Geoff Sewell is used to crunching numbers. The London-based Kiwi singer who struck success with "popera" band Amici Forever before marching to his own beat is a qualified chartered accountant who manages both his own career and those of others, albeit with lots of help from his wife and business partner, Simone Lanham.
Thus he has seen the figures: Amici, the group he founded, has sold more than two and a-half million albums worldwide; 2003 debut album The Opera Band held top spot in New Zealand for four weeks, went to No 2 in Australia and reached No 2 on the United States Billboard classical crossover chart for 2004; while 2005 follow-up Defined also reached No 1 here and No 3 across the ditch.
Here's a couple more on which to reflect: 34-20. That's the scoreline of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup final in which New Zealand beat host nation Australia. Sewell was there that November day, both in voice and spirit. Having flown 30 hours to sing the New Zealand national anthem, he donned a Kiwi jersey for the occasion, then "danced like a child" after the full-time whistle.
Sewell makes a point of enjoying himself. Back in New Zealand for a national tour that features a half-dozen other singers, including compatriot Elizabeth Marvelly, he has made sure there is time enough at the end to head to the beach with his two young daughters.
"That's the great thing about coming home - most of the places we're going to be touring we've got family, cousins and stuff, so we're going to be taking the kids around as well. They can meet the rellies, which will be great," Sewell explains via cellphone as he heads off to rehearsal in Auckland this week.
The tour, which opened in Hamilton on Wednesday night and includes a show at Dunedin's Regent Theatre on Monday, will feature a range of material, from Verdi to Dean Martin, Puccini to pop.
"We are touring with a 10-piece band as well. We've got strings and a rhythm section. It's not just six singers on stage; there is dancing, a bit of tap, a bit of Phantom of the Opera, a bit of musical theatre . . . there is something for everyone."
Among the material will be a track dedicated to his eldest daughter. Sienna's Song, written by Simone, features on Sewell's debut solo album, Believe, the title of which refers to his confidence in a positive outcome for his daughter, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of 2.
In January 2006, Sewell decided to leave the band he'd founded. Amici's hectic promotional and performance schedule was too much.
"Amici was such an amazing ride, but you had so many people pulling you in so many directions. For instance, you'd have to drop everything and fly to America to do some TV show, or we'd have holidays booked then they'd be cancelled because we had to be on something else.
"As soon as we heard about Sienna, it was really easy. We'd had four and a-half years of this; we created the whole thing.
"The family is No 1 priority. As soon as those little things are born, it's like, 'what the hell was I doing beforehand?'. When one of your children gets sick, that's when you regroup . . you do think, 'what is really important?'."
Sienna, now 5, attends school in Hampstead, London.
"She goes to school for socialisation," Sewell explains.
"She knows how to read and write. The main thing that challenges her is connecting with people her own age."
A charity, the Sewell Foundation, has been established to help families affected by autism. Through sales of Amici albums, Sewell raised more than $30,000 for Autism NZ in 2006 and more than $A50,000 for Autism Australia. Sewell has also raised more than 60,000 for the National Society of Epilepsy in the UK.
"When we left Amici three years ago, we had so many families emailing and ringing up. Now our daughter is doing extremely well . . . When we went through that three years ago and got the diagnosis, it was all doom and gloom from the medical professionals. So we are on a big education campaign and attempting to offer a beacon of hope for families."
Other events have been cause for reflection, too.
In October last year, Sewell was biking home from a concert in London when he was hit by a car. Thrown into the windscreen, he was taken to hospital and treated for shock, cuts and bruises and a shoulder injury. He spent the following couple of weeks being treated by a physiotherapist.
"That has happened a couple of times in the last couple of years. I ran in the London marathon and a couple of hundred metres from the end I just blacked out. I had lost so much water that I ended up in hospital for a night and day. They thought I was going to be brain-damaged.
"Then the bike accident . . . it really shakes you up. But you're here for a good time, not a long time, so you might as well enjoy what you do and be in control of your own destiny."
Sewell has long had a song in his throat. He performed soprano in choirs at Plimmerton School and Havelock North High School before heading to Victoria University where he gained a bachelor of commerce degree and later qualified as a chartered accountant in Wellington.
Taught by New Zealand opera singer Geoffrey de la Tour, Sewell decided to pursue a musical career following the death of his older sister Julie; he studied at the Boston Conservatory, then relocated to London, eventually performing in the West End.
In 2000, he mixed his talent for numbers and notes, creating entertainment company Tenors Incognito. With Simone sharing management duties, the business has expanded over the years, becoming Tenors & Divas and, now, Incognito.
Sewell is now head of a business with offices in London, Edinburgh and New York; he and his stable of artists have performed for celebrities (Sir Elton John, the Beckhams) and the House of Commons, for royals and rugby fans.
And along the way, there has been Amici. Created in 2002, the group was based on the idea of a male and female vocal group that combined opera with pop. Nominated for a Classical Brit award in 2004 for its debut album, Amici continues to perform around the world.
Meanwhile, so does Sewell. And though he now defines his career as "solo", he prefers to take friends with him.
"Touring solo is such a lonely existence . . . you want people around you who are fun and know you, warts and all. I could tour solo, but I think from an audience perspective it's far better seeing and hearing a massive variety."
Exactly what variety would have been heard at the New Zealand Society of Accountants' breakfast yesterday is up for debate. Asked to speak on the topic, "How to have it all", Sewell thought he might also be asked to sing.
"I think they'll want it for free . . . It's quite nice; they still regard me as an accountant."
• Hear him
Geoff Sewell, Incognito artists and Elizabeth Marvelly perform at the Regent Theatre, Dunedin, on Monday, February 23.
