Winner of 5 First Places in New Zealand Aria Competition
St Paul’s Collegiate School Y13 student Jonathan Eyers has a dream to be an Opera singer in Europe and by the way he’s been performing lately he’s on the right track. If his latest singing awards are anything to go by, then it looks likely he may be one of New Zealand’s most talented opera singers in the future.
He has just won 5 first places in the New Zealand Aria Competition recently held in Rotorua. 3 firsts in the U18 category, 2 firsts in the U21 category, one solo and the other a duet with fellow Yr 13 St Paul’s Collegiate school student Ross Noble.
It’s not something a typical 17 year old boy would aspire to but Jonathon is not your typical teenager. Famous bass Baritone Welsh Opera singer Bryn Terfel is who he aspires to be like. He wants to further his craft in Europe and perform with the best that Opera has to offer.
He started singing in the school choir and productions at intermediate and for the last 5 years has been actively involved in the St Paul’s Collegiate School Choir and played lead singing roles in many of the schools productions.
This year he was selected along with fellow school student Rosie Searle for the NZ Secondary Schools Choir as the Tenor Leader. Jonathon and Rosie travelled to South Africa with the Choir in July and sang to schools in under privilege areas, universities and churches.
“His rendition of the “Hallelujah” song has been known to make a grown man cry says Headmaster Mr Grant Lander who recently witnessed this at a performance and he can take you on a journey with his voice where you forget where you are for that moment in time.”
Next year he plans on studying music at Waikato University, majoring in voice and then would like to study his post grad or masters in Europe, possibly Germany. He has just been awarded a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship from the Waikato University.
He’s been involved in music and singing since an early age. When he was 5 he started piano, it’s now 12 years on and he will be sitting his advanced certificate exam this year as well as the Associate of Trinity College of London (ATCL) for singing.
At the moment he attends a one hour singing lesson with Ian Campbell an itinerant music teacher at St Paul’s Collegiate and then does around 2 hours training at home although he knows he will need to step this up next year if he is to achieve his goal.
He not only plays the piano and sings he also plays the pipe organ and has been one of the schools most popular student organists and also has played in the Hamilton Anglican Cathedral.
