Alanah Jones - Music

“I come from a very musical family, with almost every family member being a working musician. I’ve been heavily involved with music since birth – picking up my first instruments when I was three, and spending my childhood and adolescence at weekly rehearsals, music lessons, performing and competing.

“Music had been such an integral part of my life, and such a given, but I wasn't sure what a future in it would look like. I knew I loved singing, and that I wanted to pursue it as a career and felt a Bachelor of Music was necessary to learn the foundation and basics for that career.

“Studying at a higher level in university and being able to focus almost entirely on music has been invaluable.  

“I have always been interested by and passionate about history, languages, and understanding people, and I feel my degree encompass all of these and more. I have been able to take classes that span a wide range of niches. This includes digging deep into the history of New Zealand’s music, music technology and its evolution since the 19th century, music production and technology, and learning how to conduct ensembles.

“I have been able to learn so much more than just ‘how to sing’, and have instead become a more flexible, versatile musician. Having a variety of course options has also helped me to find new passions or new areas of interest.

“Some of my favourite papers would be the Classical Performance voice papers, specifically MUS321. I had to present myself singing for 45 minutes straight in front of an audience and an examining panel; it was terrifying, but also one of the most fulfilling experiences. It was incredibly exciting getting to show and see what my hard work across the Semester had created.

“Having grown up in Auckland, I felt the best option for me was right at my fingertips, with some of New Zealand’s best musicians and educators working at the University. I knew that the academic staff were the musicians I'd watched on stage, given talks, seen in masterclasses, and who many of my teachers in high school looked up to and respected. I felt that having so many talented musicians with so much experience, knowledge and expertise working here meant it was the right place to study.

“The student lifestyle in Auckland is vibrant, diverse, and full of opportunities with access to incredible lecturers, and a bustling city environment that offers so much to explore. Auckland is a cultural hub, with live music, theatre, art galleries, and plenty of creative spaces to engage with. It's so easy to find your niche, or to discover new things – there’s so much out there that you never feel tied to one thing.  

“I’ve been a member of the University-based Auckland Chamber Choir since my first year. I’m very grateful to sing in such a high-calibre group, alongside friends I study with and lecturers I look up to. I’m also the president of the School of Music Students’ Association; I think Music is a wonderful community within the University, and I wanted to be able to contribute to that.

“My ideal path would be to finish my bachelors and study for my Honours, then audition overseas for postgraduate programmes. My dream would be to study in the United Kingdom, in one of the masters programmes available at Royal College of Music or Royal Academy of Music. I would love to be able to live in Europe and be closer to cultural centres where opera is a vibrant part of the culture and history.

“I would also love to continue teaching, singing in choirs, and potentially work in choral conducting or vocal consultation within choirs. I have so many passions within music and I hope that I’m able to continue fostering all of them.”