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HAYLEY PURE AND SIMPLE
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Hayley was also lucky in growing up in Christchurch, New Zealand, a city large enough to have a cultural awareness, but not one on which the eyes of the world are focused. She was able to find a good violin teacher and a good piano teacher, and she had two younger siblings, Sophie and Isaac, who were also musical. This meant that she grew into her teens feeling that making music was a natural thing to do, and the feedback she got made her realize that it was something she was good at. When she was 13, she decided to make a record, a modest sort of thing, a "memento," as she called it, for the people who had expressed delight when they heard her perform. To celebrate its release -- there were only 1,000 copies pressed -- she and Sophie set up on a street in Christchurch and began to play.
In one of those strokes of luck that would be corny if you tried to put it in a film script, one of the people in the crowd that soon gathered was a local journalist who had a television show, eager to know if they'd recorded. She bought a copy of the CD, and Hayley's career was born. She appeared on the journalist's show, and a concert promoter, Gray Bartlett, caught it. He, in turn, contacted Universal Records New Zealand, who put her under contract.
Her first professionally made album, HAYLEY WESTENRA, debuted at number one on the New Zealand pop charts, its mix of classical and pop tunes appealing to New Zealanders just as much as the Westenra kids' street performance had in Christchurch. It became the fastest-selling album by a local artist in the country's history, and Hayley returned to the studio to record a Christmas album, MY GIFT TO YOU, which also did well.
By this time, news of the young sensation had traveled to England, where Universal's classical department, the Decca Records Group, decided to see if her appeal could extend beyond the North and South islands. Putting her in the studio with Giles Martin -- and his father, George, who had once guided another provincial pop sensation called the Beatles in their recording career -- the management sensibly stuck with the formula that had worked so well before. The resulting album, PURE, made Hayley the fastest-selling classical artist Britain had ever seen and Decca had ever had. She has been touring and performing ever since, including appearances in the United States with the Boston Pops and at Carnegie Hall.
Hayley Westenra has managed to handle all of this with equanimity and poise, which she puts down to her New Zealand upbringing. She knows what she's got, she's in no hurry to exploit it, and she's very happy to be able to share her gift with the world.
Top banner photos: Hayley Westenra, and the singer performing with special guest Teddy Tahu Rhodes. |
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Baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes joins Hayley in the duets "How Many Stars?" and "Hine e Hine." |
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Hayley Westenra's singing talents were first spotted by her grade-school teacher. |
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This program is currently not available through Shop Thirteen or ShopPBS. |
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