Samoan singer Elisha Na’otala Fa’i has added Creative New Zealand’s Iosefa Enari Award (recognising the pioneering role Isoefa Enari held in Pacific opera) to her long list of accomplishments. Last year, the Palmerston-North born singer performed for then US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice’s visit to New Zealand. She has also performed in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Choir, the New Zealand Youth Choir, and more recently the Chapman Tripp Chorus as part of the New Zealand Opera’s recent productions of La Boheme, Jenufa, Madam Butterfly and Eugene Onegin. Elisha says she is always keen to celebrate her Pacific heritage with Samoan song and dance, and has performed at the opening ceremony of the 2007 South Pacific Games in Samoa and in Malaga in Fiji in 2006. She is currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Music at the University of Auckland’s School of Music. Past winners of the Iosefa Enari Memorial Award include Ben Makisi (2002), Daphne Collins (2003), Bonadventure Allan – Moetaua (2004), Ramonda Taleni (2005), Aivale Cole (2006), Sani Muamaseali’i (2007), and James Ioelu (2008).
(Image of Elisha Na’otala Fa’i from the University of Auckland School of Music’s website)
