BASS

Takerei (ia/they/them) is based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and holds a BMus in Classical Performance Voice from the University of Auckland. Takerei is very active in the NZ choral scene as a singer, composer and conductor. They sing in the New Zealand Youth Choir, and Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, and regularly perform with choirs and ensembles around the country. Previously, they were a member of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir’s 2017-2018 cycle. 

Alongside this, Takerei is actively involved as a conductor. They have been the Peter Godfrey Conducting Scholar for the New Zealand Youth Choir, and have conducted choirs at Kristin School, St Paul’s College Ponsonby, Auckland Grammar School, and currently Takapuna Grammar School and Epsom Girls Grammar School. They also developed the Lower Voices Choral Festival, which brought together lower-voice choirs from around Tāmaki Makaurau for an afternoon of bonding over singing and performance. The festival had a successful first outing in May of 2024. 

As a composer, they have enjoyed writing various commissions over the years. Their most recent major work, E Kiwi E, was premiered by in April of 2024 by Orpheus Choir Wellington, joined by Wellington Brass and Hiwa Performance Creative. In October of 2024, they were awarded Highly Commended in the national choral composition competition, Compose Aotearoa!, with their piece, Papatūānuku, scored for SATB double chorus. 

In their free time, Takerei enjoys playing video games, gawking at sunsets, and begging their three cats to love them.