Mr James Doy, MNZM, of Auckland, for services to theatre, particularly youth theatre
James Doy is a professional musician, composer and performer who has played for many local and international touring productions in musical theatre. He composed the full-length musical ‘Peter Pan’. He was Musical Director of the New Zealand Opening Ceremony for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. He helped found the National Youth Theatre (NYT), which has produced 36 musicals and more than 200 workshops and holiday programmes. As Chief Executive, he has overseen NYT becoming the resident youth theatre in Auckland Live, performing twice annually at the Aotea Centre and Civic Theatre. Mr Doy established NYT’s Outreach Programme, offering free performances to schools and scholarships for young performers.