Katherine, who is studying towards a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Music with Honours in Classical Voice at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music (NZSM), came up against 22 vocalists during the weekend’s competition.
She will now go on to compete in the New Zealand Aria in Rotorua in early November.
Dame Malvina Major Foundation Wellington Aria Adjudicator Amanda Atlas said each of the competitors demonstrated an excellent level of study and attention to detail, so in the end it was about the performance and the ‘it’ factor.
"For me, it all came down to the singer whose preparation, technique and musicality culminated in the portrayal of characters whose situations and emotions moved me."
Dame Malvina Major says it is competitions like the one Katherine has won that enable promising young performers to develop the edge required to succeed on the international stage.
"The opportunity to perform and participate in a competition of this calibre is invaluable for young New Zealand artists.
“It is a privilege for the Dame Malvina Major Foundation to be able to invest in their future in this way. Congratulations to Katherine on her much deserved win."
Katherine—a soprano—was a semi-finalist in the recent 2015 IFAC Australian Singing Competition. She holds several awards at NZSM, including the J. C. Richards Music Scholarship for Postgraduate Study, the Ariadne Danilow Music Prize and the Kapiti Chorale Award in Vocal Performance.