. On the surface at least, Hayley Westenra is every bit the ethereal-voiced cherub the classical-music industry has cast her as.
At her age, fellow soprano Katherine Jenkins had just kicked her cocaine habit and Charlotte Church was back on the alcopops after her break-up. Meanwhile at 24, Hayley is battling a high heels habit, is addicted to Coronation Street and confesses that the previous evening she had a wild night out with Il Divo. ‘Yes, I had a glass of champagne and didn’t get to bed until midnight,’ she admits guiltily. Back on song: Classical star Hayley Westenra, looking fit and healthy last week, has told how she dropped to a size zero after seeing an unflattering picture of herself Even the album that propelled her to success in 2004 – the one that sold 2.8 million copies and became the fastest-selling classical debut of all time, ahead of Church, Pavarotti and her own idol, Andrea Bocelli – is aptly titled Pure. It was The Mail on Sunday that helped her soar to these heights after picking her out as a little-known schoolgirl and featuring her track Pokarekare Ana on our Classical Legends CD in 2003, alongside Bryn Terfel and The Three Tenors.
Simmering beneath her dewily wholesome image, however, lurks a dark secret. It is a secret Hayley has long struggled to conceal for it is at odds with the carefully constructed sweetie-pie persona upon which her success rests. Share As the breakdown worsened and her mood became more depressed, she abandoned her British tour and fled to her parents’ home in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she binged on ice cream for breakfast, barely slept and decided dramatically to abandon her career. ‘I went on a mission to self destruct. It got to the point where I was ready to give up the industry, showbusiness and everything I’d ever wanted.
I didn’t want to even go out, let alone perform,’ she admits. ‘I felt very depressed.
I also became so obsessed with food that controlling my diet took over whole days. The more weight I lost, the more weight I wanted to lose. I still have a dress I fitted into at that time.
When I look at it now, I realise how scarily tiny I really was.’ While Hayley never sought medical help, nor was ever formally diagnosed with depression or an eating disorder, her symptoms were dangerously grave and at her worst, she confesses, she felt ‘scared’ of food. She is reluctant to put a direct label on her breakdown, but does concede: ‘I was in my own little world, which was a frighteningly dark space. Nothing could drag me out of it.’ When tentative hints about this breakdown were first revealed last week, one worried fan wrote: ‘It sounds like she was anorexic for a while, followed by overweight for a while.’ I put this to Hayley. ‘It could be on the mark,’ she agrees. ‘Fortunately I never got to the point where I was in dire need of help.’ At the slippery start of this breakdown, Hayley spent every spare moment fixated on her diet.
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She lived on boiled vegetables, raw peppers, almonds, herbal teas and ‘green juices’ – and shrank to a miniscule 7st 5lb. At 5ft 6in tall, that put her well within the underweight category of the body mass index scale. In fact, according to a professor of nutrition, that weight is exactly the threshold below which body functions begin to cease. Hayley’s problems came at the peak of a glittering career that had begun at the age of ten when she started busking on the streets of Christchurch. Talent: Hayley went from busking on the streets of Christchurch to performing in front of the Queen Hayley says: ‘The pressure to look the right way has always been there.’ However, she now reflects that her fixation with food spiralled beyond her – or indeed her record label’s – mission to change her appearance. ‘Everything in life was beyond my control, including my ridiculously busy schedule.
My diet was the only thing I could control,’ she tells me. ‘I don’t want to call it an eating disorder because many girls go through this.
What was unhealthy was that I thought losing weight was the way forward in my career when I should have been working on my music.’ For a short time things changed for the better when Hayley joined Irish all-girl ensemble Celtic Woman on a two-month tour. Her weight gradually crept up and her diet naturally changed. ‘Until that tour, I hadn’t spent time with girls my own age.
I started sharing meals with the Celtic Woman girls. After a show, we’d scoff chocolates and gossip on the tour bus.’ But it wasn’t the end of Hayley’s breakdown. After the Celtic Woman tour, her schedule was crammed with concerts across Asia and Europe, a visit to Ghana for Unicef (she is its youngest-ever ambas¬sador), and a gruelling trip to Iraq to launch the Poppy Appeal, all of which left her immune system in tatters. Towards the end of 2008, she returned to Britain for another tour, but suffered bouts of bronchitis and fled to her dressing room in tears after each performance. Arnaud Sabard, one of her sound engineers (and now her boyfriend) provided a friendly shoulder to cry on but the people she needed most – her parents – were 11,000 miles away in New Zealand. ‘No one was sure what to do with me,’ she admits.
‘They were a bit like “Oh gosh, she’s in tears.” They all backed off.’ After a disastrous sound check for a show in Manchester, and after learning that two of her close friends had been killed in road accidents in New Zealand, Hayley fled to the family home before Christmas where her two-month ‘self-destruction’ rampage began. ‘I stopped caring about recording and I told my parents that it was all over,’ she says. ‘I’d lie in bed all night but couldn’t sleep. I had to go to the doctor for sleeping tablets. I stopped washing my hair and wearing make-up and lived in an oversized hoodie and tracksuit bottoms. I sat around watching Coronation Street and chat shows. ‘I felt very depressed.
And I never wanted to get on stage again.’ Her rigid diet evaporated. Instead, she gorged ice cream for breakfast then spent all day bingeing on chocolate biscuits and McDonald’s. She recalls Christmas Day 2008 bleakly: ‘It was just another day on the calendar. I was still in my own little world. A dark, pretty miserable world.
‘I dragged myself out of the house on New Year’s Eve to a friend’s low-key party but didn’t stay long. I couldn’t connect with anyone.’. Covergirl: Hayley pictured for her 'River of Dreams' album During this time, an ultimatum lingered in her mind. Hayley was scheduled to begin another tour with Jonathan Ansell, formerly the tenor with pop opera boy band, G4. ‘My manager kept calling and asking whether I had decided to pull the tour,’ she says. ‘If I’d turned it down, that would have been the end of my career. 'I don’t know where I found the strength but there was this little glimmer of something that made me go.
Deep down, I didn’t want to quit. ‘I was lucky that tour went well, otherwise I probably would have fallen back to where I was.’ Two years on, Hayley is adamant that she has now put her breakdown firmly behind her. She has settled in a flat in Chiswick, West London; has been in a stable relationship with Frenchman Arnaud since 2009; and is excited about the release of her fifth studio album called Paradiso on August 29. She says she now weighs 8st 7lb.
She is also back in her big sister role, worrying about Sophie who has abandoned her law degree to become an actress, and toying with the idea of collaborating with a rock band for her sixth album – ‘Like Mumford and Sons. Ooh, or the Foo Fighters,’ she says. Is she not worried that her depression will return? ‘I felt depressed,’ she says carefully. ‘But I don’t think I was born with a tendency for depression – it was more pressures of my schedule and loneliness that pushed me in that direction. ‘Things are very different now.
Arnaud makes sure I don’t take on too much. I have a personal life outside work. And I’ve re-educated myself about nutrition.’ With that, someone sets down a plate of scrambled egg and wholemeal toast. She hasn’t eaten all day. She nibbles the corner, pushes a bit of egg around the plate, then bounds out of her seat to try on a ballgown for a photoshoot.
Everyone agrees it fits her perfectly. Half an hour later, I say my goodbyes. ‘I’m running on adrenaline but I’m healthy now,’ she reassures me again. ‘I’ve taken up hardcore pilates classes. I even eat bad things. Like sourdough. ‘I feel fit and healthy and strong.’ She beams goodbye, then picks up her plate again.
Her scrambled eggs are cold and untouched. When she turns, I spot that an enormous crocodile clip is holding her tiny frame into the gaping Ted Baker-designed prom dress. Small steps, perhaps. But for now, at least the cherub of the classical world has her smile back.
Contents. Early life Westenra was born in, New Zealand. Her parents, Jill and Gerald Westenra, have two other children, Sophie and Isaac. Westenra's grandmother Shirley Ireland was a singer, and her grandfather was a pianist who also played the. She has Irish, Dutch and English heritage.
She began performing at age six when she was cast in the lead singing role of 'Little Star' in the Christmas play at her school,. After the show, a teacher who had watched the performance approached her parents to tell them that their daughter was 'pitch perfect'. The teacher encouraged Westenra to learn how to play a musical instrument; Hayley soon after learned to read music and play the violin, piano, guitar, and. She then began voice lessons and discovered a passion for musical theatre. By age 11, she had performed more than 40 times on stage, but was often given male parts: 'I got boy parts quite often. In ballet, there were not enough boys. So they ended up choosing half and half.
I got chosen to wear the grey suit and the wig, and not the pretty dresses. In, I was, so I got to be a poor sick boy. There was a severe lack of singing boys and, at the time, it was quite disappointing.' Westenra attended in 1998 and 1999, where a performing arts building was later named in her honour. She won a talent quest in her first year (Year 9) at, which she attended from 2000 to 2003. Career 2000-2002: Debut 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, there were 70 copies made, all paid for with the money she was earning busking.
Soon after, 1,000 more were cut for sale, hand-out, and publicity. After finishing her album, Westenra and her sister Sophie in Christchurch, giving away a few of the original 70 albums (at the behest of passersby) 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, asked Westenra to appear on air., the director of a concert promotion company, saw the show and became interested in working with Westenra. Shortly after, she was offered a recording deal with New Zealand. On that label, Westenra, who in the meantime was attending, released a self-titled album of show tunes and light classical songs, as well as, a CD of Christmas music. Following the success of her albums, she was offered and later received lessons from Dame.
2003-2004: Pure Westenra's albums were successful in New Zealand, but she was not well known worldwide until she signed a contract with and recorded, a CD of classical, light pop, and traditional songs. Decca's British president was also impressed with her voice when they signed her to the label, saying that she was 'captivated by the beauty and expressiveness of her voice.' 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 No. 1 on the British charts, and entered the at #8.
Over two million copies of Pure have been sold to date. In New Zealand, Pure has been certified 12 times 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. Creating a Glcd Font. Although the traditional audience of classical crossover music is adult women, they also promoted her music to children and teenagers. In 2004 Westenra recorded the end-title song for 's movie.
They also featured her in the national music education tour for middle-school students. Later that year, she was featured in the song 'Bridal Ballad' recorded for the movie. Westenra was the 2004 Vodafone winner of 'Highest Selling New Zealand Album' and 'International Achievement Award'. On 20 February 2004, Prime Minister 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.
She has won two Japanese Grammies for her work (Song of the Year, ' and Album of the Year, Pure). Her version of was used as the theme song for the popular Japanese drama, (The White Tower). Hayley met the cast of the series during a promotional tour of Japan in October 2003. Also in 2004, she began her world tour of New Zealand, Australia, Japan, USA and Britain, performing in a concert in November for, the Prime Minister, and the President at the time. In her autobiography, she remembered feeling more nervous in an audition where she sight read to an unreleased piece that he had written. After her world tour, Westenra recorded a live DVD, featuring duets with baritone and soprano Sophie Westenra in. David Horn, the producer of her live TV special, which aired on ', said, 'Her singing is so gorgeous, it's reminiscent of the great boy-soprano sound of church choirs.'
Westenra concluded 2004 with a Christmas tour of the East Coast of the United States as guest soloist with the. Westenra in 2010 Christmas Wishes concert tour (UK) 2005-2007: Odyssey; touring with Il Divo; Treasure; and Celtic Woman In 2005, Westenra released a new album,. A mix of classical, pop, Celtic, and, 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. Also in 2005, she was featured on the motion picture soundtrack for with the song 'Listen to the Wind'. Westenra spent the first half of 2006 performing as a supporting act for the pop-opera quartet on a worldwide tour, though in March she performed solo concerts in the US 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, becoming the first New Zealander so honoured. On 13 November 2006 she participated in the dedication of the. Three of Westenra's great-uncles served in World War II; one was killed. In August 2006, Westenra joined 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. During this time, Hayley alternated with, who had recently returned from maternity leave, to maintain a five-member line-up. She also got along well with another member, who was at the time only 17 years old. Westenra's third international album, 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', ', and '. Westenra co-wrote four of the fifteen tracks, and the album also features singer.
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 British 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, 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 2007, she performed as part of Celtic Woman for President at the. 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 in previous years to follow the. However, she was not able to present the petition because the president was rushed away after the concert, due to security concerns. Hayley Westenra 2009 Also in 2007, Westenra's vocals were featured in the soundtracks of the movie Flood and the television series, composed by, in the UK. In November 2007, Hayley Westenra successfully staged a Japan 'Treasure' concert tour in, Tokyo,. 2008-2010: Hayley Sings Japanese Songs; Different Voices; Hayley Sings Japanese Songs 2; and Paradiso In June 2008, Hayley released an album for Japan, called Hayley Sings Japanese Songs.
The songs include popular Japanese songs sung in English, and some in Japanese. Is performed as a duet with the late, in English and Japanese.
On 1 October 2008, Westenra recorded as solo vocals in the CD 'Different Voices' composed and conducted by and the, with narration by and lyrics written. On 30 November 2008, Westenra was presented by with the Variety Club Showbiz Awards 2008 Classical Performer of the Year for raising money to help sick, disabled and disadvantaged children and young people. A second Japanese album, Hayley Sings Japanese Songs 2, was released in March 2009.
On 5 February 2010, Westenra performed ' on the soundtrack of Nativity! In the spring and summer of 2010, Hayley began working with film composer for a collaboration on her album. The album featured new songs written by Morricone, as well as some of his best known film compositions of the last 50 years.
Hayley recorded the album with Morricone's orchestra in Rome during the summer 2010. On 30 October 2010, Westenra staged a recital at the with international backing musicians in an east Asian concert tour. 2011-present: Various concerts and the Taiwan Tour On Memorial Day, 29 May, Hayley was invited to perform for the annual PBS special, the live in Washington, DC.
She performed the song following the emotional story of a woman who had never met her father, who died in the, but got to know him many years later through a soldier who had fought alongside him. On 22 July, Westenra was among artists performing with the in an American West-themed show from a radio concert programme. On 24 July, Westenra staged the 61st Festival concert with and performed classical repertoire including new songs from.
On 23 October 2011, Westenra performed the New Zealand national anthem ' at in Auckland before the final of the, and also performed the traditional New Zealand song ' to bring the event to a close. In October 2011, broadcast ' and ' performed by Westenra in.
On 31 October 2011, Westenra was featured on classical music album with the only vocal track 'Dreaming of New Zealand'. To promote, Westenra would be embarking the from 17 September 2011 to 8 March 2012. On 12 March 2012, Westenra attended a reception for celebrating the achievements of inspirational women today the event held by the to mark. On 22 April 2012, Westenra staged a debut concert at the in Copenhagen and on 14 June, Westenra staged a concert with and at in Dublin. On April 2013, Westenra staged a Far East tour in, and performed with Chinese tenor DinYi in Beijing.
On 30 November and 1 December 2013, Westenra staged a concert with, Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir and the Hong Kong Treble Choir in. On 29 April 2014, Westenra was one of the performers at Live in.
Performances On 24 August 2003, Westenra performed on the stage with opera tenor and in front of the capacity crowd of 10,000 people from in Wales. On 28 July 2004, Westenra joined American tenor James Doing and the on the latter's annual Concerts on the Square in Madison, capital city of. The concert was broadcast. On 18 December 2005, she made an appearance on 's programme Gotta Skate, in which she performed with. In 2006 as a part of the (27 Oct), Westenra performed a concert with in.
On 6 May 2007, Westenra was invited to the as a guest performing ' on the, an American Christian television program. She had performed there twice before, the first time singing ' and the second time 'I Say Grace'. Westenra starred as Maria in the 2007 recording of, which was released on 30 July. On 28 July, she starred in Woburn LIVE 2007, where she performed a selection of the music of West Side Story with the other recording artists, including, from the 2007 release. On 7 August, Westenra performed solo and duet with Dame Malvina Major at among ChristChurch Cathedral Choir 2008 UK Tour. On 17 August, Westenra participated in the tribute concert Lyrics by, which was held at the and featured performances of Black's songs by a selection of guest artists. She sang the duet, the score of which was written by, with.
The evening, hosted by was recorded by BBC Radio 2 and broadcast on 22 August 2008. On 8 November, Westenra performed at the at the, singing 'River of Dreams', duet 'Today Won't Come Again', written by and Don Black, with English tenor, and accompanied Ansell on Here's to the Heroes, by Black and, when returning soldiers proceeded into the auditorium.
Was broadcast by the. On 16 July 2009, she performed at the Opening Ceremony of the in, Taiwan before 45,000 stadium audiences and numerous worldwide TV audiences. She sang several songs including, in English & Italian with, in with, with other stars, Japanese translated song ( Tears For You) and ' (月亮代表我的心) in with SuJianXin. On 29 August, Westenra led the traditional singing of at the final. On 7 November 2009, Westenra performed again at the, singing, made famous by Dame during WWII, at the. During the performance, an old recording of Lynn performing the song was played behind on the big screen. Lynn was present, as well as.
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In December 2009, Westenra performed with and in a special service for British troops serving in Afghanistan from, London. On 13 November 2010, Westenra performed for a third time at the, singing 'For the Fallen', a poem by set to music. It is featured on the special 10th anniversary edition of Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. In April 2011, Westenra was invited as a guest performer to TV concert in Greek. On May, Westenra was a guest performer on Italian tenor 's The Magic of Love Asian concert tour, Westenra and Bocelli collaborated on one of Westenra's albums and live performances before. On 9 July 2011, Westenra was invited as a guest performer to 's annual concert in. On 20 September, Westenra sang ’s on a service of the 90th anniversary of the Royal British Legion held at in the presence of, members and family of Royal Marines.
On 5 December, Westenra performed solo ' and duet with on the show in the presence of the Princess Royal. On 16 March, Westenra was invited to perform and make the presentation to the winner of a Korean live TV showOperastar. On 28 April, Westenra Performed with Chinese tenor DinYi and NieJianHua on the 2nd Beijing International Film Festival symphony concert at accompanying. In May 2012, Westenra was featured with and on a souvenir album 'Gary Barlow & The Commonwealth Band' for celebrating.
On 21 June, Westenra performed at Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis' concert accompanying. In November 2012, Westenra was a guest performer on the & Friends' Far East tour. She was also a special guest in Korea's final singing two songs ' in her solo and ' with and.
Film, television an video game appearances Decca has also promoted Westenra on television. She took her first acting role on the US programme ('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.' The song 'Prayer', composed by and performed by Westenra, is featured in the video game as well as its advertising. Westenra also contributed several other songs, including her rendition of the folk song '.
On 27 July, Westenra was announced as the voice of UK broadcaster 's coverage of that year's, with her special version of. On 15 April 2017, Westenra attended the 5th season of the famous Chinese singing TV show (named I Am a Singer in its 4 previous seasons) at, China's most-watched local television channel specialising in making entertainment and TV series. On that which broadcast whole nationwide, Westenra collaborated with the famous male singer from Taiwan, China performing the well-known Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion duet classic and it turned out to be a complete success. Philanthropy and charity Westenra is active in contributing to charities around the world. On 26 November 2003, Westenra performed 'Pokarekare Ana' and 'Amazing Grace' on the 75th Anniversary of the show in the presence of and on behalf of the.
Westenra is the second youngest Ambassador to date, behind. In 2005, Westenra visited Ghana to publicise her project, 'Bikes for Ghana', and actively helped with fundraising to purchase bicycles for young girls, allowing them to get to their schools from outlying surrounding areas. When she was later interviewed about this work, 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, A new Hybrid Tea Rose was named in honour of Hayley Westenra to raise funds for UNICEF. The Hayley Westenra Rose won the 2010 Rose of the Year Award and also the best Hybrid Tea Rose Award.
In June 2006, She appeared at a fundraiser for UK. On 24 February 2007, Westenra took part in the HemiHelp 'Children helping Children' concert at the Cadogan Hall, Sloan Square London in front of 900 people, including HRH the charity's patron. On 8 June 2007, Westenra performed in a fundraising concert for Bikes for Ghana at the Victoria Hall in. 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 endeavour on a global scale. She has also received numerous awards for her contributions to music, both in New Zealand and elsewhere. On 25 June 2008, Westenra is the ambassador for 's charity Music Makers. Hayley says of the partnership: 'I am thrilled to be the first official 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 would be visiting some of the music therapy and education projects across the UK, which Music Makers funds.
In September 2008, she visited Ghana again on behalf of UNICEF. She was working on raising funds for one of her favourite projects in Ghana, to install playgrounds for children, with rides that harness 'kid power' to drive pumps used for providing clean drinking water from wells in that country. Hundreds of thousands of children have been poisoned by contaminated drinking water in Ghana, and this project is a focus of Hayley's. On 4 September 2008, Hayley Westenra became a patron of. Also in September, Westenra san for the British Armed Forces in Basra, Iraq, where she helped to launch In October, Westenra and took to the streets to sell poppies at Waterloo Station to support.
She has also been the ambassador for in Hong Kong. More recently, she took part in a breast cancer awareness campaign in New Zealand. One of the other charities that she helps is the Women's Environmental Network.
Another major charity she supports is the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, which provides help for children who are disabled. On 7 September 2009, She joined the Dame Trust as a Vice-President for this Children with Cerebral Palsy (since 2015 known as Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity). On 22 October, the original Second World War Forces Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn was joined by Westenra in launching for 2009 with a fundraising goal of £31 million. On 7 March 2010, Westenra lent her support with some other most successful female role models in 'The Breaking the Mould' conference to inspire a generation of young women to aim high in their careers. On 20 Jun, Hayley Westenra took her role as Forces Sweetheart to the Cotswold Air Show, visiting Kemble to support the work of the Benevolent Fund. On 6 October, Westenra, whose uncle served in the, united with British legends for CD 'We Will Remember Them'. On 3 March 2011, Westenra led one of the national anthems ' in a London service together with about 5,000 Kiwis fundraising for her hometown Christchurch, after being devastated by on 22 February 2011.
On 18 March, Westenra performed ' in the national Christchurch memorial service at of Christchurch in the presence of, Prime Minister, Dame, dignitaries, international rescue teams and tens of thousands of. On 27 March, Westenra was invited to read out a testimony in the Christchurch memorial service at in the presence of, and thousands of churchgoers. On 30 March, Westenra attended in London for supporting those people (voted by the public) who have done a brilliant, unsung job for children. On 2 April, Westenra as a Vice-President of (from 2015 on known as Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity), performed for this Children with Cerebral Palsy charity at the Lancaster London Hotel. On 10 June, Westenra was invited by Prime Minister attending the Poppy Party along with injured Service personnel, bereaved Armed Forces families and veterans of Afghanistan and previous conflicts to celebrate the Legion's 90th anniversary and help raise funds for Battle Back Centre. During her from 17 September 2011 to 8 March 2012, Westenra raised charity attention to her UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador appeal and the Christchurch Earthquake Relief fund for supporting to revive. On 24 August 2012, Westenra staged a concert in the Gŵyl Gobaith Music Festival in to support for charities, and HeadtoHeart.
In Christmastime 2012, Westenra was featured on the debut album 'Starship Christmas Album' along with, and for supporting. On 30 November, Westenra lent her support to ’s Golden Hat Foundation together with, Dawn Kenney, Amy Petty and a choir performing on 'The American Christmas Carol' concert in. On 20 November 2013, Westenra recorded a Christmas single 2013 album 'Christmas Dream' with and featured and the Portsmouth Citadel Salvation Army Band.
Personal life After releasing Pure, Westenra and her family moved to London. She continues to reside in a central London flat, even though her family subsequently returned home to Christchurch. Although she spent most of 2006 touring, she did visit them when her schedule allowed. Westenra has been known as a vegetarian/. Diccionario biblico cristiano. In 2007, she was nominated for 's 'Sexiest Vegetarian'. Westenra married her French boyfriend of three years, Arnaud Sabard (born 1981), on 29 December 2013 in, New Zealand.
She has spoken little about her marriage publicly since then, in keeping with earlier practice of largely remaining quiet about her personal relationships. Discography.
Paradiso by and Released 18 April 2011 Recorded 2010, Length 58: 23, Hayley Westenra chronology (2009) 2009 Paradiso (2011) (2013) 2013 Ennio Morricone chronology Come Un Delfino (2011) String Module Error: Match not found2011 Paradiso (2011) Paradiso2011 Paradiso is an international album by, in collaboration with maestro. It was released worldwide beginning 18 April 2011 in. Paradiso features new compositions written by Morricone for Westenra, as well as Hayley performing some of his best-known film compositions in.
Westenra also contributed new English lyrics for some of Morricone's most well-known pieces, ', 'La Califfa', and 'Malena'. Westenra said she not only was inspired by 'Gabriel's Oboe' (the theme from the 1986 film classic ), but also contributed lyrics to (music:'Gabriel’s Oboe') in the spirit of world peace. Morricone produced all of Westenra's vocal performances and created new arrangements for each track, conducting instrumental sessions with his own 120-piece orchestra,. On 18 July 2011, Morricone commented, 'When I first heard Hayley’s voice I was impressed and fascinated.
I was very pleased when I was asked to compose and arrange the pieces that Hayley sings on her CD and am delighted with the results. I want to mention that this is not just a small anthology but also includes new songs performed and recorded for the first time. I wish our CD great fortune and many listeners and to this beautiful performer, a great career.' Oscar-winning lyricist, and Marilyn and Alan Bergman also contributed lyrics to the multi-language album (including some English and Italian songs, a French and a Portuguese song).
Paradiso became the 85th local #1 album since the inception of the Official New Zealand Music Charts in 1975. It has been certified gold in New Zealand, and had broken the record for the New Zealand artist with the most #1 albums to their name announced by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (Rianz) in May. It rose from the #3 position on 14 July 2011 to #1 on 26 August on the Amazon Classical pre-release chart, and topped the HMV Classical pre-release chart from 14 July until its release on 29 August. Paradiso hit #1 on the official, as well as the chart, after its release in the UK. It also reached #2 on the after release in the.
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ITV's one minute intro to their Rugby World Cup coverage in 2011 - World In Union (excerpt) in Maori and English by Hayley Westenra. Introduction (titles) taken from their first programme of the series, the opening ceremony. ITV is the main commercial televison station in the UK. You can download this as a single (Maori and English versions) or buy it on the album World In Union 2011. You can also buy Hayley's latest album Paradiso - out now in NZ Australia UK US Canada Japan and many other countries.
Our website is. To see the forum discussion about this, go to our forum. Hayley Westenra (& James Doing in duets) with the Wisconsin Concert Orchestra conducted by Andrew Sewell. Performed at Concerts on the Square in Madison on 28 July 2004 and broadcast by Wisconsin Public Television. This concert was originally provided to Jason (then an HWI forum member) on VHS tape by another (now unknown) member of the HWI forum. Many thanks to Jason for digitising this concert and making it available to us; it is an important part of Hayley's early International career which, we think, was no longer available on Youtube - except for one of the eight songs.
You can discuss this concert in the HWI forum at or visit the HWI website.
Hayley Westenra was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand. Singing was always her passion. From practising at home in her room, to busking on the city streets, she was always acutely aware of what she loved and what she wanted to do with her life. That early diligence and hard work paid off when she signed her first international recording contract with Decca Music in the UK at the tender age of 14.
Her first release, Pure (2003), then became the fastest selling international debut album in the history of the UK classical charts. With successive albums, Odyssey (2005), Treasure (2007) and River of Dreams: The Very Best of Hayley Westenra (2008), Hayley proved that that early success was no fluke; to date, she has sold over 4 million albums worldwide. Her album, Paradiso (2011), took her status to a new level, when she collaborated in Rome with legendary film composer Ennio Morricone and his Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta. Her album, Hushabye, was released in June 2013. The record features Sleep On, a lullaby specially written to commemorate the birth of Prince George by acclaimed composer Paul Mealor. In fact, Hayley has been personal songbird to Her Majesty The Queen four times and has sung for both Princes William and Harry. Hayley has also performed at many prestigious sporting events, including the world games (Taiwan 2009), football (the FA Cup Final), baseball (the MLB in the US), tennis (the Mercedes Cup in Los Angeles) and rugby, with her proudest moment – singing the New Zealand national anthem at the Rugby World Cup Final (2011) in support of her much-loved All Blacks.
Since the release of Paradiso, Hayley has had the honour of appearing in front of HRH The Princess Royal at the Royal Variety Performance; she was the special guest on the Operastar 2012 series finale in Seoul, South Korea; and she performed at the closing ceremony of the Second Beijing International Film Festival with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. In autumn 2012, Hayley took part in the prestigious David Foster & Friends tour of the Pacific Rim in autumn 2012, appearing alongside Chaka Khan, Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds, Paul Young and of course, the legendary David Foster himself.
To round a busy year off, along with Sarah McLachlan, Loreena McKennitt and Andrea Corr, she guested at the Tim Janis American Christmas Carol gala concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, in aid of the Golden Hat Foundation. Despite her busy career, Hayley works tirelessly for charitable causes whenever she can. Java virtual machine for windows 7 32 bit free download. She was one of the youngest ambassadors for UNICEF when she first stepped into the role in 2005. Her special project was Bikes for Ghana, raising money so girls could ride to school. Hayley is currently working on her next album alongside a series of concerts throughout 2016.
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