NZer in BBC Cardiff Young Singer of the World

MEDIA RELEASE: Monday 6 April
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LSQ Finalist in BBC Cardiff Young Singer of the World

Lexus Song Quest 2009 finalist Wade Kernot has been selected as one of 25 singers from around the globe to compete in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in June.

More than 600 singers from 68 countries auditioned for the contest from around the world. It is the first time a New Zealander has been selected for the prestigious contest since 2005 when mezzo soprano Wendy Dawn Thompson was a finalist. The 2009 finals will be held in Wales from 6-14 June.

Wade (28) is one of six finalists in the Lexus Song Quest 2009 with the finals concert scheduled for Thursday 23 April at Auckland Town Hall.

“We are absolutely thrilled to hear of Wade’s selection as a finalist in the BBC Cardiff Young Singer of the World,” says New Zealand International Arts Festival executive director Sue Paterson. “He’s a superb talent who was runner-up in Lexus Song Quest 2007 and then performed the bass roles in Lyon Opera’s production of Kurt Weill’s double bill of The Lindbergh Flight and The Seven Deadly Sins, at the New Zealand International Arts Festival 2008. We’re very much looking forward to hearing him again in Lexus Song Quest 2009.”

Previous New Zealand singers who have competed in the Cardiff competition include mezzo Anne Young (1983), soprano Nicola Waite (1985), soprano Greta Crawley (1987), soprano Patricia Wright (1989), baritone Paul Whelan (1993) who was the Song Prize winner and baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes (1999).

Wade is originally from Auckland and is currently partway through a year of study at the National Opera Studio in London. He arrives back in New Zealand this weekend to prepare for the finals of Lexus Song Quest 2009, together with the five other finalists Julia Booth, Aivale Cole, Kristen Darragh, Andrew Glover and Polly Ott.

During the lead-up to the final, the finalists will work with international judge Siegfried Jerusalem and rehearse with pianist Terence Dennis and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Lloyd.

Following the final concert, the three prizewinners will accompany Siegfried Jerusalem on a Recital Tour around the country while he takes Lexus Masterclasses. Recitals will be held in Christchurch (26 April), Dunedin (28 April) and Wellington (30 April). This Lexus Song Quest Recital Tour is an opportunity for audiences around the country to hear these promising young singers at the start of their career.

Formerly known as the Mobil Song Quest, the biennial Lexus Song Quest is the most prestigious singing competition in New Zealand and is committed to the development of talented young New Zealand singers with the three prizewinners receiving cash prizes and Lexus Study Scholarships worth $53,000 and the remaining finalists each receiving $3,500.

The Lexus Song Quest is an initiative of the New Zealand International Arts Festival. For more information and to hear samples of all the finalists, visit www.nzfestival.co.nz

The Lexus Song Quest Final takes place on Thursday 23 April at Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE. Book tickets on 0800 BUY TICKETS or www.buytickets.co.nz

ENDS

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