Director of Medan Community Choir

• successful choral composer and arranger at "Te Matatini" - a significant world renowned Māori Indigenous cultural festival and the pinnacle event for Māori performing arts
• with his present Māori Performing Arts Group that he helps Tutor - Hatea Kapa Haka - he has developed their own sound/arrangement of their original music
• has also had successes arranging covers of popular songs in Māori such as Queens "Bohemian Rhapsody", Billy Eillish's "When the Party's Over" and Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved"

• highly acclaimed choral conductor, scholar, pedagogue, and media personality with a career spanning over 20
• Resident Conductor (chorus) with the Handel and Haydn Society
• ensembles under his direction were integral to projects that have won a Pulitzer Prize (Madam White Snake, Zhou Long), received a Grammy (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Boston Modern Orchestra Project), and earned the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from Presidential Committee on the Arts (Boston)
• has worked with a variety of artists and ensembles including the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, The Houston Chamber Choir, John Williams, Simon Halsey, and Yo Yo Ma
• currently host of the classical radio show The Silent Canon which airs on KNVO 90.7 and can also be seen on-air and online on the Emmy nominated WGBH television series Sing That Thing

• Conductor oft he National Chamber Choir “MADRIGAL – MARIN CONSTANTIN” since 2014.
• Artistic Director & Head of Music Department of CANTUS MUNDI NATIONAL PROGRAM since 2011
• Jury for multiple events such as World Choir Games – Auckland, New Zealand (2024) , “Gavriil Musicescu” International Choral Competition – Iași, Romania (2015 – 2023), National Festival & Competition for Romanian Pop Music Interpretation – “Trophy of Youth”, Amara, Romania (2023) and many more

• member of the World Choir Council
• has been active in the international choral world and music education as a vocalist, conductor, arranger, vocal coach, workshop leader, adjudicator, teacher, publicist and organizer of International Vocal Group Festival 1996 - 2004
• studied music education, piano and choral conducting at the Brabant Conservatory and specialized in musical theatre and light vocal music
• gained international fame with the Fontys Jazz Choir, with which he won the TV competition Korenslag in 2010 and became World Champion Jazz in 2016 during the World Choir Games
• was university lecturer in music education and choir conducting at the Fontys Academy for Music Education Tilburg and the Conservatory of Amsterdam from 1980 to 2023
• currently a coach at vocal group Des Unique Tilburg, male vocal ensemble Dubbel Zes Den Bosch and male choir Daan Zomer Utrecht

• countertenor in The King's Singers for 10 years, touring the world and singing over 1500 concerts in some of the world's greatest venues
• taught at over 500 masterclasses, workshops and summer schools, imparting ensemble skills and techniques to vocal ensembles across the globe
• recognition for The King's Singers during his tenure include two Grammy Awards, a further Grammy nomination and an induction into the inaugural Gramophone Hall of Fame

• widely regarded as one of Australia’s finest choral conductors
• for over 30 years, she has harnessed the incredible power of young voices through her world-renowned ensembles: the Sydney Children's Choir, Gondwana Voices, the Gondwana Indigenous Children's Choir and Marliya
• commissioned over 200 works from composers across Australia and around the world
• continues to foster strong relationships with First Nations artists across Australia, bringing together cultural custodians and composers to create new works which preserve and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island languages and cultures
• has been the recipient of many national awards for her work with choirs

• PhD in Choral Pedagogy and a Masters in Choral Conducting Performance with First Class Honours
• for two years, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Westminster College in Pennsylvania, USA
• as a university professor, he has taught choirs; and courses in conducting, choral literature, diction, vocal pedagogy, voice, and teacher education
• was the Artistic Director of the prestigious New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir for 10 years
• registered teacher, and currently freelancing as a conductor, choral consultant and teacher educator

• founder and Artistic Director of the award winning Barnsley Youth Choir, a community choir of 650 members based in an area of significant deprivation
• has worked in Education at Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and University levels as an Advanced Skills Teacher, Advisory Teacher and as a Regional Director of Education for a large Education Trust
• composer and arranger
• in demand internationally as a clinician, workshop leader, conductor and adjudicator

• national 1st-grade conductor, doctoral director, and professor of conducting at Zhejiang Conservatory of Music
• currently Vice Chairman of the China Music Association Chorus Union and Director of the Conducting Performance Committee
• has been guest conductor and Artistic Director of Shanghai Opera House, Chinese Armed Police Men's Voice, "Eight Seconds" and other choirs and as a conductor, his teams have won more than 40 highest awards in chorus competitions at home and abroad
• known in the industry as the "Conductor of the New Trend of Chinese Chorus", which integrates teaching and research, performance and training
• served as a judge of major choral and conducting competitions at home and abroad, as well as a reviewer of professional titles and scientific research projects funded by the National Art Fund
• received national commendations and awards as a national model teacher representative

• member of the World Choir Council
• Professor of conducting at the Central Conservatory of Music and Principal Conductor of Tianjin Symphony Orchestra
• Vice-Chairman of China Chorus Association
• resident conductor of Beijing Philharmonic Choir
• frequently invited to serve as an international judge in many important choral competitions
• in 2016, his monograph “Modern Conducting Techniques Course” was published by the Central Conservatory of Music

• graduated from Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in music education
• winner of the honorary titles of national "Model Music Teacher" and "Special-Grade Music Teacher”
• Deputy Director of the Children's Choir Committee of the China Choral Association and of the Steering Committee for Art Education in Guangdong Province
• Vice President of Guangdong Chorus Association and Vice Chairman of Guangzhou Musicians Association
• Artistic Director of Guangdong Radio Children’s Choir
• Artistic Director and Chief conductor of the Guangdong Experimental Middle School Choir