Erin Connelly-Whyte as Cathleen
Erin Connelly-Whyte is a soprano from Ashburton, now based in Dunedin. She holds a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours, completed under the supervision of Dr. Tessa Romano, and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Anatomy from the University of Otago.
Erin is an active performer and competitor, regularly travelling across Aotearoa to appear in concerts, productions, and aria competitions. In 2023, she was honoured to be the guest performer at the University of Otago’s December Graduation Ceremonies.
Her recent accolades include First Prize in the 2024 Otago Daily Times Southern Aria Final, recipient of the 2024 Ida G. White Music Prize, 2023 Colin and Alison Crampton Music Scholarship, and 2022 Graham Gunn Scholarship, a finalist in the 2025 Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition, and the ‘Most Promising Singer’ award at the 2022 Christchurch Aria Finals.
Performance highlights include guest soloist appearances with Toi Toi Opera’s Serenade to Music and Public Masterclass with Patrick Power ONZM, the Central Otago Regional Choir, Ashburton MSA Men’s Choir’s ANZAC Day Concert, Dunedin Children’s Choir Christmas Concert, Dunedin RSA Choir’s Toward the Light, City Choir Dunedin’s Eastertide Concert, Southern Consort of Voices Magnetic South concert, and Opera Otago’s ChorusFest. She has also performed in the Isaac Theatre Royal’s 10th Anniversary Gala, and as a chorus member in New Zealand Opera’s La Bohème (2025) and Le comte Ory (2024). Erin has been a regular contributor to the University of Otago’s Lunchtime Concert Series (2022–2025), and featured in Opera Otago’s Miss Brill (2022) and Chorus Concert (2023), as well as Musical Theatre Dunedin’s Les Misérables (2021). She is looking forward to featuring in Opera Otago's upcoming Potluck: an Operatic Feast.
In addition to performing, Erin is passionate about vocal education. She works as a vocal coach at The Voice Lab NZ and Saturday Morning Music Classes (SMMC) Otago, where she enjoys nurturing the voices of students of all ages.