Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition

07/09/2026

🎶 ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN | NICHOLAS TARLING ARIA COMPETITION 2027 🎶

The 2027 Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition is now open for entries – and this year, the Competition enters an exciting new chapter.

For the first time, the Competition will culminate in a Gala Finale with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra, giving six Emerging Artist finalists the opportunity to perform an aria with a full symphony orchestra.

The 2027 Competition takes place across three stages:

🎥 Digital Round – submit a video performance of an art song or aria
🎹 Live Round – selected singers perform live at the Due Drop Events Centre, Manukau with piano accompaniment
🎻 Gala Finale – six Emerging Artist finalists perform with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra, with the Junior and Tarling Trophy winners also invited to perform with the Orchestra

There are three divisions, welcoming singers at different stages of their musical journeys:

• Junior Division – 18 years and under
• Emerging Artist Division – 19–35 years inclusive
• Tarling Trophy Division – 36 years and over

🏆 $11,000 in cash prizes are currently on offer, including a $5,000 First Prize, $3,000 Runner-up Prize, $1,000 Most Promising Singer Prize, $1,000 Junior Division Prize, and $1,000 Sally Stone Award.

The Competition is open to singers of all nationalities and countries of residence, with entries from South Auckland particularly encouraged.

📅 Entries close Sunday 15 November 2026 at 11.59pm.

Full details – including eligibility, competition dates, repertoire and recording requirements, prizes, travel assistance, and Terms & Conditions – are available on our website:

👉 https://tarlingaria.org.nz/

We look forward to receiving your entries!

03/09/2026

🎶 THE NICHOLAS TARLING ARIA COMPETITION IS BACK FOR 2027 – WITH AN EXCITING NEW FORMAT! 🎶

Entries for the 2027 Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition open this Monday 7 September – and this year, the Competition is taking an exciting step forward.

🎻 For the first time, the Competition will culminate in a Gala Finale with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra.

Six finalists will have the opportunity to take the stage with a full symphony orchestra at the Due Drop Events Centre, Manukau – bringing the excitement and challenge of operatic performance with orchestra to the heart of South Auckland.

Since its launch in 2023, the Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition has welcomed singers from across New Zealand and around the world. Past winners and finalists have gone on to major successes at home and internationally – and we're looking forward to discovering the next voices to take the stage in 2027.

📣 Entries open Monday 7 September.

Stay tuned over the coming days as we reveal more about the new-look 2027 Competition, including how to enter, prizes, key dates and the road to our first orchestral Gala Finale.

Could 2027 be your year? 🎶

12/07/2026

We're absolutely delighted to celebrate Samuel Mataele's success in winning the 2026 Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest! 🎉

Samuel first came to the attention of many of our audience members when he won the Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition 18 & Under Division in 2025. Since then, he has continued to impress audiences around New Zealand, including as the countertenor soloist in Auckland Choral's 2025 performance of Handel's Messiah.

We're equally proud to see another member of the Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition family, our 2024 Scholarship Division winner Sarah Mileham, reach the Song Quest final alongside such an exceptional group of young artists.

Congratulations to Samuel, Sarah, and all six finalists. We look forward to following your careers with great interest!

Samuel Mataele, a 19-year-old Auckland countertenor, took home the $50,000 top prize.

05/07/2026

Congratulations to all six finalists in the inaugural Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest! 👏

We're especially thrilled to see two Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition winners among the finalists – Sarah Mileham, winner of the 2024 Competition, and Samuel Mataele, winner of the 2025 18 & Under Competition.

We wish Sarah, Samuel, and all of the finalists the very best for next Saturday's Grand Final Gala. What an exciting opportunity to perform with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra before an international judging panel led by Frederica von Stade.

Good luck to everyone – we'll be cheering you on! 🎶

Congratulations to the six Finalists of the inaugural Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest! ✨

⭐ Cecily Shaw
⭐ Faamanu Fonoti-Fuimaono
⭐ Jordan Fonoti-Fuimaono
⭐ Samuel Downes
⭐ Samuel Mataele
⭐ Sarah Mileham

See who will be crowned the 2026 Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest WINNER and attend the Grand Final Gala at Michael Fowler Centre next Saturday 11 July. Don't miss this opportunity to see these incredible talents perform with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra before International Head Judge Frederica von Stade 🤩

🎫 Tickets available at songquest.nz/grandfinalgala 🔗

📸 Pictured with International Head Judge Frederica von Stade. Photo by Hagen Hopkins.

19/06/2026

Huge congratulations to the 2026 Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition Winner Jack Doyle and 2024 Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition Winner Sarah Mileham. We wish you and all other recipients of the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Arts Excellence Awards every success with your continuing studies!

29/04/2026

Great to see such strong representation from Aotearoa’s emerging singers in the Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest semi-finals 👏

Several of the names featured here are familiar to us from the Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition – former finalists and prize winners continuing to make their mark at the highest level!

It’s a reminder of the important role competitions like NTAC play in supporting young singers at a crucial stage in their development, and it’s fantastic to see that journey continuing on a national platform.

We’ll be following the next stages with interest – best of luck to all involved!

16/02/2026

🎉 AND THE WINNER IS… 🎉

✨ Scholarship Division Winner: Countertenor JACK DOYLE ✨

Jack captivated the hall with his Handel aria – full of conviction, dramatic intensity, and superb control – earning the top prize from our adjudicators.

👏 18 & Under Division
Winner: Nikau Grace Chater
Runner-up: Sophie Yun Hu

🏆 Tarling Trophy (Over 35s)
Winner: Olga Shanina
Runner-up: Yang Liu

🎓 Scholarship Division
Winner: Jack Doyle
Runner-up: Rong Zhang

🌟 Special Prizes
Most Promising Artist: Molly Ryan
Sally Stone Prize for outstanding talent: Samuel Mataele

Congratulations to all our finalists for an outstanding afternoon of singing at the Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition. The standard was exceptional, and the future of vocal performance in Aotearoa is in very good hands.

📸 Photos by Tom Hamill — more highlights to follow!

15/02/2026

Scholarship round Livestream now happening!

Sunday 15 February 2026 | Due Drop Events Centre, Manukau3.00pm 18 & Under and Tarling Trophy divisions (ages 36 and over)4.30pm Scholarship division (ages ...

15/02/2026

Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition on NOW! Due Drop Events Center, Manukau!