Chamber Music 4 | TheatreRoyal

The Nelson School of Music continues its fundraising programme with a variety concert at the Theatre Royal with a spectacular all-star Nelson line up.

Closed in December 2013 because of earthquake risk the School is about to commence construction as part of its restrengthening and redevelopment plan which will not only include making safe the 115 year old heritage auditorium but will also include the development of a state of the art music school on the current Rainey House site.

Performers will include five piece women’s folk group Cairde who are reforming especially for the concert. Coincidentally Cairde’s final concert was the last to be staged in the School before it was closed. They have released three CDs and already excitement is building about them taking to the stage again.

String quartet La Vida are well known around the region for their concert presentations and performances at wedding and high-class functions. They recently played to a full house at the release of their first CD.

Nelson’s leading world music choir Mosaic sang to a full house in the Nelson Arts Festival when they performed there in 2014 and will be singing a variety of songs from around the world including favourites from Africa.

Nathan Torvik and Siobhan Sweeney, otherwise known as Polly and the Minstrel are sought after artists in the Nelson region and it’s a rare treat to hear them on stage. Their style consists of wonderfully spacious interpretations of songs from folk to reggae which defy genre expectations.

Kicking off the evening will a be music from the Celtic nations performed by Gael Force. First formed in the mid-1980’s Gael Force has undergone various iterations and currently features Bob Bickerton, Brendyn Montgomery and Davy Stuart playing foot-tapping dance tunes and soulful airs.

The evening will finish with a gypsy jazz extravaganza featuring Django Schmango, a potpourri of guitarists and violin played in the style of Django Reinhardt.

The London Conchord Ensemble is one of Europe's leading chamber ensembles. They are known for their imaginative programming, which has won them many accolades in their twelve-year history. This is their debut New Zealand tour, taking them to ten centres nationwide.

This superb UK collective of musicians is dividing in half for part of their debut NZ tour - their Nelson/Palmerston North concert features flute, oboe, bassoon and cello.

This instrumental combination features Bach's first Cello Suite, Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasilieras No. 6 (flute and bassoon), Mozart's Sonata in Bb K292 (bassoon and cello), Ginastera's Duo Op. 13 (flute and oboe), and two works by Beethoven.

Daniel Pailthorpe (flute), Emily Pailthorpe (oboe), Andrea de Flammineis (bassoon), Thomas Carroll (cello)

There will be a Prelude Talk at 4.15pm with CMNZ Artistic Manager, Catherine Gibson.

"...the London Supergroup...playing with panache, wit and discreet sensitivity in performances that are a constant joy." - Gramophone Magazine

The Mozart and Brahms Quintet Experience with Grammy-nominated American violist James Dunham on a special tour highlighting masterpieces from Brahms and Mozart.

When Mozart wrote his first double-viola quintet, he created a new sound world that he continued to explore for the rest of his life. His later quintets are at the pinnacle of the chamber music repertoire. A century later, Brahms was inspired to write two of his most eloquent chamber works for the same combination. And this year, young NZ composer Salina Fisher has been commissioned to write a work to accompany these works by Mozart and Brahms.

Programme:
Mozart: String Quintet No. 5 in D K593
Salina Fisher: New work (CMNZ commission)
Brahms: String Quintet No. 1 in F 'Spring' Op. 88

British clarinet prodigy Julian Bliss is back in the country, joining forces with our own adventurous NZTrio. This is an opportunity to hear one of the finest living clarinetists with one of New Zealand's leading ensembles.

At the heart of their collaboration is Messiaen's seminal Quartet for the End of Time, whose wit and beauty belie the fact that it was composed in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Alongside this classic is an inspired and evocative new work written for the ensemble by Ross Harris. Julian Bliss will dazzle you with Debussy's Première Rhapsodie and Milhaud's Suite for violin, clarinet and piano.

"Bliss must no longer be regarded merely as a great talent, but rather as a consummate master of his instrument." - Fanfare Magazine

Programme:
Debussy | Première Rhapsodie
Milhaud | Suite for violin, clarinet and piano
Ross Harris | There may be light (CMNZ commission)
Messiaen | Quartet for the End of Time

In 2015 Suyeon Kang became the first Australian to win the coveted Michael Hill International Violin Competition; also taking home the Audience Prize.

New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge joins Suyeon Kang on her NZ tour, with a programme showcasing the many facets of the violin.
They'll interweave works by Mozart, Ravel, Schubert and Stravinsky with a delightful work for solo violin by New Zealand composer Kenneth Young.

"…at times playing with a delicate sensitivity and at others with a passionate intensity." - National Business Review

Presented in association with Michael Hill International Violin Competition.

Maureen Nelson, violin
Ken Hamao, violin
Melissa Reardon, viola
Richard Belcher, cello

The New York-based Enso String Quartet return to New Zealand following their successful 2012 tour, with an exciting series of concerts. One of the United States' most accomplished and inventive young ensembles, they received a Grammy nomination for their recording of the Ginastera quintets.

They are bringing their energetic Ginastera interpretations to local audiences, performing his Quartet No. 2 Op. 26. It is paired with Haydn's 'Sun' Quartet and Sibelius' Quartet in D minor Op. 56.

The concert also features an exquisite miniature from Auckland-based composer Alex Taylor - a new commission written especially for this Enso String Quartet tour.

"Enso played it with full-throated dramatic intensity" - Washington Post

Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Uri Caine uses classical music as a springboard for jazz improvisation.

Caine's collaborations extend from the Beaux Arts Trio to John Zorn, and from the Woody Herman Band to the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. The New York-based musician studied composition with George Crumb and George Rochberg, and is lauded for his albums of improvisations on works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Mahler and Schumann.

This exciting solo appearance includes improvisations on works by Scarlatti, Mozart, Mahler and Albéniz. Caine will also perform some jazz standards, along with his own original compositions.

"The easy, unforced energy of the playing was a delight." - The Telegraph

Beautiful borrowings, ceaseless invention, wit and expertise.

MASTERWORKS: EGMONT ENSEMBLE

PRESENTED BY THE ROYAL OVER-SEAS LEAGUE LONDON AND SAVE THE CHILDREN NELSON

Ben Baker - Violin

Sam Armstrong – Piano

Jonathan Bloxham – Cello

10^th Anniversary Prize-winners Tour of New Zealand

Three young, vibrant and multi award-winning UK based musicians, the Egmont Ensemble bring to Nelson an exciting programme of chamber music on Monday 9 November at 7.30pm at Old St Johns.

Featuring Ben Baker on violin, pianist Sam Armstrong on piano and Jonathan Bloxham on cello the ensemble will perform Beethoven’s Variations in E-flat major Liebe Fuhlen from Mozart’s Magic Flute, the virtuoso Sonata for violin and piano in Eb Op 18 by Richard Strauss and Piano Trio No 2 in C major Op 87, the unequivocal masterpiece by Brahms. In addition the Royal Overseas League have commissioned a new work by New Zealand composer Gareth Farr to be played by the piano trio.

This a wonderful opportunity to hear outstanding, international performers for a modest cost and to support Save the Children refugee programmes.

PROGRAMME:

BEETHOVEN VARIATIONS IN E-FLAT MAJOR LEIBE FUHLEN FROM MOZART’S MAGIC FLUTE

RICHARD STRAUSS SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO IN E-FLAT OP 18

GARETH FARR FORBIDDEN COLOURS

JOHANNES BRAHMS PIANO TRIO No 2 In C MAJOR Op 87

Immerse yourself in a superb programme featuring some of the great works of the Russian canon. From the lush Romantic repertoire we'll bring you Rachmaninov's Two Movements for String Quartet, written when he was just a teenager, and the Quartet no 1 by his idol Tchaikovsky, containing the famous Andante cantabile that moved Tolstoy to tears when he first heard it. In stark contrast, Shostakovich's powerful 3rd String Quartet will take you on an emotional journey through the psychological minefield the composer was forced to navigate in the war-torn Soviet Union of the 1940s. Whether you're a confirmed 'Russophile', a chamber music devotee or a complete newcomer to our concerts, we're confident you'll be moved, one way or another, by these Russian masterpieces.

Programme One
Rachmaninov: Two Movements for String Quartet
Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 3 in F, op 73
INTERVAL
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet no. 1 in D, op 11

Peter and the Wolf op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. It is a children's story (with both music and text by Prokofiev), spoken by a narrator and accompanied by the orchestra.

With its music and puppetry, this is a special treat for children, but of course is equally enjoyed by young and old alike.

Narrated by Pete Rainey.

The puppeteering will be performed by Waimea College students.

Our box office is open: Monday-Friday, 12-4pm; plus one hour before showtime for ticket pickups & purchases for the show about to start.

Our box office is open:
Monday-Friday, 12-4pm; plus one hour before showtime for ticket pickups & purchases for the show about to start.