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Next step to Opera!

$7,670 of $51,000 goal
Given by 40 generous donors in around 6 months

Help Cecily secure a place in the Opera Course at Guildhall

Hillcrest, Waikato

I have just been accepted into an Artist Diploma in Opera!!!

While completing my MPerf in Voice, I am preparing to take the next step to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama's Opera Course. This course is like a Young Artist Programme which is much harder to get into, with fully-staged operas and rigorous industry training. This is my DREAM course, and I am over the moon to have been accepted!!! But to secure my place in this prestigious course, I need to pay a deposit by July 2025.

I also have many other significant costs for the remainder of this academic year, including:

- the final instalments of my course and accommodation fees

- my compulsory international Student Loan repayment

- and, of course, my UK living costs!

My full fees will be much, MUCH higher than this amount, but I am yet to find out the school's decisions on scholarship allocation. So in the meantime, I am raising funds for my "inbetween" costs, so I can stay afloat for the rest of this academic year. My previous Summer job really helped with these, and I am currently looking for more work. But my study and rehearsal schedules are very full-on, so any amount of help would be much appreciated.

There will be another exciting fundraiser in due course - watch this space!

Photo credit: David Monteith-Hodge @photographise

Use of funds

This money will go towards my next course fee deposit, compulsory student loan repayment, and the remaining course and accommodation fees for the rest of this academic year.

If the full amount is not raised, the money will go towards basic living costs.

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Thank you all! ❤️  21 July 2025

Dear all,

I know this is very late, but I just wanted to send you all one big heartfelt THANK YOU! ❤️ You have helped me pay all my major expenses for this academic year, and I am really looking forward to next year's operatic shenanigans 😀🎶

I'm moving away from emailing everyone individually, because I tend to lose track of addresses during busy times, and I don't have a social media/email manager yet (one day lol!). But please know that your contributions ALL mean the world to me! If you would like to stay in touch, please email socratena@gmail.com, and I will add you to my newsletter mailing list.

There will undoubtedly be more fundraisers in the future, but in the meantime feel free to follow CecilyShawMezzoSoprano on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. I would love to keep in touch with you all.

Thank you so much everyone ❤️❤️❤️

- Cecily xoxoxo

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Latest donations

jonathan
jonathan on 16 May 2025
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Julie and Garry Moore
Julie and Garry Moore on 16 May 2025
All the best Cecily. xx
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Hayley
Hayley on 30 Apr 2025
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Wanganui Competitions Society Inc
Wanganui Competitions Society Inc on 30 Apr 2025
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Whanganui Performing Arts
Whanganui Performing Arts on 30 Apr 2025
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Cecily Shaw's avatar
Created by, and paying to a verified bank account of, Cecily Shaw
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This campaign started on 19 Jan 2025 and ended on 17 Jul 2025.