Fiona McCabe, Assistant Musical Director
Born in New Zealand, Fiona studied piano performance at the Massey University Conservatorium of Music and Victoria University, Wellington. She graduated with both a Diploma and Bachelor of music and received three awards for outstanding performance.

In 1993 Fiona completed a Post Graduate Diploma in accompaniment at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under the guidance of David Miller and Elizabeth Powell.

As a repetiteur Fiona has worked for Opera New Zealand and the NZ International Arts Festival including the 2006 production of Tea by Tan Dun. In 1997 she joined Opera Australia as a repetiteur in training and has since worked on numerous productions including the world premiers of Lindy, Midnite, for the Melbourne Festival and Eternity Man for the Sydney Festival.

In 1999 Fiona was the recipient of the Haas Foundation award for further artistic development, an Australian Opera Auditions Committee scholarship and a Sydney Savage Club award. This enabled her to study at the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

As well as maintaining a flourishing career as an accompanist, performing and working in Australia, New Zealand and overseas, Fiona has an AmusA in singing and performs as a soloist for the Sydneian Bach Choirs' Bach cantata project finishing in 2010. She has studied and worked in the vocal studios of Anthea Moller and David Harper, Sydney and with Janice Chapman and Raymond Connell, London.

Before returning to New Zealand Fiona was a fulltime accompanist at Ascham school where she taught voice and piano.

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Michael Fulcher, Musical Director
Michael Fulcher is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music in London, the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Griffith University) and the University of Queensland where he graduated with a high distinction in organ performance. He is a recipient of many awards including the Margaret Nickson Prize for Piano Accompaniment, the Hugh Brandon Prize for Organ performance and the Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Scholarship. In Australia, Michael held the position of Assistant Organist of St John's Cathedral, Brisbane, for many years and Director of Music at Trinity College within the University of Melbourne where he also taught in the Faculty of Music and directed the Faculty choirs. In Brisbane, Michael also formed the chamber choir Vox Nova and was conductor of the Queensland University Musical Society conducting such works as A sea symphony and Messa di Requiem of Verdi. In 1990 he studied the organ with David Sanger in London.

Michael also conducted operatic productions for Joseph Ward at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music Opera School including the Australian premiere of Billy Budd, L'elisir d'amore and Elijah (the stage production). During his time in Melbourne Michael won a place on the ABC Young Conductors Mastercourse, studying with David Porcelijn and also studied privately with the late Robert Rosen formerly of the Royal Romanian Opera. He was Young Artist Conductor at the Victoria State Opera in 1996 and at Opera Queensland in 1998 conducting productions of Don Giovanni, L'elisir d'amore and Faust, and working on Xerxes, Madama Butterfly and Die Frau ohne Schatten and Janacek's Glagolithic Mass.

After moving to the U.K. in 1997 Michael studied conducting with Mark Elder and Sir Charles Mackerras, worked for English National Opera conducted productions for New Sussex Opera, completed studies at the Guildhall school of Music and Drama in London and spent several years assisting Janice Chapman in her international singing studio.

In 2001 Michael conducted the Australian premiere of Roxanna Panufnik's prepared chorus Westminster Mass for the 51st Intervarsity Choral Festival to critical and audience acclaim. He also prepared chorus and principals for the world premiere of Going into shadows by Andrew Schultz in London and Brisbane.

In 2002 Michael conducted productions of Postcard from Marocco by Dominic Argento in London and The Pilgrim's Progress of Vaughan Williams for the Brisbane Festival in the presence of Ursula Vaughan Willimas and prepared Katarina Jovanovic for the role of Violetta for Grange Park Opera and Belgrade Opera. At 24 hours notice he also conducted a performance of La traviata for Pimlico Opera for an indisposed Mark Shanahan. Michael has also worked as repetitieur and chorus master on productions of Marriage of Figaro and Don Pasquale for Stanley Hall Opera in 2002 and 2003.

His work as an accompanist includes concerts with Katarina Jovanovic in London, Paris, Washington, Toulouse, Avignon, Reims and Clermont-Ferrand. Michael was assistant conductor for a world première in the Aarhus Summer Opera in Denmark in summer 2004, as well as chorus master and vocal coach for the Stanley Hall Opera production of Rossini La petra del Paragone in July 2004.

Michael Fulcher was very active as vocal coach and accompanist in London and Paris where he was also Organiste Titulaire of St George’s Anglican Church, Paris. Michael has conducted the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hanover Band.

Particularly interested in 20th century music, he conducted the NZ premiere of Lament for Jerusalem (April 30, 2005), Sir John Tavener's latest work, with the Orpheus Choir and NGC Wellington Sinfonia. Other engagements for 2005 include organ recitals at Wellington Town Hall and Wanganui Collegiate School, and for the NZ Choral Federation adjudicating the Big Sing at Palmerston North in August and conducting a Come'n'Sing workshop in May (Hummel Mass in B flat and Rutter Gloria) and of the Mozart Requiem for the Anglican Diocese of Wellington.

In 2005 he has given recitals with sopranos Madeleine Pierard, Alison Cormack (winners of the Lexus Songquest), Lisette Wesseling, Nicola Edgecombe and Barbie Paterson.

For the 2006 New Zealand International Festival Of The Arts, Michael created and prepared the inaugural New Zealand Festival Chorus and New Zealand Festival Youth Chorus, which performed to critical and audience acclaim in Wagner's Parsifal and James MacMillan's Quickening, with the Hilliard Ensemble and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.