Hayley Westenra

Name	Hayley Westenra
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Hayley Dee Westenra
Born	April 10, 1987
Origin	Christchurch, New Zealand
Instrument	Piano, guitar, violin, recorder
Voice type	Soprano
Genre	Classical, pop, celtic, operatic pop
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2001–present
Label	Universal Records New ZealandDecca Records
Associated acts	Celtic Woman, Jackie Evancho
Url	http://www.hayleywestenra.com/

Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand soprano, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached #1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide. Pure is the fastest-selling international début classical album to date, having made Westenra an international star at age 16. In August 2006, she joined the Irish group Celtic Woman, was featured on their Celtic Woman: A New Journey CD and DVD, toured with them on their 2007 Spring Tour, and also was featured on their latest DVD, The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection, released in 2008. She sings songs in a number of languages, including English, Māori, Chinese, Italian, Irish, German, Japanese, Welsh, and Latin.

Early life

Westenra was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is of Dutch and Irish heritage. Her parents, Jill and Gerald Westenra, have two other children, Sophie and Isaac Westenra. The family has a history of music: Westenra's grandmother Shirley Ireland was a singer, and her grandfather was a pianist who also played the piano accordion.

Her pursuit of a musical career began at the age of six, when she was cast in the lead singing role of "Little Star" in the Christmas play After the show, a teacher who had watched the performance approached her parents to tell them that their daughter was "pitch perfect".

At 12, Westenra entered a professional recording studio to record Walking in the Air, a demo album originally created for friends and family. At first, her parents paid for 70 copies; soon after, 1000 more were cut for sale, handout, and publicity. After finishing her album, Westenra and her sister Sophie busked in Christchurch, giving away a few of the original 70 albums (at the behest of passers-by) and selling some of the latter 1000. The pair drew large crowds, and one woman asked the girls if they had ever recorded anything. The woman, a journalist with Canterbury Television, asked Westenra to appear on air. Gray Bartlett, the director of a concert promotion company, saw the show and became interested in working with Westenra. On that label, Westenra released a self-titled album of show tunes and light classical songs, as well as My Gift to You, a CD of Christmas music. Following the success of her albums, she was offered and later received lessons from Dame Malvina Major. Pure enjoyed record success: it became the fastest-selling international debut album in the history of the UK classical chart, with 19,068 copies purchased in its first week alone, quickly reached #1 on the UK charts, and entered the UK Pop Chart at #8. Over two million copies of Pure have been sold to date. In New Zealand, Pure has been certified 12x platinum, making her the best-selling artist, regardless of genre, in the country's history.

Pure's success ensured that Decca would take Westenra seriously. Some of her fame today can be directly attributed to the way in which Decca promoted her. Although the traditional audience of classical crossover music is adult women, they also promoted her music to children and teenagers. Westenra recorded the end-title song for Disney's movie Mulan II. They also featured her in the national Radio Disney music education tour for middle-school students. David Horn, the producer of her live TV special which aired on PBS' Great Performances, said, "Her singing is so gorgeous, it's reminiscent of the great boy-soprano sound of Anglican church choirs."

Decca has also promoted Westenra on television. She took her first acting role on the US programme American Dreams ("Charade"), where she played guitar and sang "Who Painted the Moon Black?". While she was being promoted in Los Angeles, Marc Johnston, senior VP/GM for the Universal Classics Group, said, "When she was out there, people were giving her scripts to read, and she had a few rather impromptu auditions. So some film and TV roles are currently in the works." In 2006, she was featured on the motion picture soundtrack for The New World with the song "Listen to the Wind".

Westenra was the 2004 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards winner of "Highest Selling New Zealand Album" and "International Achievement Award". On 20 February 2004, Prime Minister Helen Clark awarded her for being the first New Zealand artist to receive the tenfold platinum status in the New Zealand market, where she held the number one artist position for 18 weeks. In her autobiography, she remembered feeling more nervous in an audition where she sight read to Andrew Lloyd Webber an unreleased piece that he had written. She concluded 2004 with a successful Christmas tour of the east coast of the United States as guest soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra.

In 2005, she released a new album, Odyssey. A mix of classical, pop, Celtic, and New Age music, she co-wrote and arranged some of the tracks on the album, which was released in the United States on 18 October 2005. A more recent version of Odyssey containing several recordings not on the original album was released in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2006, her 19th birthday. On 18 December 2005, she made an appearance on Kurt Browning's programme Gotta Skate, in which she performed with Andrea Bocelli.

Westenra spent the first half of 2006 performing as a supporting act for the pop-opera quartet Il Divo on a worldwide tour, though in March she performed solo concerts in the U.S. as well. That tour officially ended in June, but was then extended by six performances. She then held several concerts in the UK and Germany through the end of the northern summer. On 5 September 2006, Westenra was named as one of the ten outstanding young people in the world by the Junior Chamber International, becoming the first New Zealander so honoured. On 13 November 2006 she participated in the dedication of the New Zealand War Memorial in London. Three of Westenra's great-uncles served in World War II; one was killed.

Beyond her initial success

In August 2006, Westenra joined Celtic Woman and is featured on their second major DVD/CD album, , which was released 30 January 2007 and immediately hit the Billboard Top 200 music chart at #4. She toured with the group in the United States in 2007, with scheduled appearances in 88 venues across the country; the tour ended in June. A subsequent tour of the United Kingdom was advertised, but never took place. Westenra was up front with the UK media about not continuing with Celtic Woman after the end of the US tour, but never gave a reason why.

Among 2006 Canterbury Festival(27th Oct), Westenra successfully staged Cathedral concert with tenor Alfie Boe in the Canterbury Cathedral.

Westenra's third international album, Treasure, was released on 26 February 2007 in the UK. All the songs on this CD were chosen by Westenra, who gave her record company "no say in the matter. I basically didn't let them in on what I was recording until the last minute so they had no choice. I didn't give them much room to disagree." Tracks on this album include "E Pari Ra", "One Fine Day", "Let Me Lie", "Danny Boy", and "Abide with Me". Westenra co-wrote four of the fifteen tracks, and the album also features singer Humphrey Berney. The US/Australia/NZ edition followed in March under the name Celtic Treasure. Westenra dedicated the album to her grandmother, Shirley Ireland. Inside the sleeve of the UK edition, she wrote "I come from a musical family, and one with a real sense of history. My forefathers were on the maiden voyage from Ireland to Christchurch, New Zealand in 1850 – there's even a commemoration plaque in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, which bears the name Westenra. My grandmother used to sit me on her knee and sing songs like Danny Boy from as early as I can remember. A singer herself in her earlier years, she has always been a never-ending source of songs. It's this legacy of music that she's been passing down to me since my childhood, and it's many of these beautiful old songs that I've explored here on my album."

On the day before St. Patrick's Day 2007, she performed as part of Celtic Woman for President George W. Bush at the White House. She had plans to present the president with a petition to place a mandatory carbon cap on the United States. The goal of the petition was compliance with the commitment made by President Bill Clinton in previous years to follow the Kyoto Protocol. However, she was not able to present the petition because the president was rushed away after the concert, due to security concerns.

On 6th May 2007, Westenra was invited to the Crystal Cathedral as a guest performing "Abide with Me" on the Hour of Power American Christian television program, She performed there several times before including "Amazing Grace","I Say Grace".

Westenra starred as Maria in the 2007 recording of West Side Story, which was released on 30 July.

In Nov 2007, Hayley Westenra successfully staged Japan "treasure" concert tour in Fukuoka, Sapporo, Tokyo, Sendai, Nagoya, Osaka, Yokohama, Hiroshima.

On 17 August 2008 Westenra participated in the tribute concert Lyrics by Don Black which was held at the London Palladium and featured performances of Black's songs by a selection of guest artists. She sang the duet Amigos Para Siempre, the score of which was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with Jonathan Ansell. The evening, hosted by Michael Parkinson was recorded by BBC Radio 2 Friday Night is Music Night and broadcast on 22 August 2008.

The song "Prayer", composed by Secret Garden and performed by Westenra, is featured in the trailers for the Nintendo Wii video game, Endless Ocean, as well as in the game itself. Westenra also contributed several other songs, including her rendition of the Māori folk song "Pokarekare Ana".

On 8 November 2008, Westenra performed at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, singing Today Won't Come Again, written by Geoff Stevens and Don Black, with English tenor Jonathan Ansell, and accompanied Ansell on Here's to the Heroes, by Black and John Barry, when returning soldiers proceeded into the auditorium. On July 16, 2009, she performed at the Opening Ceremony of the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, singing several songs including Pokarekare Ana, The Moon Represents My Heart (月亮代表我的心) in Mandarin, Tears For You (涙そうそう) and Amazing Grace.

On 16 Jul 2009, Westenra performed "Amazing Grace" in English, "We Are The Champions" in English with other stars, "The Pray" in English&Italian with Russell Watson, "Pokarekare Ana" in Maori with Russell Watson, "Nada Sousou" in Japanese, "The Moon Reflects My Love" in Mandarin Chinese with SuJianXin on the World Games's opening ceremony in Kaohsiung TaiWan before 45,000 stadium audiences and numerous worldwide TV audiences.

On 29 August 2009, Westenra led the traditional singing of "Abide with Me" at the Rugby League Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

On 05 Feb 2010, Nativity Wins 2 'Film of the Year' Awards, Hayley Westenra was delighted to sing Silent Night on the soundtrack of Nativity! When she was later interviewed about her charity work in Ghana she had this to say, "I met girls who had been given bikes and I could see how much it meant to them. We wanted to borrow one just for a photo and they wouldn't let them go; they were really reluctant".

In 2006, Sensational new Hybrid Tea named in honour of New Zealand singing star Hayley Westenra to raise funds for UNICEFNZ. Hayley Westenra Rose is a frilly, sweet-cheeked little miss who won Best Hybrid Tea, Best Overall Rose and the biggie – New Zealand Rose of the Year – at the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival awards in 2010.

In June 2006 she appeared at a fundraiser for UK charity Act Against Bullying. On 8 June 2007, Westenra performed in a fundraising concert for Bikes for Ghana at the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent. In September 2008 she visited Ghana again on behalf of UNICEF. She is currently working on raising funds for one of her favourite projects in Ghana, to install playgrounds for children, with rides which harness "kid power" to drive pumps used for providing clean drinking water from wells in that country. Hundreds of thousands of children have been victimized by contaminated drinking water in Ghana, and this project is a focus of Hayley's.

On 24th February 2007 Hayley Westenra took part in the HemiHelp “Children helping Children” concert at the Cadogan Hall, Sloan Square London in front of 900 people, including HRH Princess Alexandra the charity’s patron.

In 2008, Westenra was selected by the New Zealand Society to receive the Global Kiwis Young Achiever Award for remarkable achievement in her field of endeavor on a global scale. She has also received numerous awards for her contributions to music, both in New Zealand and elsewhere. In November 2008 she was named "classical performer of the year" at the Variety Club's annual awards in London.

On 25 Jun 2008, Hayley Westenra is the ambassador for Classic FM's charity Music Makers. Hayley says of the partnership " I am thrilled to be the first official charity Ambassador for Classic FM Music Makers. I have seen first hand the power which music can have in changing people's lives, and I can't wait to help all I can." Over the next few months Hayley will be visiting some of the music therapy and education projects across the UK which Music Makers funds...

In Oct 2008, Forces songbird Hayley Westenra help launch the Poppy Appeal with British Armed Forces in Iraq.

In Oct 2008, Forces songbird Hayley Westenra and tenor Jonathan Ansell took to the streets to sell poppies at Waterloo Station to support the Royal British Legion.

On 12 Nov 2008, Westenra performed "River of Dreams" , duet "Today Won't Come Again" with tenor Jonathan Ansell in the Royal Albert Hall for the Annual Festival of Remembrance and was broadcast by the BBC.

She has also been the ambassador for Save the Children in Hong Kong. More recently, she took part in a breast cancer awareness campaign in New Zealand. Another major charity she supports is the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, which provides help for children who are disabled.

On 7th Sep 2009, She joined the Dame Vera Lynn Trust as a Vice-President for this Children with Cerebral Palsy charity.

On 22 Oct 2009, Forces sweethearts from the original Second World War Forces sweetheart-Dame Vera Lynn joined by one of today's Forces sweetheart Kiwi songbird Hayley Westenra in launching the Poppy Appeal with a fundraising goal of £31 million.

In Dec 2009, New forces sweetheart Hayley Westenra performed with Faryl Smith and Camilla Kerslake in a special service for British troops serving in Afghanistan from St Clements Church, London.

On 7th March 2010, Classical singing star Hayley Westenra lended her support with some other most successful female role models in FMWF’s "The Breaking the Mould" conference to inspire a generation of young women to aim high in their careers.

On 20 Jun 2010, Hayley Westenra took her role as Forces Sweetheart to the Cotswold Air Show, visiting Kemble to support the work of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

In March 2011, Westenra will speak at FMWF’s next Breaking the Mould conference at the Royal Institution in London’s Mayfair.

On 2nd April 2011, Westenra as a Vice-President of the Dame Vera Lynn Trust will be performing for this Children with Cerebral Palsy charity at the Lancaster London Hotel.

Personal life

Westenra was known as a vegetarian/pescetarian, and was nominated for PETA's 'Sexiest Vegetarian' for 2007. However, when touring she sometimes worried about getting the appropriate amounts of nutrients. She was sometimes unable to obtain the more nutritious vegetables and other foods she preferred, and now on occasions she eats meat. In 2007, Westenra told the New Zealand Herald, "I'm completely bursting the bubble now, aren't I? That's that ruined."

In 2010, Hayley has acknowledged that she has a boyfriend. However, she has declined to name him publicly.

Discography

Albums

Regional albums

International albums

Singles & EP's

Featured

References

Further reading

External links

HayleyWestenra.com - Official website

Profile at CelticWoman.com

Hayley Westenra at ClassicalX

; Multimedia and interviews :* Yahoo! LAUNCHcast music videos featuring Westenra :* Hayley Westenra Interview :* BBC Radio - John Rockley Show interview (22 February 2007) :* Hayley Westenra Interview at ilikemusic.com :* Interview with Hayley at Premier.tv

Category:1987 births Category:Celtic Woman members Category:Living people Category:Opera crossover singers Category:New Zealand buskers Category:New Zealand classical musicians Category:New Zealand female singers Category:New Zealand sopranos Category:New Zealand people of Dutch descent Category:New Zealand people of Irish descent Category:People from Christchurch Category:UNICEF people