Nikau Grace singing with Sol a Mio at the Spark Arena CREDIT Georgie Muller
Rising Rotorua singing star Nikau Grace Chater was in Fiji when she was offered the chance to fulfill her dream to perform at Spark Arena - at the age of only 14.
On Thursday the Rotorua High School student performed alongside opera stars Sol3 Mio at the Auckland venue, whichseats up to 12,000 and has played host to such stars as Beyonce and Lorde.
Nikau sang the well-known Italian song Con te Partirò, which includes the English lyric 'A Time to Say Goodbye', at Sol3 Mio's 'The Coming Home' national tour concert.
Operatic pop vocal trio Sol3 Mio is made up of tenor brothers Pene and Amitai Pati and their baritone cousin Moses Mackay.
Nikau, who will turn 15 next week, said she had only a few days to learn the song after Pene Pati rang her in Fiji about a week ago.
She is a member of Rotorua Girls High netball team that competed in the Fijian National Secondary Schools netball tournament - which they went on to win.
"It's the best birthday present ever, being able to tick off one of my lifetime goals of performing at Spark Arena, and the most amazing gifts to be given," she told the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend last night.
"It was an absolutely amazing experience and a massive honour to perform with such a talented group of people, including the fabulous orchestra and the choir, who are all graduates of Opera New Zealand.
"But it was really scary at the same time as I only had a couple of days to learn all the words between breaks in our netball games.
"It was amazing and incredible opportunity and Pene has been an incredible mentor and it was amazing to work alongside him. It was first time I had met Moses and Amitai.
"The guys were so lovely, so humble and very supportive."
Nikau said the experience had reinforced that performing was what she wanted to do.
Her mother Rachel Charter said she was "unbelievably proud".
"It was just amazing watching Nikau shine on stage. She was in her element."
Rachel said her daughter was a member of an Accelarando programme and met Pene at a master class last year. He had been helping mentor Nikau ever since.
"Pene's invitation came out of left field and we are so grateful to him for this amazing opportunity. Thank you Sol3 Mio for making that happen."
Nikau has already made a name for herself performing around Rotorua over the years.
At age 11 in 2019 she performed at the Rotorua Blues Festival and was the only youngster to be given her own spot at the festival.
Nikau Grace Chater in 2020 at Rotorua Intermediate's Got Talent. Photo / NZME
She won Rotorua Intermediate School's Got Talent contest in 2019, performing an original song with a friend, and in 2020 performed at Rotorua concert Lakeside in front of thousands of people.
Later that year she won the NZ Lockdown's Got Talent competition and has performed in the Rotorua Boys' and Girls' High School productions in the past two years.
