Kawiti Waetford completes a good year
Posted on 17 November 2011
Twenty-one year old New Zealand baritone, Kawiti Waetford is about to complete his second year of study at the University of Otago in New Zealand. He is studying for a double degree in music, linguistics and languages, under Isabel Cunningham and Professor Terence Dennis.
In 2010 he was the recipient of several prestigious scholarships, including the Allens Educational Foundation Scholarship; and the University of Otago Maori and Pacific Island Scholarship. Earlier this year Kawiti was awarded the Ngarimu VC and Maori Battalion Scholarship for 2011.
His attainments and potential were recognised with grants from the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation for travelling and tuition expenses and a scholarship to attend the 2011 Solti Te Kanawa Accademia Del Bel Canto in Tuscany. To read Kawiti’s report on his Tuscany experiences >>>
Other highlights for Kawiti during 2011 included the invitation to be a guest soloist (along with NZ tenor Simon O’Neill and internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade) in a unique concert given by Dame Kiri to raise funds for Southern Opera and the Christchurch Symphony after the September 2010 earthquake. In October he joined Dame Kiri (and NZ baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes) to sing at the Rugby World Cup Gala Concert arranged by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in association with the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation.
Earlier this year he was the subject of a short documentary which was screened on Maori Television.To view this documentary >>>