If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Aucklander Benson Wilson who was runner-up in the Lexus Song Quest two years ago took his second chance in both hands at the Gala Grand Final in the Auckland Town Hall last month.
It was well worth the effort. Wilson won $20,000 cash, international air travel worth $3000 and a study scholarship worth another $27,000.
Wilson follows in the footsteps of Dames Kiri Te Kanawa and Malvina Major, who won the Song Quest on their way to stellar international careers.
The competition is in its 60th year and more recent winners have included Jonathon Lemalu and Amitai Pati.
Wilson said he was “blessed to receive this honour and was ready to step up to the challenge.” He will use the study scholarship at an institution yet to be decided in Europe or possibly North America.
What complicates his choice is a prize he won at an Australian competition last year, allowing him to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Wilson’s voice was discovered when his family shifted to Havelock North in the Hawkes Bay when he was the only Samoan in the school choir. “Back in Onehunga everybody I sang with had great voices,” said Wilson.
On his way to success in the Lexus Song Quest, Wilson completed a Bachelor of Music degree with Honours at Auckland University in 2014 and since then has pursued his musical ambitions.
The finalists each performed four songs to a packed Town Hall without the aid of any amplification. Two secular songs were accompanied by pianist Terence Dennis and two arias with backing from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edo de Waart.
Acclaimed soprano and International Lexus Song Quest Judge Yvonne Kenny said she had been impressed by all four “outstanding” finalists and that New Zealand could be “proud that the fine tradition of beautiful voices and refined singing continues.”
Runner-up Manu received an immediate cash prize of $8000 supported by the Dame Malvina Major Foundation and a Study Scholarship of $10,000.
The third and fourth place-getters, Hamilton soprano Madison Nonoa, and Auckland’s Bass Baritone Tavis Gravatt each received an immediate cash prize of $3500 net. Nonoa also received the $15,000 Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation scholarship ‘for the singer who shows the most promise’.
“Lexus is thrilled to continue to support such talented young New Zealanders,” said Andrew Davis, the Lexus General Manager of Marketing. “The Grand Final showcased four unique voices and characters, and Ms Kenny had an unenviable task in deciding the overall winner.”