A former Nelson girl is among the talented line-up for this year's Nelson Vocal Recital and Aria Competitions.

Suyen Rae, who lived in Nelson until she was 14, is currently studying for a double degree in arts and music at Auckland University, majoring in classical performance for voice, German and Italian.

The 19-year-old says she chose to study German and Italian to help her understand the pieces she sings, as they're languages she sings a lot.

“German and Italian are the main two. If you don't know what you're singing about, it's kind of hard to communicate.”

Rae is one of 19 singers who will sing 70 opera arias and songs over two days at Fellworth House and the Nelson School of Music.

She will perform Il Bacio by Luigi Arditi, Spiel ich die Unschuld vom Lande by Johann Strauss and An die Nachtigall by Johannes Brahms.

Organiser Wim Oosterhoff says he's thrilled with the number and calibre of entries this year, with four competitors studying or about to study abroad in New York and Britain.

“This level has not been seen before in Nelson and other regional competitions of this kind. The interest was so high, we have to run the recital competition over three sessions,” he says.

The competitors will sing during recitals at Fellworth House, before eight finalists are chosen to sing in the Nelson Aria Competition at the Nelson School of Music for the Dame Malvina Major Foundation grand prize of $5000.

Rae studied with Dame Malvina as a scholar in the University of Canterbury Pettman Junior Academy, before heading to Auckland to start her degree this year.

She is a past member of the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir, was part of a chamber group that was a finalist in last year's national Chamber Music Contest and will compete in the under-21 section of the New Zealand Aria competition in October.

The three vocal recitals are 2pm and 7pm on Friday, August 3 and 10am on Saturday, August 4 at Fellworth House. The Nelson Aria Competition concert is 7pm on Saturday August 4 at the Nelson School of Music.

- © Fairfax NZ News