Tomairangi Henare hails from Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa and has been singing his whole life. He grew up in the community of Nuhaka, where he found his voice through a Primary School that encouraged music and art as a form of education. In 2016, Henare joined Project Prima Volta, where he received lessons from Jose Aparicio and Anna Pierard before going on to sing his first opera role as Polyphemus in PPV’s 2017 production of Handel’s “Acis and Galatea”.

Henare would continue to perform roles for Project Prima Volta and Festival Opera NZ until he moved to study Classical Singing and Composition at Te Kōki - New Zealand School of Music in 2019. Under the tutelage of Wade Kernot and Dr Margaret Medlyn, Henare has continued to perform in various works including Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” as John Styx, Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” as the Sorcerer and as a soloist for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s “Immerse” series. Henare continues to sing around Wellington as a soloist and with Tokowhā.