[ ClassicalX ] Geoff Sewell Honoured by Havelock North High School

New Zealand tenor Geoff Sewell will head back to school , to be inducted into the Havelock North High School Business Hall of Fame.

Sewell, who sang the national anthem at the rugby league World Cup final on Saturday night, will cut the ribbon and unveil a plaque at the Hawke's Bay.

He is being honoured for his success as an entrepreneur and international recording artist -- he was a member of opera band Amici Forever.

Sewell is the third high profile student to be honoured by the school since the Hall opened.

Others honoured were motor racing personality Greg Murphy and entrepreneur Michael Whittaker, from The Atlantis Group.

Sewell's company Incognito Artists has offices in London, Edinburgh and New York and performs at functions all over the world.

Among his clients are Sir Elton John, Sir Richard Branson, David and Victoria Beckham, Nelson Mandela, the Queen and Princes Charles, William and Harry, and Sir Cliff Richard.

Sewell and his wife Simone Lanham have grown the company from zero to a multi-million dollar enterprise in nine years.

They employ 120 singers and dancers from the West End, Broadway and the opera world.

They created Amici Forever in 2002 and signed to SonyBMG, with Sewell was a tenor in the group and Lanham co-manager.

Amici racked up more than three million CD and DVD sales worldwide.

Sewell was a chartered accountant in Wellington before stopping to follow his singing dream after the death of his sister.

He was awarded the International Young Chartered Accountant of the Year by the NZ Society of Accountants in 2007.

Source: NZPA