Lala Simpson is a community song leader, songwriter, dancer, and singer from Madagascar who now lives in Wellington. Lala has a wide range of experience of teaching songs to people of all ages and abilities. Over the years she has acted as a guest conductor to various community choirs around Wellington including Wellington Young Voices, WOSOSI, Hutt Valley Community Choir, Gale Force Gospel choir to name a few. She co-led two community singing groups based in Karori and Khandallah for many years and was the director for Manawa Ora Voices. Currently, she is the director of the Wellington Community Choir a mixed voices choir, and Kotaba Voices a women’s choir. She travels around NZ teaching original and traditional songs from her homeland as well as songs from Africa and community songs from different parts of the globe. In her spare time, she performs with her band singing songs by Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, and other French chansons singers as well as collaborating with other musicians and planning community concerts. Lala is a member of the Songleader’s Network Aotearoa, the Natural Voice Network in the UK, and has been given the honor of being a tradition bearer for Village Harmony in the US and works alongside them as a tutor. Lala has been described as a vivacious, energetic, passionate, and skilled teacher who puts connectivity, inclusivity, and her care for building a community at the core of her method of teaching.