Jill Rodgers
Jill Rodgers was the founding Musical Director of Mighty River Harmony, then called Hamilton Hair Razors. The chorus grew from a quartet of singing scientists at Ruakura Research Centre in 1992, the fourth chorus to form in New Zealand. The chorus won the national championship title in 1996 with many of its quartets also enjoying success along the way. Jill left the chorus at the end of 1999 to sing with a women’s quartet, 4th Avenue, who sang together for 10 years taking the national title in 2003 and representing New Zealand in Phoenix, Arizona at the Sweet Adeline’s International competition later that year. In 2005, Jill was invited to conduct the Auckland men’s chorus for six months as they worked towards competing at the men’s international competitions in Salt Lake City. Over the past 20 years, Jill has coached and encouraged many choruses and quartets throughout New Zealand in both men’s and women’s barbershop. More recently, she has been instrumental in developing and managing a training programme for Directors and Assistant Directors in New Zealand. Jill returned to the role of Musical Director of Mighty River Harmony in 2014 and took the chorus to the New Zealand gold medal in 2017.
