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Southern Opera Chorus concert - 9 December, 7pm

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The Christopher Doig Foundation
The Christopher Doig Foundation

The events of the past year in Canterbury have shown us the importance of strong leadership. Leaders emerged from all walks of life in our region to inspire us, organise us, stand alongside us and give us hope. In particular we saw young people making exceptional leadership contributions to the Canterbury recovery effort.  It is towards young people like this that we look to secure our future.

The Christopher Doig Foundation has been established to play its part in securing that future through recognising, nurturing and developing the leadership potential of our most outstanding young people.

 

The Christopher Doig Scholarship

The purpose of the Foundation is to set up and administer The Christopher Doig Scholarship. The Scholarship will provide financial assistance to young people, under the age of 30, who live principally in Canterbury and whom the Trustees believe display the potential to be future leaders in Canterbury or nationally in their chosen fields.

Scholarship contenders will excel in the one or more of these areas: academic, artistic, community or sporting.

Foundation Trustees: Hamish Doig, Lee Robinson, Bryan Pearson, Barry Maister and Suzanne Prain

For further information or to make a donation, please contact:

The Christopher Doig Foundation
Phone 03 960 4090
Email lynne@christopherdoigfoundation.co.nz
PO Box 3260 Christchurch 8140

Featured Artist

Sharolyn Kimmorley

Sharolyn Kimmorley Director, Southern Opera Chorus After studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sharolyn Kimmorley joined the Music Staff of The Australian Opera. In 1985 she became Principal Repetiteur for The Australian Opera and in 1987 was appointed Head of Music Staff.
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Southern Opera champion passes away
Southern Opera champion passes away

The Board, staff and singers of Southern Opera are deeply saddened by the loss of its founder Christopher Doig, who lost his battle with cancer earlier today.

A passionate Cantabrian, Chris was always determined that Canterbury and the South Island should have professional opera and was instrumental in the foundation of Canterbury Opera in 1984 and to the formation of Southern Opera in 2007.

His enthusiasm, energy and leadership in both the arts and sport were legendary and he worked tirelessly and with great passion to make what has become an outstanding contribution to New Zealand.

Last week’s hugely successful concert in Christchurch by Plàcido Domingo, was the brain child of Doig and raised over $300,000 for quake affected Court Theatre and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

The Christopher Doig Foundation was launched last week and has been established to nurture and develop the leadership potential of outstanding young people and like Chris’s own life will encompass the worlds of academic, community, sporting and artistic.

“Chris was our champion, our mighty Totara.  Christchurch seems smaller without him” commented Therese Arseneau, Chair of Arts Management Limited, the board responsible for the administration of both Southern Opera and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

“We all admired him, respected him and loved him. On behalf of Southern Opera and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences and love to Chris’s wife Suzanne and the family.”