Music Staff
Christina Hahm, Post Graduate Diploma Teaching and Learning in Secondary Music, BMus
Christina has a Bachelor of Music from the University of Canterbury, and her specialist areas are musicology, voice and conducting.
She has been an enthusiastic member of the Graduate Choir (NZ) and the Hong Kong Bach Choir. Early in her career as a teacher, she received the Teaching in Excellent Award from Achievement in Multicultural High Schools (NZ).
While teaching overseas, Christina taught at international schools in South Korea, Hong Kong and Cambodia and has held roles as Head of Music, IB DP examiner, Middle Years Programme moderator, performing arts team leader and deputy head of middle school.
Throughout her career, Christina has directed symphony orchestras, concert bands, choirs, barbershop ensembles and musicals. On numerous occasions, her groups have been top finishers in local and regional competitions and have been invited to perform in public concerts.
Christina is the the director of Symphony Orchestra and Grammar Virtuosi,
Eddie Hare, BMus
Eddie completed his Bachelor of Music at the New Zealand School of Music in 2009 and plays guitar, piano and saxophone. Through his studies he primarily focused on Jazz Performance, Jazz History, New Zealand Music History, and other contemporary music studies.
He has played in rock bands, jazz bands and has performed as a solo musician. He completed his teaching diploma in 2010 and began teaching music at Tauranga Boys’ College in 2011.
Whilst living in the Bay of Plenty, Eddie played in the local Big Band as Lead Tenor Saxophone. He has played numerous times at the Tauranga Jazz Festival and also the Manawatu, Bay of Islands, Wellington and other regional jazz festivals in the past.
Eddie is Head of Performing Arts and the director of the School’s Big Band and Jazz Combo.
Barry Wasson, PPRNCM, BMus, PGCE, ALCM
Barry studied performance music at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and went on to enjoy a rewarding career as a freelance musician and teacher in the UK.
He performed regularly with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hallé and City of Birmingham Symphony as well as the shows Chicago and Barnum in London’s West End. Recording sessions spanned television, radio, film and commercial CD recordings.
Barry has taught at Auckland Grammar School since 2009. As Director of the Premier Concert Band and Wind Band, he takes a strong interest in all brass, wind and percussion players. He is actively involved in talent identification and development pathways for these musicians.
Itinerant teachers
Anita Austin
Anita is a freelance French Horn performer and brass teacher. She was awarded a Masters in Music Studies (French horn) with The Griffith Award for Academic Excellence from the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane and also has a Bachelor of Music (with Honours) from The University of Auckland.
She was also awarded an Auckland University Summer Research Scholarship that looked at teaching brass to 5-7 year olds via age-appropriate pedagogies.
Anita divides her time between teaching and a busy performing calendar. Alongside teaching at Epsom Girls Grammar School, Diocesan School for Girls, St Peter’s College, Auckland Grammar School, Orewa College and a private studio, she has also composed and published a book of 60 duets for French horn or trumpet entitled Duets from Aotearoa.
She is the current Principal horn of Bach Musica (Auckland) and Opus Orchestra (Waikato) as well as other project based orchestras and has worked with orchestras such as Auckland Philharmonia, Dunedin Symphony, Hawkes Bay and Festival Opera Orchestras. Previously, she has been principal horn of the Auckland Youth Orchestra, NZSO National Youth Orchestra and The University of Auckland Symphony Orchestra.
Anita also performs solo recitals around rest homes, retirement villages and public venues throughout New Zealand. As a soloist, she has performed Strauss Horn Concerto No.1 with Devonport Chamber Orchestra and Mozart Horn Concerto No.4 with Northland Sinfonia.
Ruth Brinkman, BMus (Performance), Dip Teaching
Ruth studied performance music at the University of Auckland, and was a member of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra for 35 years. She taught bassoon at the University of Auckland for 20 years.
Ruth has taught secondary students, both privately and in schools, for most of her professional career, with many students going on to study music at at tertiary level themselves.
Mark Close
Mark has obtained degrees in Music (BMus in Performance), Politics (BA Hons) and Town Planning (Master of Planning Practice). He held the position of sub-principal trombone with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra from 1995-2018.
Mark was a founding member of BonaNZa trombone quartet and Aucktet (an Auckland-based trombone octet) and regularly assists various amateur music groups in Auckland.
In addition, Mark has for over 30 years taught a range of brass instruments at many Auckland schools and has been Music Director of Kumeu Brass, Auckland City Brass, Takapuna Youth Brass and Acting MD of the RNZAF Base Auckland Band.
Felix Hayes-Tourelle
Felix studied jazz performance at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Music (with Honours) and receiving the 2018 Senior Scholar Award for the highest grades in his cohort.
Throughout his studies, Felix also received eight first in course awards, was the 2018 KBB Woodwind Player of the Year, and undertook further study into saxophone technique and improvisation through completing a University of Auckland Summer Research Scholarship.
Felix performs regularly as a jazz saxophonist and clarinettist, having played with numerous small jazz ensembles and big bands, including the Auckland Jazz Orchestra, Queen City Big Band, Con Alma Big Band, and the New Zealand Youth Jazz Orchestra.
Alongside specialising in jazz performance and improvisation, Felix is also an experienced guitarist and is at home in contemporary pop and rock settings.
Felix has been teaching music privately since 2016, and since 2021, teaches contemporary music, improvisation, saxophone, and guitar at Auckland Grammar School.
Alison Jepson
Alison is a graduate of the Royal College of Music, London where she studied with Terence MacDonagh and Sidney Sutcliffe.
She is principal oboist of the Auckland Chamber Orchestra as well as a freelance oboist, playing with many orchestras including the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Bach Musica, Pipers Sinfonia and the Handel Consort. She is also a member of Trio Fleuve, a flute, oboe and piano trio.
Alison teaches students of all ages, from beginners to diploma level, and her students regularly excel in examinations and competitions. She is co-founder and President of the New Zealand Double Reed Society and the co-organiser of the Ruapehu International Oboe Summer Schools.
Boris Kipnis
Born in Moldova, Boris started learning the violin at seven years old. He pursued his study in the Gorky Conservatorium of Music in the USSR. He has studied Violin Performance with Professor Semion Yaroshevich (as a student of Boris Belenky and David Oistrakh) and Chamber Music with Professor Sofia Propischan.
Before moving to New Zealand in 1997, Boris was a member of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Moldova, Raanana Symphonette Orchestra, and Tel Aviv Symphony Orchestra.
He has played with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Boris has prepared students to pursue their music education in Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia, New York University, Augsburg University in Germany and Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria, many of whom have been awarded major prizes in competitions such as, SAPACS, WAPACS, Kendall National Competition, Australia (2009), ASEAN Concerto Competition (2013), American Protege Music Competition (2021).
Boris also enjoys teaching Chamber Music. The junior groups achieved Best Junior Award in Auckland District NZCT Chamber Music Contest (2013, 2019) and Newcomers Award (2018). His senior groups were NZCT Chamber Music Contest Auckland Regional Finalists in 2007, 2008, 2014 and 2015, and were the National Finalist of NZCT Chamber Music Contest in 2005, 2006, and 2012.
With more than 25 years of teaching experience, Boris has written two books – Violin Virtuoso: First Steps to Perfection (for beginners) and Scales and Arpeggios for advanced students.
Steven Logan
Steven was appointed Section Principal Timpanist of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in 2016. He has performed throughout the United States, UK, France, China, Australia, and New Zealand.
Prior to joining the APO, he performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Santa Monica Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and the National Repertory Orchestra to name a few.
Steven is a JG Percussion artist and an alumnus of the University of Southern California and Rice University.
Norman McFarlane, FTCL
Norman studied the trumpet with Mark Gould, Principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera, Philip Smith, Principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic, and Ian Browne, Principal trumpet of the Covent Garden Opera Orchestra in London.
Norman was Principal trumpet with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra (APO) from 1980 until 2004 and subsequently is now Associate Principal Trumpet of the APO.
Norman worked as a Brass teacher working for the University of Auckland as their Artist/Teacher of Trumpet from 1994-1995. He has also maintained a private studio training young players towards trumpet exams. Norman was appointed a Trumpet teacher at Auckland Grammar School in 2009.
Norman’s wife Anne is a professional Viola player in the APO and their sons Laurence and Alexander are Grammar Old Boys (classes of 2005 and 2008 respectively).
Christine Mori
Christine won a scholarship to study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and graduated with a Degree in Music Performance. She then joined the Australian Broadcasting National Training Orchestra on a scholarship for two years.
Christine worked in Sydney as a freelance musician, mainly with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, but also in private practice, teaching at Newington College and Sydney Boys’ High School. She then taught at the Canberra School of Music before taking up a similar position at the Sydney Conservatorium for four years.
On returning to New Zealand, Christine took up the position of Principal Flute with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, a position she held for 20 years, appearing as a soloist, tutoring at the Orchestra’s summer music school and the NZ Secondary Schools’ Orchestra, and acting as a mentor for secondary school students.
Christine was a member of the Auckland Wind Quintet while playing with the APO. She has also taught at the Auckland School of Education and was a member of the Bach Musica Orchestra for many years. She has tutored many chamber music groups, orchestra and band sectionals, and has also a large private teaching practice as well as at secondary schools.
Josh Montgomerie
Josh was appointed as Director of the Auckland Grammar School Pipe Band Director in 2022, and is the Itinerant music teacher of bagpipes.
Born and bred in Auckland, Josh started learning the bagpipes at age 11 with the Pipes and Drums of St Kentigern College. He currently leads the Papakura Pipe Band, and with 25 years piping experience, Josh’s bagpiping journey has taken him all over the world.
Outside of pipe bands, Josh works as an ICT Professional and enjoys playing golf, low and slow barbecuing, and spending time with his family.
Vigdis Relph, FTCL (Performance/Piano and Cello), LTCL (Teacher’s Dip/Piano and Cello), M. Musicology, B. Musicology (Hons)
Vigdis is a graduate and postgraduate of the University of South Africa.
Her postgraduate work was undertaken in Switzerland, London and the UNISA for her thesis The Synthesis of Eastern European Style Folk Music and Western Art Music in selected works of Bela Bartok from 1930-1940.
Vigdis played in the SABC Orchestra and has trained and conducted various choirs in South Africa. She also sang Contralto in the SABC Choir and A-Capella in the Chanticlear Singers.
With more than 30 years’ experience as a tutor of cello, double bass, piano, theory musicianship and musical direction of large and small ensembles, Vigdis has trained and conducted orchestras and chamber groups in New Zealand, as well as choirs in South Africa.
Glen Rodgers, Advanced Certificate Drumming RSPBA
Glen’s achievements include being a former NZ Solo Drumming Champion, and winner of the NZ Pipe Band Championships in Grade 1. He stands on the RNZPBA National Judging Panel, and is a RZNZPBA College examiner.
Glen is a regular member of the teacher facility at the National Pipe Band Summer School and Drumming Principal of the Auckland Piping and Drumming Academy.
He also adjudicated the Australian National Solo Drumming Championships in Melbourne, and in 2016, he won the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships as a guest player with Wellington based Red Hackle Pipe Band. The international publication “Modern Drummer’ recently named him as one of the best drum teachers in the world.
Glen is a passionate teacher of young people and several of his students have been chosen as members of the RNZPBA Youth Pipe Band, and the National Youth Orchestra. He keeps a busy timetable as a self-employed drummer/itinerant drumming teacher specializing in Scottish Pipe Band Drumming and Drum Set.
Andrew Uren
Andrew is a keen educator of music and promoter of the bass clarinet and New Zealand music. He was a founding member of New Zealand’s contemporary ensemble 175 East, performing over 200 pieces of which 50 were written for the group.
In 2009, the Composers Association of New Zealand (CANZ) awarded Andrew a Citation for Outstanding Services to New Zealand Music. In 2012, Andrew released New Zealand’s first bass clarinet album titled Steep Steps (Atoll label) to critical acclaim.
Andrew has performed with all major New Zealand orchestras, Netherlands Chamber Ensemble and Rotterdam Philharmonic. He has performed in many professional musicals most recently touring around Australasia with Cats and Matilda.
His teachers include Peter Scholes (clarinet), Harry Sparnaay (bass clarinet) and Jim Langabeer (saxophone). Andrew has adjudicated many competitions including the NZ Woodwind Competition and the NZ Community Trust Schools Chamber Music Contest.
Tim Wayne-Wright
Tim was a member of the Grammy-winning a cappella vocal ensemble, The King’s Singers, for 10 years. He was fortunate enough to tour the world, singing in over 1,500 concerts in some of the world’s greatest venues.
Tim has taught over 500 masterclasses and workshops, imparting chamber music skills and techniques to choirs and instrumentalists across the globe. Since leaving The King’s Singers in 2018, he continues to thrive as part of the choral scene internationally.
Tim was the Artistic Director of CHORALSPACE’s Berlin Winter Festival 2021 and Summer Festival 2022. He manages an exciting roster of artists and holds consultancy roles with vocal ensembles in Canada and Australia.
Tim loves the opportunity to adjudicate choral competitions and to coach choirs of all sizes, taking great pleasure from working with musicians of all ages and ability. He is the founder of The A Cappella Academy and enjoys travelling globally to spend time with singers, helping them to master the craft of performance.
In March 2021, he emigrated to New Zealand with his Kiwi wife and two children. Tim is absolutely thrilled to now call Aotearoa home, and delighted to be collaborating with so many wonderful performers across the country.