Renowned Kiwi sportsman John Wright shows us another side as he launches his album Red Skies right here in Motueka.

On the road as an international cricket coach you clock up hotel hours! John preferred to pick up his guitar and write songs rather than do crosswords. Finally those songs and stories have made their way onto an album recorded over two years with Sou'Westers Liam Ryan and Dean Hetherington.

John will perform with The Sou'Westers including third member Aly Cook who is enjoying a solo career with three Number 1 Country Radio hits in Australia in the last year.

Hear songs from Red Skies performed live for the first time in concert and see the premiere of John's music video Drivin' Into Mot featuring wonderful shots of Motueka Valley and township.

The pre-concert function will be at the Senior Citizens Hall from 6:30pm on. This includes Meet & Greet and album signing with John, refreshments and finger food, followed by the concert in Motueka Hall.

Get ready! The Biggest Musical Party of 2017 is coming to Nelson!

Nelson Musical Theatre proudly presents Mamma Mia! - the Global Smash Hit Musical based on the Songs of ABBA.

A mother. A daughter. Three possible Dads!
And a trip down the aisle you will never forget.
Over 54 million people all around the world have fallen in love with the characters, the story and the music that make Mamma Mia! the ultimate feel-good show and in September 2017 it will be performed at the Theatre Royal for a strictly limited season!

Featuring all the hits of ABBA including Honey Honey, Money, Money Money, Thank You For The Music, Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, Super Trouper, Voulez-Vous and many, many more! Get your party shoes on and get ready for a musical extravaganza like never before!

With a stellar cast, live band, amazing custom-made touring set and costumes, everyone will be "having the time of their lives" night after night!

Music written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and some songs with Stig Anderson. Based on the book by Catherine Johnson. By arrangement with Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd Exclusive agent for Music Theatre International (NY).

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC

One of the world's best-loved musicals, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, will tour New Zealand this September and October.

From the producer of the recent touring stage shows Grease, HMS Pinafore, Menopause the Musical and South Pacific, THE SOUND OF MUSIC will be performed in 20 cities throughout New Zealand.

This legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein musical features an unforgettable score that includes some of the most famous songs ever performed on the musical stage including "My Favorite Things", "Edelweiss", "Do-Re-Mi", "Sixteen Going on Seventeen", "The Lonely Goatherd", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", and the title song "The Sound of Music".

THE SOUND OF MUSIC tells the uplifting true story of Maria, the fun-loving governess who changes the lives of the widowed Captain von Trapp and his seven children by re-introducing them to music, culminating in the family's escape across the mountains from Austria.

The musical originally premiered on Broadway in 1959 to record-breaking advance ticket sales, where it won eight Tony Awards - including "Best Musical". The show opened in London in 1961 and became the longest-running American musical of its generation. The 1965 Hollywood film, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, won five Oscars, including "Best Picture", and quickly became the highest-grossing film in history. Even today, THE SOUND OF MUSIC remains the most successful movie musical in history.

Since the turn of the 21st century, the enduring magic of THE SOUND OF MUSIC has lead to major productions around the world, giving testament to its title as "The World's Most Popular Musical".

"There's a big, vivacious, steel-belt of a sound Imani gets when playing at the top of its lungs that is most appealing" - Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer

The season concludes with fun, fire and flair thanks to the Imani Winds. Their mission is to use collaboration, outreach, and new commissions to bridge diverse musical tradition, including America, Latin American, and Africa.

Celebrated for the 'sultry sophistication' of their performances, Imani Winds are truly an ensemble for our time: they are young, outstandingly talented musicians whose reputation for musical innovation is growing all over the world.

Their unique programme reflects their commitment to the traditional and the new: Rimsky-Korsakov, Piazzolla and Ravel are surrounded by the flamboyant, genre-disrupting and entertaining music by less well-known Latin composers. And they'll be presenting a new work by our very own Natalie Hunt.

Beethoven's ten Sonatas for Violin and Piano form a transcendent, transformative monument of the duo sonata repertoire: they present a formidable, unique challenge to violinists and pianists.

Bella Hristova is known for the power and lyrical beauty of her sound, a violinist perfectly suited to the huge technical and emotional demands of Beethoven's Sonatas. Michael Houstoun's recent performances of Beethoven's complete Piano Sonatas met with huge acclaim for fluency and appreciation of Beethoven's wit, as well as the moments of profound desolation.

Hristova and Houstoun's collaboration in our Beethoven Mini-Festivals will be a landmark musical event of 2017.

Programme:
Sonata No. 3 in E-flat Major, op 12, no. 3
Sonata No. 8 in G Major, op 30, no. 3
Sonata No. 2 in A Major, op. 12, no. 2
Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, op 30, no. 2

"You could see the joy in the performers' faces and movements as much as you could hear it in the playing." - The New York Times

Juilliard415 represent the best-of-the-best early-music ensemble from the Julliard School, with a reputation for combining youthful energy with poise, precision, and a luminous sound. For this New Zealand tour, J415 join forces with maestro Masaaki Suzuki, hugely esteemed for his performances and recordings of Bach.

The programme concentrates on Bach and Handel, the giants of the baroque era. It will give audiences a tantalising taste of Bach's work, and guarantees an evening of luminous, vital performances.

There will be a prelude event before the concert. Check http://www.chambermusic.co.nz for more updates.

Renowned for her interpretations of French piano repertoire - full of ‘evanescent colours and shimmering, elusive light’ - British pianist Kathryn Stott will perform recitals in New Plymouth and Napier, before joining the New Zealand String Quartet for solo and chamber music.

Debussy’s L'Isle joyeuse - inspired by Watteau’s enigmatic painting L’Embarquement pour Cythère - is at the centre of Kathryn’s recitals, alongside Dutilleux’s Piano Sonata: this is a rare opportunity to hear these ravishing works programmed together.

A Member of NZSQ will lead a discussion with Kathryn Stott at 4:15pm
- free entry -

Take Me Home - The Music & Life of John Denver returns to New Zealand following the astounding success of the 2016 tour of Australia. Singer Bevan Gardiner, accompanied by international musicians perform all the John Denver songs with such accuracy and feeling that if you close your eyes you will be effortlessly transported to the era of John Denver. The show includes exclusive film footage of John Denver through his career, his personal life and his love for the environment.

Take Me Home is authorised and by arrangement with John Denver management.

Australian audiences experienced this show in 2016 and witnessed the rising talent Bevan Gardiner. Originally Gardiner debuted in Australia when he was the support act for American country singer Charley Pride. People rushed to buy his CD commenting how much he sounded like John Denver. Even Pride was impressed: "Bevan is amazing. He sounds just like John Denver", the country singer said at the time.

Two shows only - not to be missed!

Teapot Summer School presents its 17th concert ' Singing for Joy' at Old St. John's Nelson on Sunday 22 January at 2pm. Ben Parry, director of The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, is the conductor.

The program includes Requiem by Faure, the mood being one of peacefulness and serenity. Rejoice in the Lamb by Benjamin Britten, who movingly encapsulates the poem's half-mad and delightfully religious spirit. Seven Goodly Reasons to Sing by Ben Parry, " and if, at last, your voice take wing, this noisy world may hear the song you sing".

Teapot Summer School has over its 17 years attracted singers from all over NZ  who come together for a week of an intensive singing course directed by highly respected overseas conductors, including Sir David Willcocks, Brian Kay and Ebbe Munk.

Leapin' lizards! Annie is returning to Nelson! The timeless tale of Little Orphan Annie is back, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience this classic musical about never giving up hope. Boasting one of Broadway's most memorable scores, including "It's a Hard-Knock Life", "Easy Street", "Little Girls", "Maybe", "I Don't Need Anything But You", and the ever-optimistic "Tomorrow", Annie is a delightful theatrical experience for the entire family. Don't miss this all-new production that Variety calls "a winner!"