Otago and Southland
News
Contact Information
Rev. Juan Kinnear, Chairman 
otagosouthlandchair@rscmnz.org.nz 
+64 (0)3 465 8384
Otago & Southland Branch is centered in Dunedin (NZ's 4th main city) and serves the lower half of NZ's South Island including Stewart Island (NZ comprises three main islands - North, South & Stewart - referred to in its national anthem as our "triple star").
Rev Juan Kinnear, Otago and Southland Branch Chairman.
Obituary - Russell Cowley
One of New Zealand’s most influential and most loved church musicians died in September aged 81.
Russell Euston Cowley spent almost his entire life devoted to church music and particularly in the encouragement of young people.
Born in 1928 in Invercargill, New Zealand’s southern-most city, Russell Cowley showed promise from a very early age. Having been awarded an ATCL the previous year, he was appointed, at the age of 16, Organist at First Presbyterian Church, Invercargill, a position he held until 1958 when he took the dual role of Organist & Choirmaster. As Organist & Choirmaster at First Church, he directed a large and competent choir, introducing to the weekly liturgy music of the English cathedral tradition.
In the late 1950s he introduced boy choristers to the choir - a first within the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand. Under his influence and guidance, First Church Choir became a member and staunch supporter of the RSCM.
In 1967 Russell Cowley attended a twelve-month residential course at Addington Palace, an experience that would have a very positive and lasting affect on the rest of his life. On returning to New Zealand, he was appointed Organist and Choirmaster at Dunedin’s Knox Church, a position he took up in 1969 and held in conjunction with a teaching position at King’s High School.
Two years later he returned to Invercargill and was appointed Organist and Choirmaster at St John’s Anglican Church. In the same year, for his significant service to church music, he was awarded the ARSCM.
Following retirement from St John’s, he became a freelance musician. In the early 1990s he was instrumental in establishing the First Church Concert Series, later to be known as Concert South. Principally driven by Russell Cowley, Concert South was dedicated to bringing fine music before a wider audience.
Russell Cowley’s instinct enabled him to recognise emerging young talent. Having sought them out, he taught and coached them, ultimately finding opportunities for them to perform before audiences that appreciated their abilities. Many of these young men and women have gone on to pursue significant careers in music not only in New Zealand but also overseas.
At the time of Russell Cowley’s death, Concert South had produced almost 100 concerts at First Church, showcasing local and emerging artists through the seasons of the year. This quiet, unobtrusive, self effacing man will be sorely missed by church musicians, particularly in southern New Zealand, but remembered for his kindness and his music by his protégés who carry on his music.
Bruce Aitken