President's
Booth's Bites - June 2021
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Turning my memories of early performances, I recall one of the many hundreds of performances given in my teens as a member of the Langley Ukulele Ensemble. Our energetic director Mr Peter Luongo was a Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International and one of the frequent keynote concerts the group would deliver was centred around 4 pillars of leadership. Peter would use the 4 letter names of the strings of the ukulele (tuned to D6 for those of you who take interest in such details) as an acronym for important elements of effective leadership; A for Administration, D for Destiny and F (#) for Friendship. The fourth string, the thinnest and most common to break, was an element Peter would stress as both the most important but like the string itself, the most fragile; it was B for Belonging. This idea that belonging was paramount for the success of not only organizations, but groups of all kinds including family, has always lingered with me. The difficulty with belonging is its fragility and individuality. What helps one person feel accepted can alienated the next. What lands beautifully in the heart of many might go unnoticed by another. It takes repeated encounters, meaningful nurturing and a genuine spirit to foster real, lasting belonging that connects people. And yet unlike the B string itself, belonging is not just thin and easily broken, it is invisible. The invisible thread that weaves itself in directions we can’t control, see or insist. How can we ever know just where the thread travels or how strongly it has secured itself?
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There are times, of course, when someone shines a special kind of light and we can all see, for a moment, where the thread has spun, who it has touched and how we are all connected. The recent passing of our Life Member, friend and colleague Emily Mair is a moment such as this. Generations of teachers, students and singers have all expressed a special kind of love and acknowledgement of the incredible impact Emily made to our community, our country and the ripples that travel beyond Aotearoa. As I had never had the pleasure of meeting Emily myself, I have been particularly touched to see the strength of our community and the deeply meaningful impact she made on so many singers, teachers and friends. Thank you to those who have contributed beautifully crafted tributes. May her light continue to shine and we cherish her lifelong contribution to NEWZATS.
The strength of our community is evident with nine regions all submitting content for this edition of our newsletter. NINE! Ka pai everyone, your engagement both in your regions and with NEWZATS has resonated through council and we are thrilled we can be the voice that helps connect us throughout New Zealand. We are sorry to loose Claire Barton from the council and thank her for the time consuming work she had done for NEWZATSs and wish her well.
We promised lots of exciting professional development and networking opportunities and it has been fantastic to see uptake with our new Sunday Series. Remember these are now archived in your own private password protected area of the website so if you registered, you can view at any time. Finally, as you know Conference registrations are OPEN! Spread the word and do be sure to explore opportunities for your students to enter masterclasses – these applications are also open and will close in 1 week so please apply sooner rather than later!
It is fair to say that as a council, and as President, you can never be sure where that invisible thread of belonging is weaving itself through our community so let me be explicit in welcoming our record number of new members, again acknowledging the fantastic work our teachers are doing (particularly ahead of competition season!) and encourage you all to join us in Wellington where we can at last exchange the most important connection of all – a chat over a cuppa. Real conversations with real teachers. We are in this together. Thank you to each and everyone of you for being an important stitch of our invisible cloak that connects us.
Nga mihi nui, Julia
The strength of our community is evident with nine regions all submitting content for this edition of our newsletter. NINE! Ka pai everyone, your engagement both in your regions and with NEWZATS has resonated through council and we are thrilled we can be the voice that helps connect us throughout New Zealand. We are sorry to loose Claire Barton from the council and thank her for the time consuming work she had done for NEWZATSs and wish her well.
We promised lots of exciting professional development and networking opportunities and it has been fantastic to see uptake with our new Sunday Series. Remember these are now archived in your own private password protected area of the website so if you registered, you can view at any time. Finally, as you know Conference registrations are OPEN! Spread the word and do be sure to explore opportunities for your students to enter masterclasses – these applications are also open and will close in 1 week so please apply sooner rather than later!
It is fair to say that as a council, and as President, you can never be sure where that invisible thread of belonging is weaving itself through our community so let me be explicit in welcoming our record number of new members, again acknowledging the fantastic work our teachers are doing (particularly ahead of competition season!) and encourage you all to join us in Wellington where we can at last exchange the most important connection of all – a chat over a cuppa. Real conversations with real teachers. We are in this together. Thank you to each and everyone of you for being an important stitch of our invisible cloak that connects us.
Nga mihi nui, Julia
BOOTH'S BITES - March 2021
And we’re off! With the teaching year now well underway, our family holiday in the far north of Taupõ Bay, which featured the quintessential kiwi hammock hung between the pōhutakawa trees, seems a distant memory.
But there is something equally invigorating about the start of the year. A fresh page, eager students and the anticipation of progress and development. I am always surprised by the change, particularly in my younger students, after a summer holiday. They seem wiser and more mature after what is effectively only weeks of time! There is of course the brain drain that comes with creating momentum and learning new names and new stories.
But it’s what we do, isn’t it? We do so much giving that as teachers we need to remember to find ways to nurture our own learning and wellbeing. A vital part of that is the connection we share with our colleagues and fellow members.
But there is something equally invigorating about the start of the year. A fresh page, eager students and the anticipation of progress and development. I am always surprised by the change, particularly in my younger students, after a summer holiday. They seem wiser and more mature after what is effectively only weeks of time! There is of course the brain drain that comes with creating momentum and learning new names and new stories.
But it’s what we do, isn’t it? We do so much giving that as teachers we need to remember to find ways to nurture our own learning and wellbeing. A vital part of that is the connection we share with our colleagues and fellow members.
Thank you to everyone who tuned in for our Open Day and for those who have since contributed to the Repertoire Exchange. New injection of ideas and songs can be just the thing to fill our buckets for the year ahead. And course we will continue the get-togethers with the Sunday Series. As it happens one of our Vice-Presidents, Jo Fitzgerald, will be in Hamilton for the upcoming online workshop with Anne-Marie Speed on the 21st of March. Jo has reached out to see if we can watch it together. A resounding yes! As it is a Sunday morning, I suspect formal hubs might be tricky this time around, but these smaller bubbles of get-together are encouraged. Why not make it a shared morning tea?
The opportunity for togetherness is as broad as our initiative will allow (and indeed Alert Levels!) I know some of us hesitate to “host” so an alternative could be that members watch the online event individually but then arrange to meet at a café afterwards for a post-workshop korero. Your support to help organise these in your local regions would be greatly appreciated!
We are all of course looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible for our Conference in Wellington on the 23rd to 25th of July. How lucky we are to be able to plan for an in-person gathering. The opportunity to delve into the variety of expertise within Aotearoa is interesting and impressive. Save the date. Be part of the conversation. Together we will grow.
Ngā mihi nui, Julia
The opportunity for togetherness is as broad as our initiative will allow (and indeed Alert Levels!) I know some of us hesitate to “host” so an alternative could be that members watch the online event individually but then arrange to meet at a café afterwards for a post-workshop korero. Your support to help organise these in your local regions would be greatly appreciated!
We are all of course looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible for our Conference in Wellington on the 23rd to 25th of July. How lucky we are to be able to plan for an in-person gathering. The opportunity to delve into the variety of expertise within Aotearoa is interesting and impressive. Save the date. Be part of the conversation. Together we will grow.
Ngā mihi nui, Julia
Booth's Bites - December 2020
It is with absolute pleasure that, as the new President, I write an inaugural message to our members.
First and foremost I wish to extend my gratitude to our outgoing president Lisa Rangi. Her passion for NEWZATS is seen through her lengthy commitment to council and felt through her beautifully open spirit and genuine care for vocational teaching. It goes without saying that 2020 has brought challenges that no one could have anticipated, and I am enormously grateful that Lisa found the strength to extend her time as President to support our members and council as we navigated Alert Levels and the impact of Covid-19. Her warmth and passion will be deeply missed but I know her door is always open and no doubt we will share a cuppa in the coming months. Through conversation, honesty and vast experience she will continue to support myself, council and NEWZATS members in more ways than one. Until then, I’m sure you will all join me in a round of applause for Lisa as we say thank you. Time to put your feet up and take time to nurture yourself as you have for so many others.
There is no question, this year has been tough. Resilience and adaptability have featured highly for many us as we navigated the hurdles that Covid-19 presented. This is true for our council as well.
First and foremost I wish to extend my gratitude to our outgoing president Lisa Rangi. Her passion for NEWZATS is seen through her lengthy commitment to council and felt through her beautifully open spirit and genuine care for vocational teaching. It goes without saying that 2020 has brought challenges that no one could have anticipated, and I am enormously grateful that Lisa found the strength to extend her time as President to support our members and council as we navigated Alert Levels and the impact of Covid-19. Her warmth and passion will be deeply missed but I know her door is always open and no doubt we will share a cuppa in the coming months. Through conversation, honesty and vast experience she will continue to support myself, council and NEWZATS members in more ways than one. Until then, I’m sure you will all join me in a round of applause for Lisa as we say thank you. Time to put your feet up and take time to nurture yourself as you have for so many others.
There is no question, this year has been tough. Resilience and adaptability have featured highly for many us as we navigated the hurdles that Covid-19 presented. This is true for our council as well.
Faced with a changing environment and disruption to how we traditionally connect with one another, we have embraced the opportunity for online workshops and have been thrilled with the engagement from members. As the rest of the world grapples with escalating pandemic response, we are rediscovering the joy of “being in the room” with students. Performances have become an acknowledgement of our fortune, a time to appreciate with sweet gratitude that we are in the privileged position of coming together for connection through art, music and live performance.
As a council we are excited to be planning events for 2021 which include a combination of online delivery with a heavy emphasis on regional hubs and in-person conference. With border restrictions still in place and the possibility for international guests uncertain, we plan to deliver specialist key-note speakers through zoom as we know this works and, in many ways, the move to online learning has made access to new information and international speakers even more possible. We absolutely want to provide this level of training and insight to our members. The flip side of border restrictions is that it provides an opportunity for us as a community to look within ourselves and our surrounding networks to uncover depth and experience from within Aotearoa; a chance to explore our own diversity and learn from the wealth of knowledge that exists among us. Planning is underway for an in-person mid -year conference which along with a focus on regional hubs will provide more opportunity for our members to get together in person for conversation, collaboration and connection. Keep your eyes open for online discussion forums too. If anything, this year of unexpected isolation has reminded us how important relationships are, how vital collaboration is and how when we support each other creatively we will rise with more strength and resilience.
For those of you who I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting I will share a small glimpse into my life. From my classical training as a lyric soprano making my debut with NZO as Barena in Jenufa as Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist, to fulfilling childhood dream roles in Phantom of the Opera (Christine) and Les Misérables (Fantine) I carved out a path alongside a performance career and have spent the past decade studying vocal pedagogy. I am interested in how vocal health and technical efficiency integrates with artistic fulfilment and personal wellbeing. As Head of Voice at Wintec I lecture voice topics including Vocal Anatomy and Physiology, The Musician’s Voice, and Performance papers in Musical Theatre and Contemporary Singer/Songwriting. In my private studio I work alongside ENTs and SLTs to support the rehabilitation of singers who have suffered vocal injury (typically not due to singing I hasten to add) and I continue to work with a small number of younger singers. I have had the privilege of teaching internationally, with an emphasis on pedagogy, and am passionate about enriching the quality of teacher training for our young emerging singers who wish to explore a career in teaching. I am invested in multi-disciplinary collaboration across a range of pathways including movement, osteopathy and performance psychology. I live in Hamilton with my husband Phil. He supports me unconditionally but can’t sing a scale. He loves going to the theatre, especially if it is preceded by dinner and good wine but he prefers to explore the many cycle ways around the country. We are raising three beautiful girls, aged 8, 5 and 2. That combined with our dog Hudson, cat Sweetie-Pie, 5 chickens and 3 fish, life is busy. With exams almost finished, I can hear Whangamata, our beach ‘spot’ for 5 generations, calling already.
Happy Holidays everyone. I do hope that we all take time to breathe, recharge, and reinvigorate for what will be a fabulous year of new offerings, new and renewed friendship and continued professional development. Can’t wait for us to be together again. Please please send me your ideas, your thoughts, your concerns. Anything at all. Your voice matters – on all levels!
Ngā mihi nui, Julia Booth
president@newzats.org.nz
As a council we are excited to be planning events for 2021 which include a combination of online delivery with a heavy emphasis on regional hubs and in-person conference. With border restrictions still in place and the possibility for international guests uncertain, we plan to deliver specialist key-note speakers through zoom as we know this works and, in many ways, the move to online learning has made access to new information and international speakers even more possible. We absolutely want to provide this level of training and insight to our members. The flip side of border restrictions is that it provides an opportunity for us as a community to look within ourselves and our surrounding networks to uncover depth and experience from within Aotearoa; a chance to explore our own diversity and learn from the wealth of knowledge that exists among us. Planning is underway for an in-person mid -year conference which along with a focus on regional hubs will provide more opportunity for our members to get together in person for conversation, collaboration and connection. Keep your eyes open for online discussion forums too. If anything, this year of unexpected isolation has reminded us how important relationships are, how vital collaboration is and how when we support each other creatively we will rise with more strength and resilience.
For those of you who I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting I will share a small glimpse into my life. From my classical training as a lyric soprano making my debut with NZO as Barena in Jenufa as Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist, to fulfilling childhood dream roles in Phantom of the Opera (Christine) and Les Misérables (Fantine) I carved out a path alongside a performance career and have spent the past decade studying vocal pedagogy. I am interested in how vocal health and technical efficiency integrates with artistic fulfilment and personal wellbeing. As Head of Voice at Wintec I lecture voice topics including Vocal Anatomy and Physiology, The Musician’s Voice, and Performance papers in Musical Theatre and Contemporary Singer/Songwriting. In my private studio I work alongside ENTs and SLTs to support the rehabilitation of singers who have suffered vocal injury (typically not due to singing I hasten to add) and I continue to work with a small number of younger singers. I have had the privilege of teaching internationally, with an emphasis on pedagogy, and am passionate about enriching the quality of teacher training for our young emerging singers who wish to explore a career in teaching. I am invested in multi-disciplinary collaboration across a range of pathways including movement, osteopathy and performance psychology. I live in Hamilton with my husband Phil. He supports me unconditionally but can’t sing a scale. He loves going to the theatre, especially if it is preceded by dinner and good wine but he prefers to explore the many cycle ways around the country. We are raising three beautiful girls, aged 8, 5 and 2. That combined with our dog Hudson, cat Sweetie-Pie, 5 chickens and 3 fish, life is busy. With exams almost finished, I can hear Whangamata, our beach ‘spot’ for 5 generations, calling already.
Happy Holidays everyone. I do hope that we all take time to breathe, recharge, and reinvigorate for what will be a fabulous year of new offerings, new and renewed friendship and continued professional development. Can’t wait for us to be together again. Please please send me your ideas, your thoughts, your concerns. Anything at all. Your voice matters – on all levels!
Ngā mihi nui, Julia Booth
president@newzats.org.nz
LIsa's Latest and last - September 2020
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KALEIDOSCOPE: a continually shifting pattern, scene, or the like. If ever there was a time when we have had to be flexible and hold things lightly, it’s this year. Our daily lives have been tossed around continuously. Plans have been made, then changed, then cancelled. More than ever, the important things in my life have shown me why they deserve my time and energy.
Family - Dave and I made a spontaneous trip to Masterton on Saturday night to welcome our first grandchild, Ezra into the world. On Wednesday I helped my parents move from their home of 50 years-the place where I learned my love of music and the importance of whanau. Health - Illness this year has stopped me in my tracks to reassess everything and make changes to my daily routine. Music - I’ve continued to experience how music helps me and many others, to cope with the constant change. God - “In spite of the many songs I've sung if I had to chose there would be just one One message of love that I'd want to share of our heavenly Father and how much He cares.” |
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Your NEWZATS Council and Administrator continue to work to help you in your chosen profession. Later in September we will meet in Auckland for a day to reassess our future direction as an association. I will be resigning from Presidency and Council and we will elect someone to take my place to ensure you are heard and supported as a singing teacher. My time on Council has been life-changing. I’ve “walked with giants” such as Judy Bellingham who was given Life Membership at the recent AGM. Upon reading her extraordinary citation, which was researched and written by Gina Sanders, I was struck with how incredible it was that we have such a deserving person in our midst and that I have her cell phone number. Which I use. There are so many people within NEWZATS who have propped me up, guided me and encouraged me. They are the reason I will be a NEWZATS fan forever. Thank you to every single one of you for the skills and energy you bring to this association. I hope to see you again soon. God Bless Lisa x
Lisa's Latest - June 2020
As many of you have returned to face-to-face work in the last week, I would like to say how grateful I am for our NEWZATS community. You are diverse, resilient and creative. Thank you for the ways in which you have supported each other and me. Faith and hope are valuable at this time. I have strong Christian beliefs, which provide these for me, and I take great comfort in the following text: “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for peace and well- being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
We have a future as an Association and our “Online Offerings” series of workshops this year are going to meet the needs and requests of our members. It was wonderful to log onto Tessa Romano’s Zoom workshop this month to, not only learn more about our beautiful craft, but to see so many dear and familiar faces.
We have a future as an Association and our “Online Offerings” series of workshops this year are going to meet the needs and requests of our members. It was wonderful to log onto Tessa Romano’s Zoom workshop this month to, not only learn more about our beautiful craft, but to see so many dear and familiar faces.
Your Council is continuing to plan for monthly sessions for the rest of the year. It might be a session you’ve been waiting for, a chance to learn something you didn't even realise you needed to know. If you have any suggestions of topics I would love to hear from you. Our wonderful conference is still on the burner and once we know that it is possible to hold it, we will set dates.
Along with other changes, two of our Council members have resigned. Sharon Yearsley has served on Council since 2014. I appreciated her vibrant energy and ideas that she brought to the table. Thank you for your time with us Sharon. Gina Sanders served on Council for....a very long time. I have valued her phenomenal insight into so many areas. Gina always made herself available to me and was always willing to help whoever needed help. Thank you Gina for your tenacity and great love for people.
God Bless
Lisa
Along with other changes, two of our Council members have resigned. Sharon Yearsley has served on Council since 2014. I appreciated her vibrant energy and ideas that she brought to the table. Thank you for your time with us Sharon. Gina Sanders served on Council for....a very long time. I have valued her phenomenal insight into so many areas. Gina always made herself available to me and was always willing to help whoever needed help. Thank you Gina for your tenacity and great love for people.
God Bless
Lisa
Lisa's Latest - MArch 2020
In 2011 at NEWZATS’ Wellington conference main speaker Gillyanne Kayes introduced me to the 4 Stages of Learning. It made so much sense and I’ve been using this ever since to show my pupils about the need for change and growth as a singer. The “Ouch” factor is also a part of this. Recently I found this simple diagram to use as well. One of the things I noticed was Stick Man A helping Stick Man B to move from Conscious Incompetence to Conscious Competence. It struck me how important it was to have guidance and support from others in the “Ouch” stage.
Already this year I’ve had many changes. My trusty Toyota Corolla, Lucy, who has visited many North Island NEWZATS members, decided she had done enough traveling and has been exchanged for Agnes the newer Toyota Corolla. It was quite “Ouchy” saying goodbye to Lucy who had been with me through the last 11 years of my life. Ruby, my 12-year-old Tortoiseshell Cat passed away and now Winnie and Tigger have come to keep me company.
Our Association has undergone significant changes in recent years. Singing and singing teaching has changed in significant ways, and while we have tried to embrace the new, we also want to continue to honour the beautiful culture that went before. Our April conference has been designed using the requests made by our members of all ages and singing styles. Although we have a more Contemporary-based conference this time, we have also catered for our Classical teachers and singers. This week we have listened to, and watched our Masterclass applicants, in order to choose singers who represent the kinds of pupils that walk into your studios. We are looking forward to watching experienced teachers: Jeanie LoVetri and Christine Douglas work with these young people. They might experience some “Ouch” but I’m sure they will grow from this wonderful opportunity.
If you haven’t already registered there’s still time.
We would love to see you there.
God Bless
Lisa
Already this year I’ve had many changes. My trusty Toyota Corolla, Lucy, who has visited many North Island NEWZATS members, decided she had done enough traveling and has been exchanged for Agnes the newer Toyota Corolla. It was quite “Ouchy” saying goodbye to Lucy who had been with me through the last 11 years of my life. Ruby, my 12-year-old Tortoiseshell Cat passed away and now Winnie and Tigger have come to keep me company.
Our Association has undergone significant changes in recent years. Singing and singing teaching has changed in significant ways, and while we have tried to embrace the new, we also want to continue to honour the beautiful culture that went before. Our April conference has been designed using the requests made by our members of all ages and singing styles. Although we have a more Contemporary-based conference this time, we have also catered for our Classical teachers and singers. This week we have listened to, and watched our Masterclass applicants, in order to choose singers who represent the kinds of pupils that walk into your studios. We are looking forward to watching experienced teachers: Jeanie LoVetri and Christine Douglas work with these young people. They might experience some “Ouch” but I’m sure they will grow from this wonderful opportunity.
If you haven’t already registered there’s still time.
We would love to see you there.
God Bless
Lisa
