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Writing an opera had never really appealed. He was "uninterested". Until last year.

An idea of writing a solo opera about a man reflecting on his life - an "existential" thing - led to an approach to the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra which then commissioned the work.

Man Sitting in Garden, with a libretto by Witi Ihimaera, was performed by Jared Holt last year after Simon O’Neill fell ill.

"I got the [opera] bug."

Kenneth Young conducts the Southern Sinfonia during the Star Regent Variety Concert at the Regent Theatre in 2010. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH

So when he was awarded the Mozart Fellowship at the University of Otago this year, he had the perfect opportunity to write another one.

"My students are laughing. They are saying ‘You said you’d never write an opera’ and here I am writing my second one."

It has all come about with amazing synchronicity for Young, who made the decision to sell up and move south last year. He resigned from his teaching job at the Victoria University of Wellington’s New Zealand School of Music to heed the call of his ancestry.

"The call of the South has been quite strong for some time."

Young was born in Invercargill where he grew up in a "brass band family". His father was a cornet player in the Invercargill Garrison Band.

"He put a cornet in my hand at age of 7."

He was playing the euphonium when his teacher recommended the tuba, as he was not producing the best sound on what he was playing.

"As I got older, I picked up bigger instruments. I found the one I made the best sound on was the tuba."

The family moved to Christchurch in the mid-1950s and continued its brass band involvement, with the Woolston Brass Band.

As Young grew up, an interest in conducting developed.

"My father conducted brass bands and I can remember, as a young boy, observing Dad when he came home after taking brass band rehearsal. He had a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face and you could sense how much he’d enjoyed himself, and I thought it might be good to do."

So he started, at age 16 or 17, having a go at Saturday morning music classes, conducting various ensembles.

"I found out that I liked it, pursued it from there, really."

Young was only 20 years old when he started playing for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

"I was fortunate enough to apply for the NZSO job in ’76 and went from there. I was a bit green but I must have managed to do a decent enough audition that I got the job.

"It was a huge step, it really was."

For the next 25 years, he enjoyed playing tuba with the national orchestra and was principal tuba for many years.

"I played a lot of wonderful music for a lot of wonderful conductors."

The "cool thing" about playing the tuba for Young was that it enabled him to learn from the best.

"You don’t get as much to do as most of the players in an orchestra. You’re not called on all the time like the violins or cellos."

That meant he had time to follow his other passions — composition and conducting. He had been composing since he was a teenager.

"I was able to sit there and listen and that is how I learnt so much about composition, just being able to sit amongst the orchestra and listen to what the great composers had in their music and how all the instruments worked. It was a great education for me."

He also learnt a lot by closely watching the conductors.

"It worked out nicely."

Eventually, it was time to move on and pursue those passions. Young became a freelance composer and conductor, and taught at the school of music.

"Gosh. I’ve conducted it all. There is not much I haven’t done."

Working as a freelancer meant he could take work as it came along, so he had the opportunity to conduct a variety of music and various genres, from live movie scores to hip-hop artists performing with the philharmonia.

Photo: Peter McIntosh

"There are not many particular genres I’ve not had some part in conducting over the years. It’s very rewarding."

Young believes if you love what you do, every performance is a highlight, especially if you have done the work beforehand.

But he admits the performances that stand out are those in which he has conducted works he has written, such as the first performances of his second and third symphonies.

"They were special times. You are presenting a work to the public for the first time. You are listening — it’s very hard to concentrate on doing your job as a conductor because you are listening to all bits you are not happy with and the bits you are happy with. But as conductor it’s quite tricky to concentrate on the task at hand which is conducing the damn thing.

"It can be a little terrifying."

With his southern ancestry calling - his ancestors arrived at Port Otago from Scotland in the 1860s - and Central Otago one of his favourite spots, he decided to make Dunedin his home and moved into a house in Sawyers Bay late last year.

A former student urged him to apply for the Mozart Fellowship and, after checking to see whether he was eligible, decided to apply.

"Fortunately, I got it. It was a nice bonus."

It was also fortuitous given what was to come. Covid-19 meant any work he had planned to conduct or have performed was cancelled.

The fellowship meant he had an income to get through the tough times.

"I’m most fortunate compared to a lot of people out there."

It also meant he had an uninterrupted couple of months to get stuck in to his latest project — a second opera.

"I can’t give too much detail. It certainly has a Dunedin connection to it, that’s all I can say."

The piece — a one-act opera — has been requested by a singer he "admires very much".

"So, having received the fellowship, I thought gosh, I can do this, and I had the bug by then, so it’s worked out nicely."

Operas require a different type of writing. Last year’s piece was written for a full orchestra but his latest is for just 12 to 15 players.

"I’m having to sort of hone things a little bit, adjust the language a little bit."

It also requires keeping the balance between the text and music itself, he says.

"You have to consider that very carefully. You also have to keep in mind who you are writing for. You have to be careful not to go outside the limits of what she is capable of doing or any singer is capable of doing.

"You have to have your singers in your mind all the time when setting the text. Then providing a really nice balance between that and the ensemble."

Young had plenty to keep him busy in lockdown and was now looking forward to getting out an about again.

"I have a lovely local down in Port Chalmers that I go to a couple of times a week to have a pint and read a book."

Looking further ahead, he plans to stay in Dunedin continuing his freelance composition and conducting, and do some teaching and production work.

‘I’m so grateful getting to be here and do this. As a composer, it’s pretty much a dream job. I’m very fortunate."