About us
History
The Cantando Choir was formed in 1988 and is one of the major choirs in the Waikato Region with a regular membership of over 100 voices. Cantando aims to achieve musical excellence in all aspects of choral performance, offering its members the joy and pleasure of singing in a large choral group.
The Choir, led by its Musical Director Kolitha Jayatunge, recognises the importance of building on the skills and talents of its members, and provides a supportive environment offering the opportunity for development and growth.
Cantando performs at least three major concerts per season, which include a wide range of repertoire including major works such as Verdi’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah, as well as its regular ANZAC Reflections presentation and performances of lighter music.
Musical Director - Kolitha Jayatunge
Kolitha Jayatunge established his singing roots with the Orpheus Choir of Wellington and the New Zealand Opera Chorus. In 2013, he moved to the Waikato and continued to sing with other local choirs, notably Hamilton Civic Choir.
In 2016, under the tutelage of Dame Malvina Major, Kolitha completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Music with Distinction at the University of Waikato. He is a regular soloist with Hamilton Civic Choir and at the St.Peter’s Cathedral Cantata Vespers, and for the Baroque Chamber Group Vox Baroque under director Dr Rachael Griffiths-Hughes. His repertoire includes Handel’s Gloria and Chandos Anthems, and collections of cantatas by Bach, Graupner, Telemann, Stoelzul and Schutz.
In 2023, Kolitha completed the inaugural choral conducting workshop for NZ Children’s Choral Academy where he gained valuable conducting experience under the tutelage of Dr Karen Grylls and Music Director Elise Bradley.
Kolitha recently established the new Waikato Youth Choir and is also their new Music Director.
Accompanist - Jonathan Dunlop
Jonathan Dunlop has just completed Doctoral studies at the University of Waikato with Katherine Austin and Dr Rachael Griffiths-Hughes. His research focusses on the pianist journey through a wide range of repertoire to find creative pedaling solutions in keyboard music from CPE Bach through to the late Romantic composers such as Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Debussy. To compliment his studies in this field, he plays a wide variety of historic keyboards which include the harpsichord, clavichord, organ and fortepiano.
Jonathan is an alumna of the New Zealand Opera School, and most recently he has joined The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS) team as a Performance Fellow at the University of Waikato.
Jonathan also works at St Paul’s Collegiate School in Hamilton as organist and choir coach for the school’s choirs, drawing on years of experience in this discipline having directed choirs in South Auckland and Thames.