Emma McClean - Farewell Concert

Join us for an unforgettable evening of music!

In September, Christchurch soprano Emma McClean is heading to London to complete a Master of Performance at the Royal College of Music, the Global No. 1 for Music and Performing Arts. All proceeds from this concert will go towards funding this exciting new step in her career.

Come along and hear some of the great melodies in song, opera and music theatre. Emma is joined by some of New Zealand’s finest classical artists; Cook Island tenor Ridge Ponini, and pianist Catherine Norton.

Bring along friends and family, this is a concert for all ages.

Emma McClean is a soprano from Christchurch, studying under the tutelage of Anna Leese. In 2022 she graduated from the University of Otago with First Class Honours in Music and Law and she is currently a solicitor at Anderson Lloyd. She is an alumna of the New Zealand Opera School (2020, 2024) and New Zealand Singing School (2019) and was a member and soloist with the New Zealand Youth Choir (2020-2022). Emma has performed as a Freemasons Regional Singer and she is a member of Voices New Zealand. She made her debut with Opera Otago in 2019 performing the role of Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, and in 2022 she performed the role of Miss Constantia Pinner in Daughters of the Late Colonel. She is a member of the New Zealand Opera Chorus, performing in Macbeth (2022), Così fan tutte (2023), Die tote Stadt (2023), and Le comte Ory (2024). Emma was a recipient of the University of Otago Callis Trust Performance Scholarship from 2017-2019. She was awarded the Muriel Herbert Prize by the University of Otago Council for demonstrating excellence in the practice of music in 2021, and she was a 2020-2022 RSA Choir Vocal Scholar. She competes successfully at regional aria competitions where she placed second equal in the Canterbury Opera Foundation Aria (2024), and third in the ODT Southern Aria competition (2023) and the Canterbury Opera Foundation Aria (2022). Recent concert engagements as a soprano soloist include with Bach Musica NZ, the Auckland Opera Studio, New Zealand Opera School and the Freemasons Foundation. Emma is the 2024 Circle100 Scholar and will commence a Master of Performance at the Royal College of Music, London, in September 2024.