New Zealand pianist Lorelle McNaughton was born and raised in Manurewa and is of Māori-Chinese and Scottish descent. She received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Auckland where she studied with Rae de Lisle, Natalia Ricci, and Read Gainsford. Lorelle then embarked on further study overseas and began to specialise in the Spanish piano repertoire. She graduated with both First Class Honours and a Master of Music from the Sydney Conservatorium, winning numerous scholarships, competitions, and awards such as Creative NZ's Jack McGill Music Scholarship, the AMP National Scholarship, the prestigious Australian Postgraduate Award, and the Anne Reid Memorial Trust Scholarship. These awards took Lorelle to Spain where she continued her studies at the Academia Marshall and Liceu Conservatori under renowned pianists and pedagogues including Marta Zabaleta, Albert Attenelle, and Carlota Garriga.

 

Through her growing reputation as a Spanish music specialist, Lorelle has presented lecture-recitals at Melbourne, Avondale, Sydney, and Wollongong Conservatoriums. She has performed extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia, and Europe, and is one of a small number of pianists worldwide to have performed Isaac Albéniz's complete Iberia suite, one of the most complex and challenging works of the piano literature. Recent appearances include a ten-concert tour of Aotearoa as part of Chamber Music New Zealand's Regional Series (see review), performing as special guest at the 'Oceania' Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, presenting two concerts of 'Cantos de España' (Songs of Spain) for the Hawke's Bay Arts Festival, and as soloist with the Hawke’s Bay Orchestra performing Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor.

Lorelle is also a founding member of successful piano quartet 'Estrella' which has given concerts throughout New Zealand and the UK, and whose debut album Tui, comprised of works by NZ composers for eight-hands, reached No.1 on the RadioNZ Classical Charts on its release.

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