How long have you been involved in the New Zealand Aria and how did you get involved?
I have been involved with the New Zealand Aria since its conception 21 years ago. Previously it was part of the Rotorua Competitions Society which held annual competitions for dance, speech and drama, concerto and song, so if you were to still include it under this heading it has been a singing competition in Rotorua for 69 years. Twenty-one years ago the song section of the competitions formed its own trust and rebranded as The New Zealand Aria Trust and then took on a naming right sponsor who was Lockwood and it became known as the Lockwood Aria or to the singers "the Lockwood".
Why do you do so much community work?
I spend much of each day, seven days a week doing community work because I am passionate about Rotorua. It is a great place to live, commute around the city is easy and the people are always ready to pitch into a cause that requires people power. I also think it must be in my genes as I remember my dad being very involved in the New Plymouth community when I lived there and taking me to assist on his many local projects as I do with my eldest granddaughter, Jessica Fenwick.
Why is the New Zealand Aria event special?
The New Zealand Aria is Australasia's largest annual singing competition where the finalists are backed by a full professional orchestra. Singers come from all over New Zealand or if overseas return home, to compete and of course their families come to give their support. We attract the CEO of Opera New Zealand who comes to listen to the exciting voices and maybe offer them an audition for an upcoming opera. Famous New Zealand opera singers who started their careers by entering our competition are Kiri Te Kanawa, Dame Malvina Major, Simon O'Neil, Pene Pati, to name but a few.
Who has been your favourite winner over the past more than two decades of the competition and why?
Every winner of the New Zealand Aria is a favourite and I can only wish them all a fantastic career in opera. Over the last few years we have had some wonderful voices with Pacific Island heritage namely Aivale Cole, Ben Makisi, James Ioelu, Pene Pati and then this year's winner Amitai Pati.
What sort of music do you like listening to?
Naturally with my involvement with the Aria classical music is predominant in my life, always being played in the house and car and I travel out of town for New Zealand Opera performances or over to Sydney where you can attend three different operas on three successive nights.
What are three things most people wouldn't know about you?
When I left school I trained as a therapeutic radiographer at the New Plymouth hospital. If I wasn't working with cancer patients I would never have done a self-breast examination at 20 years to discover a lump which proved to be breast cancer. After radiotherapy I entered the world of retail, at one stage having five stores spread between New Plymouth, Auckland and Rotorua. Joe and I have an extensive garden