NEWS

Auckland conductors and educators Fiona Wilson and Jono Palmer have been announced as the 2026 music directors for the Aotearoa Academy Choir. Overseen by Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand (CANZ), the academy was established three years ago and has already trained over 250 singers, aged 13 to 25. Fiona and Jono will share the music director role, contracted for 2026 with the option to continue beyond that. Both have previously been CANZ Assistant Conductors working with the three national choirs – Fiona as the inaugural Assistant Conductor under the mentorship of Dr. Karen Grylls in 2024, and Jono this year, in which he guest conducted Voices New Zealand on its South Island tour in April.

“We are thrilled to see that the conductor pathways we’ve been developing for our national choirs are working as both these conductors have participated in the CANZ assistant conductor programme in the past two years,” says Arne Herrmann, CE of Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand, “Fiona and Jono also have a long history as singers with our national choirs and will be a real asset to our national choral academy.”

The national choral academy is not only a high-level development programme but also functions as a ‘reserves’ pool for our award-winning national choirs, the New Zealand Youth Choir and the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir. In 2026, the Aotearoa Choral Academy has a full programme to look forward to, with three courses throughout the year, the first in April.

Dr Jono Palmer teaches conducting and music theory at the University of Auckland, where he also directs the University Symphony Orchestra. He is Artistic Director of the Auckland Chamber Choir and Director of Choirs at Diocesan School for Girls. Ensembles under his direction have earned national and international acclaim, including multiple awards at NZCF’s The Big Sing – most recently a Gold Award and the trophy for Best Performance of a New Zealand Work at the 2025 National Finale. In 2018, he was a Grand Finalist in the inaugural London International Choral Conducting Competition. Jono holds a Doctor of Music and Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Indiana University, as well as a BMus (Hons) in Performance Voice and a BA in Ancient History from the University of Auckland.

Fiona Wilson is Head of the Faculty of Performing Arts at Westlake Girls High School and directs two of the school’s acclaimed choirs, Cantare and Choralation. Under her leadership, these ensembles have achieved exceptional success on both national and international stages. In 2022, Fiona co-founded Auckland’s Treble Voices Festivals with Elise Bradley MNZM and in 2023, she was selected as one of eight international conductors for the Masterclass Program at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Istanbul, Türkiye. She has served as Chorus Master for productions including Red! and for Voices New Zealand in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s The Blue Planet. Fiona has led outreach workshops for community choirs in Kaitaia and Waiata Mai, the opening event of the 2024 Auckland Arts Festival. In 2025, Fiona served as adjudicator for the NZCF The Kids Sing Festival. Fiona continues to deepen her passion for choral music, singing with the Voices New Zealand.

For more information: Rachel Healy, Publicist, T: 027 2706105, E: rachel@rachelhealy.co.nz