New Year Honour 2021: Alison Stewart has spent much of her life involved in choral music

Reverend Alison Stewart both preaches and conducts choirs in the chapel at Huntley School. Photo / Bevan Conley

Time at an Anglican girls' school that is strong in singing has shaped the life of Alison Stewart, who has been awarded a Queen's Service Medal in the New Year Honours for services to choral music.

She is the director of music and chaplain at Huntley School near Marton.

The award recognises decades of involvement with choirs, which started when Stewart discovered that she loved getting people to sing together.

She has chaired the Wellington branch of the Royal School of Church Music since 2018, is the musical director of the Palmerston North Choral Society and the founder and conductor of Palmerston North women's chamber choir Camerata.

It performs mainly for charity, and did a YouTube video during the Covid-19 lockdown.

A piano and pipe organ player, Stewart also helps out at services and with Taihape's Arcadian Singers and Whanganui's Schola Sacra choir.

From Stratford, she was "enculturated" in Anglican ways while a student at what's now the Taranaki Diocesan School for Girls (formerly St Mary's). It is strong in music, and while there she was taught to play the organ by Sister Colleen Morey.

When she went to Massey University to study science, Stewart joined the choir at the All Saints' Anglican Church in Palmerston North. She became the director of music there and at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

When her children were members of the All Saints' Girl Guide Company, Stewart took that over for 10 years when its leader retired.

The Palmerston North Choral Society puts on several performances a year. Last year's Messiah in the Regent on Broadway was a standout for Stewart. It had guest soloists and trumpeter, and was "amazing".

"It was the centenary of the choral society. The theatre was packed. It was a really, really great atmosphere."

Stewart also took the Ambassador Choir to Palmerston North's sister city Missoula, Montana. The choir spent a week there before singing in Salt Lake City as well.

For the Royal School of Church Music, Stewart is chaplain and tutor at the annual Choir School for promising young singers who then perform at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul.

She spends uncounted voluntary hours organising and helping at choir events.

She also loves her work at Huntley School, which has about 140 children aged 8 to 13 years, "an awesome age for chaplaincy and music".

Stewart moved to Marton 26 years ago to take up the job at Huntley and felt a calling to the priesthood. She was ordained in 2008 and is now "really satisfied" with the role of school chaplain.

Getting this honour has been a wonderful surprise for her.

"This is something I love doing and I never thought anything like that would happen. You just sort of do what you do because you really love it," she said.