Cellist Margaret Guldborg has been a part of the Wellington music scene since she and her family moved to New Zealand in 2008. Margaret has a busy studio teaching cello to students of all ages, and is Programme Leader for Arohanui Strings’ two Wellington programmes.

As a cellist Margaret regularly performs with Orchestra Wellington. She is also a busy freelancer and has been on stage with such varied musicians as Liam Finn and Eminem, as well as local classical musicians for chamber music concerts.

Before moving to New Zealand, Margaret taught and performed in Malaysia, Denmark, and the United States. While living in Denmark she held the position of Assistant Sub-Principal Cello in the Odense Symphony. She holds a Master of Music Performance from the New England Conservatory in Boston and has played for such legends as Yo-Yo Ma and Anner Bylsma.

Richar Marin Hidalgo was born in Colombia, however Aotearoa-New Zealand has been his home for the last six years. Richar has a Master of Music and classical saxophone degree from the Fine Arts University Foundation of Medellin Colombia, has specialised in conducting, and also holds a Master’s degree in social psychology. With his qualifications and twenty years of professional experience he has successfully been able to combine two of his passions, music and social work. As well as international competitions and festivals, Richar has participated in multiple concert bands, symphony orchestras, and saxophone quartets in Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Spain, USA, and New Zealand, and is a member of ‘Saxcess’, a Wellington-based saxophone quartet.

Richar believes in the transformative power of the arts, and specifically music. His extensive experience working with government organisations within the educational system in Colombia has strengthened his determination to use music to empower people to live in a better world.

Jane Young grew up in Auckland where she first started learning recorder from her big sister, then took up piano, and eventually began cello lessons at age nine. She completed a Bachelor’s degree in cello performance at the University of Auckland, then a Master’s degree at the University of Arizona.

Following several years teaching and performing in the United States and Mexico, Jane returned to New Zealand where she has played with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Wellington.

A busy freelance performer and teacher she also enjoys playing chamber music on both modern and baroque cello. Jane believes that all children benefit from learning a musical instrument and should not be denied that opportunity because of their social or economic background.

She acknowledges her own good fortune in having had music lessons from an early age and enjoys sharing her love of music with the children of Arohanui Strings.

Hayden Nickel is a Samoan violinist, graduating with a conjoint degree of classical performance and education-psychology from Victoria University of Wellington in 2021. Hayden is Arohanui Strings’ Artistic Director, and a huge inspiration to our tamariki and rangatahi.

Hayden grew up learning violin with the NZ Suzuki Institute. He began his teacher training with Suzuki in 2012 and has since branched out training and teaching with music programmes around New Zealand including Arohanui Strings, Virtuoso Strings, itinerant music programmes, Gallery Music Centre and Encore School of Music.

He has ambitions of pursuing further study on the violin, but his ultimate goal is to see more Pasifika and Maori faces in the classical scene in New Zealand.

Stephanie has played an instrument since she started the recorder at primary school aged five, then flute from eight. She then begged her parents for a piano, and at 13 started lessons on an old borrowed upright. She kept up with music at university, finding a performance student for flute lessons. Listening to music, playing music and attending live performances has been part of her everyday life as she worked as a nurse, midwife and lecturer. All four of Stephanie’s children learned piano or violin, and, as she became interested in their learning and practice, she started violin lessons with their teacher. Stephanie currently plays in the Wellington Late Starters Orchestra (Wellso) and in a String Quartet with friends.

Stephanie began volunteering with Arohanui Strings in its first year, helping out with the in-school programme and the after-school orchestra groups. Encouraging our students to develop musical skills as well as self-confidence while working alongside and supporting their peers in performance, is an enriching experience. She says it’s a privilege to work with such an inspiring group of students, their teachers and our supporters.

Donald Armstrong is Associate Concertmaster of the NZSO. He was formerly Music Director of the NZ Chamber Orchestra, Principal Second Violin of the Tivoli Sinfoniorkester in Denmark and Co-Concertmaster of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice in France He studied in New York and Boston with teachers including Josef Gingold and Masuko Ushioda, and chamber music with Louis Krasner, Eugene Lehner and Laurence Lesser.

He performs regularly in New Zealand with his own chamber group, the “Amici Ensemble” and conducts various orchestras in New Zealand . Donald is interested in preserving and advancing New Zealand’s musical heritage. He has taught as an artist teacher at the New Zealand School of Music and he teaches, coaches and encourages young instrumentalists.

Donald has been involved with Arohanui Strings for many years and takes a close interest in the young musicians.

Prabha is a very experienced art practitioner and administrator. She has over 20 years of experience running her own classical dance school. She is an independent director, facilitator, coach, mentor, assessor, presenter, panel speaker and an experienced governor. She sits on various not for profit boards bringing the much-needed ethnic diversity and thinking to the boards.

She is a management consultant and helps businesses and organisations with governance, strategy, business planning & growth, business processes, projects and work programmes.
Prabha’s work and contribution to dance and the ethnic community has been well recognised in NZ through several awards during the past decade including The Queen’s Services Medal and Hutt City Mayoral Civic Honour Awards. She was also a Finalist for Wellingtonian of the Year Award in 2016 for Education.

Prabha is a principal advisor at Statistics New Zealand, and immediate-past general manager of Arohanui Strings.

Jonathan and Lavinia Semu are both in IT and have worked in various roles, from banking to Government to the education sectors. They have have three children, which the older two are in Arohanui Strings.

When their eldest started at Holy Cross School Miramar in 2018, they asked her if she'd like to try violin lessons through Arohanui Strings. Two years after joining, her younger brother started. Fast track to today, Amalia has switched to the cello and Asher plays the violin with Arohanui Strings.

They say that, given this great opportunity for their kids, it was only fitting that they join the Arohanui Strings Board to help where they can - even if they don’t have a “musical bone in their bodies”, but hope that one day their kids can teach them!

Kirsten Mason is the Director of Artistic Programming, Innovation & Audience Engagement of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. A proud Wellingtonian, after she graduated from Victoria University, Kirsten spent many years overseas in arts roles in Europe and the US, and most recently four years in Shanghai, China. In Shanghai she set up her own company and toured New Zealand performers around China, as well as creating and running a New Zealand Music Festival in Shanghai.

Prior roles include General Manager for Orchestra Wellington, General Manager for Streetwise Opera in London, Development Manager for the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Michigan, and project roles for UNESCO in Turin, Italy. Kirsten returned home in 2015 to join Chamber Music New Zealand and took up the position of General Manager of Orchestra Wellington in early 2016, which she held until September 2021 before moving to the NZSO.

While Barbara was the principal of Koraunui School in Stokes Valley (she is now happily retired), she was approached by Alison Eldridge to join the board as a local representative involved with the community Arohanui Strings supports. She accepted with alacrity, having witnessed the remarkable boost to confidence and purpose Arohanui Strings generates in young children who have limited life experiences due to a lack of family resources, English as a second language, and being new migrants, etc.

Barbara’s musical background extends to being an enthusiastic but somewhat uninformed attendee at NZSO and Orchestra Wellington concerts. However, she has a background of education and the backstage aspects of amateur theatre, mainly in set design and construction, stage management and the occasional foray into directing.

Barbara sees her role at Arohanui Strings as an enabler with the practical stuff to help the organisation achieve its goals for its students.

Lee-Anne is a Wellington-based freelance writer who first discovered Arohanui Strings’ work via her daughter learning Suzuki violin.

While she has no musical skills herself, Lee-Anne fully understands the importance music plays in a child’s development and was eager to support providing that to children who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn music.

Thus she joined Arohanui Strings’ board, and supports the organisation in any way she can that doesn’t involve touching an instrument! Generally that’s around storytelling, writing, and enthusiastic cheerleading.