Robert Wiremu appointed as Co-Chair of SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music Board
Robert Wiremu appointed as Co-Chair of SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music Board
December 10th, 2024
SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music is delighted to announce the appointment of Robert Wiremu (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) as Co-Chair of the Board.
Joining forces with fellow Co-Chair Eve de Castro-Robinson, Robert brings a wealth of experience, passion, and leadership; alongside an enduring commitment to promoting and preserving Aotearoa’s diverse musical heritage. He has served on the Board of SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music since 2022.
Robert is an accomplished vocal coach, composer, musician, and educator whose contributions have significantly shaped New Zealand’s music landscape.
Robert Wiremu has a record of leadership that includes governance (the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, the Auckland Chamber Choir Trust, the New Zealand Choral Federation, Opera in the Pā, and SOUNZ), and advisory roles (the NZ Children’s Choral Academy, Te Reo Ruruku for NZ Opera, Artistic Advisor for Choirs Aotearoa, and as Tuākana Advisor for the School of Music at the University of Auckland).
As a composer, Robert has written for some of our leading music organisations, including Voices NZ, the NZSO, the Auckland Chamber Choir, the NZ Youth Choir, Auckland Opera Studio, and Chamber Music NZ. He has also directed, co-directed, and deputy-directed for the Auckland Arts Festival, Matariki Hunga Nui, for Te Toi Waiata o Aotearoa-the NZ National Singing School, the Sing Aotearoa conference for the NZCF, the NZ Youth Choir, and the NZ Secondary Students’ Choir.
He has taught at the University of Auckland for over twenty years, teaching operatic, choral, conducting, musicianship, and composition studies, and sitting on both departmental and faculty committees and networks. He has devised teaching tools (the Wiremu Vowel Clock), written for international periodicals (The Choral Journal), and has received invitations to guest lecture internationally.
His work exemplifies a dedication to bridging traditional and contemporary music practices while nurturing the next generation of musicians.
Reflecting on his new role, Robert says: “Governance, ki ahau, is about learning and evolving, growth and service. Above all, it’s about people – supporting them, enabling them, bringing them together. SOUNZ aims to be a people hub mo te whakamanatanga o nga tangata katoa o Aotearoa, and I am proud to be on that haerenga.”
Co-Chair Eve de Castro-Robinson expressed her excitement, stating: “Robert is wise, perceptive, modest, and dignified, with the necessary experience and gravitas for the role.”
Together with the rest of the Board, Robert and Eve will continue leading SOUNZ in championing and promoting the sounds and music of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
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