Masking it
Keane as
Eight Auckland teenagers recently graduated from the Ignite programme – a project aimed at giving young Kiwis hands-on experience in the music business. Made possible with support from the Ministry of Youth Development, Mainz and NZ Music Commission, Ignite launched in March 2016 and paired the participants, aged 15 to 18, with mentors. All the mentors had extensive experience in the music industry, locally and abroad. Eighteen-year-old Hunter Keane, pictured, was awarded the Ignite scholarship to study for a Diploma in Music and Event Management at Mainz in 2017. The Western Springs College student was supported by mentor Anthony Metcalf, and ran a concert featuring band The Leers, to mark the release of their debut album, Are You Curious. ‘‘Hunter stood out . . . as someone who was very passionate about music,’’ says programme founder Savina Kim.
Ray of light
The producers of hit musical Priscilla Queen Of The Desert have announced that Home And Away’s Ray Meagher – aka Summer Bay’s Alf Stewart – will star in the stage extravaganza, which celebrates its 10th anniversary on the world stage in Auckland in October. Meagher, who is recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-serving actor in an Australian serial for his role of Alf, will reprise his 2010 and 2011 West End role of Bob the mechanic in Priscilla. ‘‘My last couple of trips to New Zealand have been to watch the Wallabies,’’ he says. ‘‘They came second both times. This time I’m coming with a dead-set winner!’’ Meagher says, a former Queensland Reds player who trialled for the Wallabies before focusing on acting.
Lexus 60th
The search for our best young singing voice culminates in New Zealand’s most glittering night of opera at Auckland Town Hall on Saturday, July 23, when four Lexus Song Quest finalists perform in front of a audience and head international judge Yvonne Kenny. In the event’s 60th anniversary year, the stakes have never been higher. Not only will the winner join an impressive lineup of victors like Isabella Moore, Amitai Pati, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and Dame Malvina Major – there’s $85,000 in prizes up for grabs. Head Lexus Song Quest judge and world-famous soprano, Kenny, will also conduct a free public masterclass in Auckland on July 24. Find out more at songquest.co.nz. Contemporary Kiwi archetypes combine with traditional Commedia Dell’Arte to create Leilani, an enchanting theatrical production for the debut work of Mahuika Theatre Company. ‘‘I am a dedicated theatre artist driven by the commitment to search for the possibilities that play at the intersection of theatre tradition and innovation,’’ says director Pedro Ilgenfritz. ‘‘This journey into the world of masks is an invaluable opportunity for actors and dancers to discover the subtleties and poetic force of their gesture and movement.’’ Leilani premieres at Q Theatre Loft in Auckland, and runs from August 4-13.