Hastings-born baritone Samuel McKeever completed his Bachelor's Degree in Classical Performance with First Class Honours at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music in 2021. In 2023 he was the winner of the Wellington Aria Competition, and in 2022 he was awarded third prize in the finals of the Lockwood New Zealand Aria. Samuel is a Project Prima Volta graduate, and an alumnus of the New Zealand Opera School. Samuel is currently a member of the 2024–25 cohort at Te Pae Kōkako – The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS).

Samuel's recent stage history includes the roles of Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette (Festival Opera, 2024), Papageno in The Magic Flute in Concert (Festival Opera/NZSO, 2023), understudy for Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Wellington Opera, 2023), Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen (FO, 2022), and the Marchese in La traviata (WO, 2022).

Concert highlights include Verdi's Requiem (Napier Civic Choir, 2023), St. John Passion (Bach Musica NZ, 2023), Handel's Samson (BMNZ, 2022), Gareth Farr's Terra Incognita (Wellington Chamber Orchestra, 2022), Messiah (St. George's, Thames, 2022; NCC, 2021), and the NZSO's 'Broadway Matinee' concert in collaboration with Project Prima Volta (2021).