She spent 35 years as a freelance singing teacher in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, before joining Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) in 2007, in what she describes as her “first proper job”. In 2012, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of her services to opera.
Margaret continues to sing professionally, and this year completes her PhD.
Can you describe your role at NZSM?
I teach singing in the Classical Performance programme. This includes teaching lyric diction (pronunciation), stagecraft and vocal ensemble. As Head of the Classical Voice department, I also coordinate the voice-related courses and I’m the production manager of the department’s ‘Opera Scenes’ concerts in September.
Why did you get into teaching?
Teaching has always interested me, and as I suffered from poor and uninformed teaching before I went overseas, I wanted to be in a position to give up and coming students the benefit of my hard learnt professional experience. I’ve got some fantastic students at the music school.
Do you still perform?
Yes, I performed at the New Zealand Festival recently with the string section of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. On May 12 I sing at the music school’s ‘Hunter Gathering’ concert. Next year, I’ll be performing in an opera with Opera New Zealand.
What is your career highlight?
There are two. One was performing as Kundry in Wagner’s Parsifal with the State Opera of South Australia, the other was as Marie in Alban Berg’s Wozzeck. They were challenging and wonderful, enlivening experiences.
What is your research area of interest?
My PhD topic is ‘Embodying Voice: singing Verdi and singing Wagner’. My experience and research has shown that many singers are co-creators in the music that they perform. In addition to the text and the music, embodiment, the engagement of body and mind, helps to make a sound that compels people to listen to them. In creating a sound that conveys extra information to the listener, the singer adds to the effect of the acting. I don’t see myself as a singer, I see myself as a singing actor, a holistic mix of body and voice.
What can the public look forward to this year?
I’ve started to work on the classical performance department’s ‘Opera Scenes’ concert. Every second year, students throughout the School perform opera scenes based on a certain theme. I’ve been working with a director from Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School, and we’ve carefully chosen scenes from operas that are tailored towards the needs of our students. The concerts are open to the public and will be staged in Victoria’s Memorial Theatre in September.