Hastings born bass-baritone Samuel McKeever completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Classical Performance with First Class Honours at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music in 2021. In 2022 he was awarded the La Grouw Prize after placing third in the finals of the Lockwood New Zealand Aria, and in 2023 he took home the Rosina Buckman Memorial Cup after winning Wellington Aria Competition. He is an alumnus of the New Zealand Opera School in Whanganui, attending in 2021 and 2023 and is a graduate of Project Prima Volta. Samuel’s solo role performances include Mercutio in Festival Opera’s Roméo et Juliette (2024), Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Festival Opera in collaboration with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, 2023), understudy for Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Wellington Opera, 2023), and Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen (Festival Opera, 2022), and the Marchese in La traviata (Wellington Opera, 2022).
Samuel is currently a member of the 2024-25 artist cohort at Te Pae Kōkako - The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS) where he is receiving vocal training from Nikki Li Hartliep before planning to travel to Germany for further training and work in the opera industry.
