About Us
Teapot Summer School is New Zealand’s premier non-auditioned choral school.

Typically about 70–80 choristers get together every January to work with a wonderful international choral conductor to make beautiful music in a beautiful setting. If we want we can get individual coaching from a highly qualified teacher for no extra charge. We perform a wide range of music from classical European Great Works through to shorter contemporary works, including music by New Zealand composers. For nine days we enjoy great company, copious food and have fun making other music in small groups or just lazing about in one of the most stunning parts of New Zealand.
Some of us are hooked and turn up every year to recharge our batteries – we’d love to share the magic of Teapot with you.
Enjoy the finest professional training through:
- Three rehearsals with the conductor each day plus smaller group sessions as needed
- Daily warm-ups and brief clinics with a top voice specialist
- Your own private voice production session
Have fun at the in-house cabaret:
- Perform a musical item, recitation, sketch parody or anything you like whether on your own or with others
- Or just enjoy the talent on offer in the very informal show
Join in other activities during your free time, such as:
- On-campus evening entertainment
- Swimming in the open air pool, tennis, fierce and friendly board and card games
Young student opportunity:
- You can audition for a chance to sing with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain
- The winner receives a return trip to the UK to attend one of the NYCGB’s residential courses culminating in a public concert
Future Teapot Summer Schools
Mark your diaries!
10-19 January 2020 | Conductor Ben Parry, UK
9-18 January 2021 | Conductor Ebbe Munk, Denmark
Next Teapot Summer School
Friday 11 – Sunday 20 January 2019
Venue
Located not far from Brightwater on the western edge of the Waimea valley, the Camp offers plain but comfortable accommodation and plentiful, healthy food.
Repertoire
- Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise
- Chilcott’s Five Dances of Time
- Dyson’s Three Songs of Praise
- Artley’s May God Bless You
Scholarships
In order to make the Summer School more accessible to young people, we offer a range of scholarships.
Musical Leadership
Teaport Summer School is delighted to announce the following will be in attendance
Brian KayConductor Brian is currently Principal Conductor of The Really Big Chorus, with which he regularly conducts massed choral concerts in London’s Royal Albert Hall, an annual summer school, choral cruises and trips to exotic locations including China, America, South Africa, Russia and many parts of Europe. Read More
Rebecca RyanVocal Coach Rebecca is a graduate of Otago University and London’s Royal Academy of Music and has appeared in many concert performances with orchestras and choirs in Europe, UK and Australasia in a varied repertoire from Bach and Handel through to Mozart, Mahler and Brahms. Read More
Jonathan BerkahnRehearsal Accompanist Jonathan holds a BMus in composition, a BMus (Hons) in performance (organ, harpsichord, fortepiano) and a PhD in music history. He has been teaching at the NZ School of Music in Wellington. Read More
