Great opportunities

Former Palmerston North Boys' High School student Tim Shirriffs is studying vocal performance at Millikin University in Illinois. He loves his new life, but his heart is still in Manawatu, and he misses cricket, The Square, and his mum.

The young tenor has just finished performing in Handel's Alcina, the story of a sorceress who populates her magical island with former lovers. He talks to EMMA GOODWIN.

How long have you been at Millikin University?

I have been at Millikin for a year and a half. I have just started my fourth semester. Universities in America start in August and end in May.

Why are you studying there?

The real reason I made the hard decision to leave New Zealand was to gain experience and a leg up into the world of operatic performance. While New Zealand has a wonderful opera company (NBR), they seldom give opportunities to New Zealanders, favouring offshore singers to fill the main roles. There are so many more opportunities to perform here. Even though I am at a school in the middle of a cornfield, the opportunities are surprisingly endless.

How are the studies going?

I ended my first semester in 2008 with a 4.0 GPA. This means I achieved an A in all my classes. When I had to take a maths class, though, that dropped to 3.9 when I got a B. Now my current GPA is 3.8. Not only am I doing all my music classes, but I am in a science class and will have to take US history classes as well. Millikin is a liberal arts university so they emphasise well-roundedness.

How does Millikin compare to New Zealand universities?

It is decidedly smaller than any New Zealand university. The idea of a well-rounded student is emphasised more strongly than what I found when I was at the University of Auckland. I take more classes out of my major than I would have at Auckland. In Auckland, I did not start my day until noon. Now my days start at 8.30am – music from dawn till dusk. I love it.

Are you living on campus or off?

I live and work as a residential assistant in a residential hall. It really is a full-time job with school. I have to plan floor programmes, and be a guidance counsellor, leader, and friend, to all my 35 residents.

What has been the most challenging aspect of studying in another country?

It's hard to say. I am good at adapting quickly to new things, and this was certainly a new thing. I made really good friends quickly. Being from another country was a good ice-breaker. But by far the hardest thing, and it still gets me, is the note system we use here. New Zealand is all about the crotchets and quavers, and the US is all about the quarter notes and eighth notes. In the first week, I had to stop my theory class and ask what a quarter note was. Then I had to explain to the class my system. They especially liked the hemi-demi-semi-quaver.

Are you missing Palmerston North?

I miss home a lot sometimes, especially when we have breaks at school here and other students get to go home. They tell me how excited they are since they haven't been home for three weeks. I am quick to remind them I haven't been home for 16 months. Cities in America are very different from in New Zealand. They are very spread out and they all revolve around the nearest mall.

Palmerston North has an awesome downtown that is centred around The Square. I miss that and seeing the Ruahine Ranges out the kitchen window. I really miss the smell of the beautiful clean air in New Zealand, and meat pies, Weet-Bix, and L&P. But the thing I miss the most is cricket in the Manawatu on a Saturday afternoon.

Nothing I have done gives me more joy than standing in the middle at the sharp end trying to answer the appeal of the bowler. And it goes without saying, I miss Mum.

What productions have you been involved in to date?

At Millikin, I have been involved in two productions so far. The first was a small, 40-minute opera Venus and Adonis, by Purcell. Currently, I am singing in Handel's Alcina.

What challenges has Alcina given you? Has it stretched you?

Many challenges have arisen throughout the course of the four months of rehearsals, the main one being recitative. That means instead of saying lines, we sing all the dialogue. It is quite hard to get the pacing and diction right, but we seem to be doing an OK job so far.

What is your role in this production?

Even though I am trying to be a tenor, I have the baritone role of Melisso. It is not a big role, but I do get one aria. I like to think of my part as particularly integral to the story, because, if I wasn't there, it would all fall apart, but I don't get to say much.

When are you expecting to come home again?

I was home during the Christmas break, so probably not again until I graduate. I hope Mum will come over and watch me graduate in May 2012, and then I will fly home with her.

Are any exams coming up for you?

We don't really have exams until the end of the year now. But I did just have an exam on 20th-century theory. That is some funky stuff, but I love it.

It's like scoring a cricket match and trying to make everything add up at the end of the game. When it does, it feels great. When it doesn't, you are wondering why the batters don't equal the bowlers.

What will you be working on after this performance?

We have an intensive scene programme at Millikin. This year, I am in a scene from The Gondoliers, by Gilbert and Sullivan, where I play Don Alhambra. Also, the chamber chorale choir I'm in will be performing at the American Choral Director's Association conference in Ohio this month with other choirs from larger schools.

Have you done any touring?

I love to travel but I need to be careful with money, although because I am a residential assistant that takes some financial pressure off, so I have been to a few places. I have been to New York twice and I also got to go to Florida with a friend and her family. The choir I sing in goes on tour after New Year.

- © Fairfax NZ News