John Buchanan has been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his outstanding contribution to music in New Zealand in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. 

John Buchanan, who now lives in Dunedin, has been instrumental in various musical capacities in New Zealand for many years. 

“My reaction when I first received the email was one of shock,” John told The Central App.  

“I checked the email address and found that it was from the honours section of the Prime Minister’s Office so I knew it was genuine.

“I feel very humbled by the award.”

John’s musical life began as a seven-year-old choirboy in St Paul's Cathedral choir in Dunedin. 

At 17, he began conducting and then moved to Auckland where he taught for 26 years, with a two-year stint in England. 

Upon his move home to Otago, he conducted the Wanaka Singers from 1995 to 2003 as well as the Central Otago Regional Orchestra from 1999 to 2008. 

He then established the Central Otago Regional Choir in 2004 and conducted them until 2018.

He has directed shows for the Wanaka community and the Alexandra Musical Society, and was Musical Director of the Dunstanza Choir of Dunstan High School from 2006. 

Under his direction, the Senior Girls won the Māori Performance Award at the 2017 Big Sing Finale and a Silver Commendation at the International Music Festival in Sydney in 2018. 

John Buchanan has been named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his outstanding contribution to music in New Zealand. Pictured here (front left) with his students from Dunstan High School. 

John is fondly remembered in Central Otago for his work at Dunstan High School, where he began teaching in 2006.

A host of young local musicians credit John with their education. 

The choir were award winners in 2014 at the Melbourne Eisteddfod. 

In 2017 the Senior Girls won a Silver Award and the trophy for Best Performance of a work in Te Reo at the Big Sing Finale in Auckland. 

Then in 2018 Dunstanza Senior Girls won a Silver Award at the Australian International Music Festival in Sydney.  

John also conducted the Roxburgh Pioneer Energy Brass Band from 2016, winning consecutive New Zealand Championship Awards in 2017 and 2018. 

He is currently Treasurer of the Otago Branch of the New Zealand Choral Federation. 

In 2019 Mr Buchanan spearheaded the Federation’s Cadenza initiative to widen inclusion of secondary school choirs in the Big Sing choral competition.

“Music has the ability to touch the core of our emotions,” John said. 

“As a social activity it brings people together to work towards a common goal.  

“It is a pleasure that can be enjoyed on many levels from amateur choirs to professional orchestras.  

“For me, music brings the pleasure of working with groups to achieve their highest level of performance and to share that performance with audiences.”

John now resides in Dunedin where he conducts the Royal Dunedin Male Choir, the Southern Youth Choir and The Octagon Ensemble.