Young Kiwi Opera Star Signs on as Camp Quality Ambassador

Young Kiwi Opera Star Signs on as Camp Quality Ambassador to Mark her NZ Concert Tour

30 April 2012 - Star New Zealand lyric soprano, Madeleine Pierard, who experienced the trauma of suffering from cancer as a young child, has pledged her support for an organisation that 20 years ago helped turn her life around.

The 30 year old Jette Parker Young Artist with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, has “with absolute pleasure” agreed to be an Ambassador for Camp Quality New Zealand (CQNZ), which has been providing support services for children living with cancer for more than 25 years.

Madeleine, who at the age of eight was diagnosed with B-cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Napier, and underwent two years of intensive treatment including chemotherapy, often in isolation, has no hesitation in saying “Camp Quality was the most remarkable catalyst in my healing process.”

Each year CQNZ, a not-for-profit volunteer organisation, organises summer camps for youngsters aged 5-16 with cancer, matching them up with companions who provide one-on-one support for each young camper where the goal is to provide fun and comradeship and to encourage the children to focus on the positive.

“The camps enabled me to feel like a kid again, identify with other children who were facing similar difficulties and most significantly attach wonderful and positive memories to a time that was otherwise rather traumatic,” she says.

“I still treasure my time at the camps. I adored my companions and fellow campers and all the staff who were like a warm, loving family. Every activity was carefully chosen and planned so we could have the most fun-filled days imaginable - to forget, for a while, the dirge of life in a hospital bed.”

Madeleine acknowledges she is “one of the lucky ones and I haven’t had any appearance of cancer since I was out of remission. I think of CQ a lot and those happy times and the people who made it possible. And I hope to be able to re-connect with some of the campers and companions who I’ve lost contact with, which is something I really regret.”

Camp Quality NZ Chairman, Gary Troup says “we are delighted to welcome Madeleine back to the Camp Quality family as our new ambassador. I was fortunate to represent NZ at cricket, but as part of a team. For Madeleine to achieve what she has in such a short time in the highly competitive and demanding arena of opera singing is nothing short of amazing.

“We know she has already won a number of awards during her time in London, appeared with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Jonathan Lemalu and recently completed her MMus at the International Opera School in London. That requires rare talent and dedication and we consider ourselves the lucky ones to have her as a CQNZ Ambassador.”

Winner of the 2005 Lexus Song Quest, the competition which also launched the careers of fellow Kiwis Dame Kiri and Jonathan Lemalu, Madeleine left for London six years ago, quickly making her mark. She has appeared in The Royal Opera House, Royal Festival Hall, the Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican City, St Marks in Venice and the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Last year she returned home with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as part of their ‘Odes to Joy’ tour. It coincided with the Rugby World Cup which she found “an incredible experience. The highlight was our concert in Christchurch in front of an audience of 2000, a hugely emotional occasion.”

In August Madeleine will be back on a 10-concert tour for Chamber Music New Zealand, accompanied by leading NZ pianist Terrence Dennis, who regularly works with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. She will be joined by her older sister Anna (mezzo soprano) for part of the tour.

It is a hectic tour visiting 10 centres in the space of 21 days, but she is determined to assist CQNZ when time permits. “I want to do all I can to spread the word about this incredible venture (CQNZ) and the gift that it is for so many young children affected by cancer. I just hope it will continue for many, many years.”

Madeleine has also committed to raise awareness during her NZ tour of a novel awareness and fund-raising initiative - ‘Odd Shoe Day’ - CQNZ has planned for September.

‘Odd Shoe Day’, to be held on Friday 14 September, will seek a gold coin donation from Kiwis young and old who wear mis-matched shoes for the day. It is seen as a fun way to introduce young people to the work of an organisation which for the last 26 years has been providing a wide range of activities for children batting cancer.

Mr Troup is also encouraging past and present campers and companions to support Madeleine’s concert tour. “That is the least we can do for a very gifted and gracious young lady who is so committed to the CQ cause,” he says. Each year, at a cost of more than $600,000, Camp Quality delivers high quality recreational programmes to more than 300 children, aged 5-16 suffering from cancer, supported by an equal number of highly-trained staff and companions.

According to Child Cancer Foundation statistics, around 150 young New Zealanders are diagnosed with cancer each year. Camp Quality passionately believes in the power of fun to help these children and their families overcome the challenges cancer brings.

ENDS

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