Tenor opera singer Simon O'Neill has snagged two Grammy nominations for Best Choral Performance and Best Engineered Album in Classical.

Hailing from Ashburton, Simon received his musical training at the University of Otago and Victoria University, graduating with an honours degree in music. He received scholarships to the Juilliard Opera Center and the Manhattan School of Music, earning a Master of Music degree in 2000. In late 2016 he was awarded Doctor of Music (Honoris Causa) from Victoria University. He went on to be appointed Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours.