We are delighted to announce that Hannah Greenwood and Blaire White have been awarded 2018/19 Pettman DARE Fellowships in Music Education project management.

Starting in September the fully-funded programme, the only post-graduate diploma of its kind, provides early career professionals in music engagement with a year of practical experience in the Education department at Opera North and study at the University of Leeds.

Two Fellowships are awarded each year, one for a New Zealand citizen and one for an EEA citizen. Our New Zealand Fellow spends three months with our partner in Auckland, New Zealand Opera.

Hannah (above) is from the North East of England and a University of Manchester music graduate. She also has experience of assisting children’s and adult choirs and working with young people with Autism.  She says: “I have witnessed first-hand how participation in the arts impacts individuals and small groups of people. I would like to learn how to deliver projects with the same positive impact but on a much larger scale, through such a highly regarded national arts organisation as Opera North.”

Waikato University music graduate Blaire (centre with Dame Malvina Major and her singing teacher) is a soprano who wishes to spread her wings and develop a career which brings her closer to communities.  She says “It’s a great opportunity for young professionals to learn more about how we use music to best engage with our local communities. I’ll be able to explore how Opera North is engaging and educating local communities in the north of England, how they’re demystifying opera and developing future generations.” When she returns to New Zealand, Blaire will work with New Zealand Opera, instigating a project based on what she learns in the UK.

SEE HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

The Fellowships are fully funded through the generous support of Mrs Maureen Pettman and the late Professor Barrie Pettman through the Opera North Future Fund.  The programme is delivered through DARE, a unique partnership between Opera North and the University of Leeds in the UK, and in partnership with New Zealand Opera in New Zealand.