Nearly $400,000 in grants for Prima Volta Charitable Trust to go towards Hawke's Bay mentor development programme

Project Prima Volta graduates singing with an orchestra at Irongate School. Photo / Supplied

Nearly $400,000 worth of grants will help fund a paid mentorship programme through Project Prima Volta.

Manatū Taonga, Ministry of Culture and Heritage, awarded the Prima Volta Charitable Trust $322,460 from its innovation fund at its Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke's Bay online event.

Napier City Council gave an additional $50,000 through a project funding grant.

Prima Volta Charitable Trust spokeswoman Kelly Vogel described the programme as a mentor development programme designed to put Project Prima Volta (PPV) Graduates in the driving seat for delivering social change through opera.

"The mentor programme will empower aspiring opera singers to both 'be the artist and develop the young artist', providing training, development and part-time employment so that the graduates can mentor school students and members of the PPV programmes."

The programme is based on the Te ao Māori concept of tuakana-teina and will be delivered kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) and through digital media.

"A mentor who has experienced first-hand the transformative potential of developing their voice through Project Prima Volta is best-placed to engage with the next generation of young singers."

The Prima Volta Charitable Trust aims to appoint the first two mentors for the programme in April and eventually appoint a further two in 2023

Founders Anna Pierard and Sarah Walmsley said they have observed how tuakana-teina mentorship and the process of creating and delivering opera can lead to social, economic and wellbeing benefits for the community for nearly a decade.

"We've always known it's about the people – this programme recognises that our
PPV graduates have our values in-built, they recognise the potential of singing for transformation first-hand, making them the perfect focus for development," they said.

Sarah Walmsley said the major funding marked an increase in the ability of the programme to reach and help rangatahi and tamariki in Hawke's Bay.

"We are particularly proud to see recognition for the role that the arts can play in scaffolding the development of young people and enhancing wellbeing in the community."

"No longer are programmes like PPV a 'nice to have' - in these challenging times they are critical"

Napier mayor Kirsten Wise said Project Prima Volta had a proven track record of providing positive pathways for local tamariki and rangatahi.

"This new mentor programme will further enhance the lives of participants,"

She said helping organisations move into the next stage of their work can help have a bigger impact at the community level.

"It's not always about what we can do as a council to help community directly, but resourcing and tooling up groups who in turn can grow their reach and the number of people they are having an effect on."