Dame Malvina Major Foundation

The Dame Malvina Major Foundation, named after New Zealand soprano Malvina Major^[1] was established in 1991.

The foundation fundraises as a charitable trust and offers a range of support and scholarships and prizes to emerging New Zealanders in performing arts. It has regional committees in Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. The foundation has many volunteers who support the running of it.^[2]

One programme they offer is with New Zealand Opera. In 2022, the recipients of this studio programme were: Katherine Winiata, Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono and Hannah Ashford-Beck.^[3] The foundation also provide prizes at the Lexus Song Quest singing competitions.

Dame Malvina Major Award

A $50,000 award that started in 2020 and is funded by Hamilton thoroughbred horse breeder Joan Egan.^[4]

Award winners:

Soprano – Natasha Te Rupe Wilson, 2021^[5]
Tenor – Amitai Pati of Sol3 Mio, 2020^[4]

Scholarships

Ryman Healthcare DMMF Mina Foley Award

Mina Foley was a New Zealand soprano who rose to fame in the 1950s.^[6]

Award winners are:

Ana James 2008
Wendy Dawn Thompson 2009
Wade Kernot 2010
Andrew Glover 2011
Anna Leese 2012
Shaun Dixon 2013
Madeleine Pierard 2014
Rachelle Pike 2015
James Benjamin Rodgers 2016
Jonathan Abernethy 2017
Amelia Berry 2018
Holly Mathieson 2019
Amitai Pati 2020
Bianca Andrew 2021

DMMF Scholarship in association with the New Zealand Opera School

This scholarship is awarded to a student of the New Zealand Opera School.

Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono 2022

Cecily Maccoll High Achiever Award – Canterbury

This award is a legacy of Cecily Maccoll and is granted as part of the Christchurch Arts Excellence Awards.^[7]

Soprano – Aivale Cole 2012
Cellist – Catherine Kwak 2013
Tenor – Harry Grigg 2014
UC Christchurch Youth Orchestra 2015
The Herzog Klaviertrio 2016
Flautist – Matthew Lee 2017
Baritone – Angus Simmons 2018
Conductor – Daniel Cooper 2019
Violinist – Thomas Bedggood 2020
Violinist – Rose Light 2021

Alice Cole Piano Scholarship – Auckland/Waikato

The scholarship is a legacy of Alice Cole for piano students between the ages of 14 and 21 in the Auckland and Waikato regions.

Lawrence Wong 2010
Sylvia Chen 2011
Jason Bae 2012
Lucy Zeng 2013
Arnold Lee 2015
Leon Chen 2016
Tony Chen 2017
Siyu Sun 2018
Ashani Waidyatillake and Jessica Chi 2019
Sunny Lee, runner up Audrey Guo 2020
It has been postponed during 2021 and 2022 COVID-19 health measures

Peter Lees-Jeffries Memorial Scholarship

Peter Lees-Jeffries was a Christchurch theatrical designer and teacher. This scholarship is for $2500 for professional development. It is not awarded every year.

Hedda Oosterhoff 2009
Andrew McKenzie 2010
Jessica Verryt 2012
Kate Middleton-Olliver 2015
Jacqueline Coats, opera director 2018
Abigail Boyle, ballet dancer 2019
Antonia Kamu, director 2021

Maxwell Fernie Dame Malvina Major Foundation Award

The award honours Maxwell Fernie and is for a young keyboard artist to further their education or training.

William McElwee 2021

Italian for New Zealand Opera Singers Masterclasses

A scholarship to attend Italian for NZ Opera Singers Masterclasses in Italy run by Patricia Hurley.

Carleen Ebbs, Claire Egan, Tavis Gravatt 2012
Moses Mackay, Polly Ott 2013
Christie Cook, Daniel O’Connor, Julien Van Mellaerts 2014
Madison Nonoa, Jarvis Dams 2015
Eliza Boom, Katherine McIndoe, Kieran Rayner, Oliver Sewell 2016
Natasha Wilson, Marlena Devoe, Jonathan Eyers 2017
Joanna Foote, Elisabeth Harris, Harry Grigg, Ben Reason 2018
Pasquale Orchard, Joel Amosa, Stephen Diaz, Timothy Carpenter 2019

Sir Howard Morrison Vocal Scholarship

This scholarship has ceased. It was run by Sir Owen Glenn and the Glenn Family Trust in collaboration with the Dame Malvina Major Foundation in recognition of Howard Morrison. for a New Zealand performer aged between 16 and 32 years of age. The final year of the scholarship was in 2019.

Te Waikamihi Korohina-Ormsby 2010
Amina Edris 2012, 2011
Oriana Kershaw 2013, 2014
Madison Nonoa, Jarvis Dams, Joel Amosa 2015
Blaire White 2016
Pasquale Orchard 2018
Hannah Bryant 2019

Aria Prizes

Lockwood New Zealand Aria

This is a $20,000 first prize held annually in Rotorua.

First Prize Winners

Julia Booth 2008
Pene Pati 2009
Amelia Berry 2010
Stacey Alleaume 2011
Stephen Diaz 2012
James Ioelu 2013
Isabella Moore 2014
Amitai Pati 2015
Frederick Jones 2016
Jarvis Dams 2017
Manase Latu 2018
Elizabeth Mandeno 2019

Dame Malvina Major Foundation Christchurch Aria

First Prize winners

Maia Vegar 2013
Isabella Moore 2014
Madison Nonoa 2015
Elisabeth Harris 2016
Eliza Boom 2017
Laura Loach 2018
Anna Simmons (1st), Olivia Sheat (2nd) 2019
Erica Paterson 2021

Dame Malvina Major Foundation Waikato Conservatorium of Music Aria

University of Waikato Conservatorium of Music

2018 – First prize: Katie Trigg; second prize: Taylor Wallbank; third prize: Calla Knudson-Hollebon
2019 – First prize: Aidan Phillips; second prize: Alfred Fuimaono; third prize: Tayla Alexander
2021 – First prize: Emmanuel Fonoti Fuimaono and Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono; third prize: Jordan Fonoti-Fuimaono

Dame Malvina Major Foundation Wellington Aria

First prize winners:

Amelia Berry 2009
Bryony Williams 2010
Daniela-Rosa Young 2011
Isabella Moore 2012
Christie Cook 2013
Christian Thurston 2014
Katherine McIndoe 2015
Frederick Jones 2016
Madison Nonoa 2017
Will King 2018
Sophie Sparrow 2019

Dame Malvina Major Foundation Dunedin Aria

First prize winners:

Christie Cook 2013
Isabella Moore 2014
Eliza Boom 2015
Filipe Manu 2016
Natasha Wilson 2017
Olivia Pike 2018
Laura Loach 2019

Dame Malvina Major Foundation

Second prize winners ODT Aria Contest:

Julien Van Mellaerts 2009
Julien Van Mellaerts 2010
Kawiti Waetford 2011
Grace Park 2012

Dame Malvina Major Foundation

Napier Aria first prize Winners:

Natasha Wilson 2018
Manase Latu 2019

North Shore Becroft Aria

Second prize winners:

Will King 2018
Christina McDonald 2019

References

^ "Dame Malvina for Alana". Stuff. New Zealand. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ "The Dame Malvina Major Foundation". The Big Idea. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ "Dame Malvina Major Foundation Studio Artists". New Zealand Opera. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b Mather, Mike (9 November 2020). "Top tenor earns inaugural $50K Dame Malvina Major Award". Stuff. New Zealand. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ "Natasha Te Rupe Wilson wins $50,000 Dame Malvina Major Award". Dame Malvina Major Foundation. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ "'Voice of the century' Mina Foley dies at 77". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ "Scholarships". Dame Malvina Major Foundation. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

External links

Official website

[1] "Dame Malvina for Alana". Stuff. New Zealand. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

[2] "The Dame Malvina Major Foundation". The Big Idea. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

[3] "Dame Malvina Major Foundation Studio Artists". New Zealand Opera. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

[:0-4] Mather, Mike (9 November 2020). "Top tenor earns inaugural $50K Dame Malvina Major Award". Stuff. New Zealand. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

[5] "Natasha Te Rupe Wilson wins $50,000 Dame Malvina Major Award". Dame Malvina Major Foundation. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

[6] "'Voice of the century' Mina Foley dies at 77". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

[7] "Scholarships". Dame Malvina Major Foundation. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

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