Rebecca Nelson entertains Rotorua crowd with her 'pure' voice

Rotorua residents have been treated to a performance showcasing the "pure" talents of singer Rebecca Nelson.

'An Afternoon with Rebecca Nelson' was held today at the Rotorua Commercial Travellers Club, presented by the King's Empire Veterans Rotorua Branch.

Nelson said highlights of her 15-year singing career included performing at the Gallipoli 100 years commemoration, singing at the 100 years for Battle of Somme and last year 100 years for Passchendaele.

Another highlight was performing for the All Blacks, she said.

Nelson is an able musician and reserve in the Royal New Zealand Navy, with her job being to sing for the country at events such as commemorations and concerts. Today's concert was her first time performing in Rotorua.

King's Empire Veterans Rotorua Branch secretary Rick Thame said the show came about after he heard Nelson sing at Armistice in Cambridge and thought it was beautiful.

"I think we need a lot more of this. We have a wealth of talent in this country but it's not seen at a grassroots level so often, and we should be doing this heaps more."

He said it was such an amazing opportunity for people to have a concert which was moderately priced.

King's Empire Veterans was the forerunner of the RSA, and was a welfare organisation for veterans. It was established in 1900 under the patronage of Lord Ranfurly.

Audience members Reg Wellington and Christine Hanson had both heard Nelson sing before and wanted to hear her again.

Another woman said she had heard Nelson sing on television in one of the Anzac programmes. She described Nelson's voice was so "beautiful and pure".