Latest news with #AliceSollis
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Final funding push for Broadway experience
Students from Ella Thomas Vocal Studio model hats at the Timaru Festival of Roses, as part of their two-year long fundraising efforts. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Local singing students are making one final push to get to Broadway. A concert, held at the South Canterbury Drama League's Playhouse next weekend, will be the final fundraising effort for teenagers from the Ella Thomas Vocal Studio (ETVS) to get to New York for a once-in-a-lifetime theatre experience. To fund the adventure, the group of 30 — which includes 10 adults — have been fundraising for almost two years. The students had sold sunscreen, dumplings, held sausage sizzles and made 10,000 cheese rolls, collectively raising over $40,000 which would help with the cost of flying, accommodation and Broadway workshops. Singing teacher and business owner Ella Thomas said the students had planned an exciting adventure which included workshops and seminars in New York's Broadway theatre district as well as sightseeing and live theatre. They had trips to six Broadway shows planned, including: Wicked, Hadestown, and The Outsiders. Also on the agenda was a tour of legendary Radio City Music Hall. She said tailor-made singing workshops for the group would be run by professionals who were both accomplished performers and in-demand teachers. "The students will experience vocal training with industry professionals, tours of internationally renowned venues and nights out on Broadway itself. "The workshop tutors will provide a real-world, engaging experience that will encourage the kids to improve their skills and develop their confidence." "I'm very excited for what these students can achieve in New York." She would be performing in next weekend's concert, alongside the students, as well as guest artist Alice Sollis. Tickets for the two concerts — Saturday night and a matinee performance on Sunday — can be purchased from or by emailing jill@ There would also be a silent auction at the Saturday night concert. — APL
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
New event to showcase musicians
Several of South Canterbury's top songwriters are set to celebrate New Zealand Music Month with a showcase of original music. The inaugural South Canterbury Songwriters Live Showcase will be held on Saturday at the Speight's Ale House Function Room in Timaru. The free event begins at 7pm and will feature eight various solo acts, duos and bands performing their own material. Organiser Alice Sollis said the event would be a much needed way for local songwriters to showcase their creativity and talent. "I started songwriting in lockdown and recognised after a few years of putting out music that there are actually quite a few songwriters in Timaru but no real way of showcasing new music here. "In Christchurch you can go and perform originals and you usually get a good crowd, maybe even down in Oamaru. "Everywhere else, except for Timaru, seems to have a a supportive audience that says 'yeah let's go listen to some cool new music'. "So my plan was to create a sort of songwriters forum, showcase type thing and I got talking to Tristan and Sarah from Vibrant New Zealand and they were really keen to support, sponsor and provide us with a full rig sound system and a sound person, which is really generous." She said it had been great to see there was a real sense of people wanting to support the creatives. "Tristan then went and spoke with Jane at Speight's, who was really keen and gave us the room and held it for us so we could do it during New Zealand Music Month." She hoped this first showcase would be well supported and open the doors for more songwriter events in the future. "I'm hoping Timaru gets in behind it and even if that's not the case we'll still carry on and figure out where to go from there. "It might be something where people get up and go 'this is my new song' and we have a jam or collaboration or we get together and create a songwriters workshop and get some people in who really know what they are doing when it comes to songwriting." She said there were definitely some tricks to the trade, "so it would be great to have something where there are no rules, no judgement and you can get the juices flowing and get over any blocks if you are stuck". Angie Foster, who is performing in the showcase, said having the opportunity to perform her original music was inspiring. "... I only discovered that I wanted to sing about five years ago. "It has kind of escalated into this because I've always loved writing as well and this is a really nice outlet to be able to do it. "Having the likes of Alice and the others checking out what everybody else is up to and talking to them about what's making them tick has been really helpful, especially with my confidence." Opening act Susan Be said it was a vulnerable thing to perform your own music. "To sing a cover song is one thing but to really sing your own song, that comes from very deep within, so it's very good to have a safe space to perform and share your music. "The more often you do it the better it gets and when you realise that people really like what you're doing, It's very encouraging."
