Will King

Meet Will King, Bachelor of Music with Honours student in Classical Performance (voice)

I grew up playing the violin, but I starting singing when I was around eight by joining boys' choirs. Most of my singing experience was through choirs, such as New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir and National Youth Choir. I really only started taking solo singing seriously when I started my undergraduate in Performance Voice in 2015. I’m studying Honours in Classical Voice this year.

When I first came to university I was studying commerce and musicology. However, seeing the students at the music school making connections with like-minded people was inspiring and this brought about a change to full-time performance.

The most enjoyable aspects of studying music are the opportunity to explore all kinds of repertoire and being surrounded by people who are knowledgeable about said repertoire. Also having a safe space to share artistry and observe others means that you can grow as a musician.

After I graduate I want to wait for a few years for my voice to develop (lower voices always take the longest!) and then audition overseas for a Masters programme in opera performance.

The best (musical) thing I saw last year was probably Julliard415 playing their programme of Bach in the Nelson Cathedral; hearing such a polished Early Music ensemble was something I had never heard before.