Marmen String Quartet

Concerts 2020

Sunday 4 October at 2.30pm

Marmen String Quartet

“The sheer brio and vibrancy of Debussy’s String Quartet in G Minor Op 10 was thrilling: its four movements wonderfully expressive and exuberantly played.” – Alison Boulton (Daily Info)

Programme

Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor, D 703
Debussy: Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Salina Fisher: Commission
Mendelssohn: Quartet No 6 in F minor, Op 80

Johannes Marmen (violin), Ricky Gore (violin), Steffan Morris (cello), Bryony Gibson-Cornish (viola)

Founded at the Royal College of Music in 2013, the Marmen Quartet has gone on from success to success, winning numerous awards and prizes, participating in masterclasses with eminent musicians and performing regularly in the UK and internationally.

In 2017-18 they achieved the Artist Diploma degree at the Royal College and currently hold the String Quartet Fellowship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. They have made radio broadcasts for Swedish Radio and the BBC and have performed at several UK festivals.

Johannes Marmen, chamber musician, orchestral leader and composer, divides his time between the UK and Sweden where he has appeared as guest concertmaster of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. Ricky Gore, born in Japan, moved to the UK to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School. He works with several chamber ensembles and freelances with leading orchestras. New Zealander Bryony Gibson-Cornish is a graduate of Canterbury University, the Juilliard School of Music and the Royal College of where she won the Tagore Gold Medal. Steffan Morris also studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and in Vienna. He has appeared as guest principal cello and as soloist with several prominent orchestras.

Wilma and Friends

Concerts 2020

Mon 26 Oct (Labour Day) 2:30pm

RESCHEDULED from Sun 13 Sept

Wilma’s Friends

“Liu’s ear for detail meant that the dappled strands of sound impulse were kept flowing and undulating – marvellous playing.” Peter Mechen – Middle C

Programme

Mahler: Piano Quartet in A minor
Schumann: Piano Quartet in Eb Major, Op 47
Dvořák: Piano Quartet No 2 in Eb, Opus 87

Wilma Smith has a long and warm relationship with Waikanae Music Society dating back to the early days of the New Zealand String Quartet when she was their founding leader. Unfortunately, as Wilma lives in Melbourne, she is unable to travel to New Zealand for this concert. She will be replaced by violinist Martin Riseley, Head of Strings at the NZ School of Music.

Pianist Jian Liu, Head of Piano at the NZ School of Music. has earned an international reputation as a sought-after solo pianist, chamber musician, and educator. Joining Martin and Jian are two NZSO musicians, Andrew Joyce (cello) and Nicholas Hancox (viola). As a tribute to Wilma they have chosen to change the title of the concert to “Wilma’s Friends”.

Their programme is unashamedly romantic, opening with the charming little one-movement Mahler quartet, written when the composer was only 15 or 16 years of age. It is followed by Schumann’s much-loved Piano Quartet (possibly the most popular piano quartet in the repertoire). The second part of the concert features the well-known Piano Quartet No 2 in Eb by Dvořak.

Takiri Ensemble

Concerts 2020

Sunday 2 August at 2.30pm

Tākiri Ensemble

“There was just a ripple of delight … people were totally won over … there was this lovely feeling of having been at something special” – Rodney Macann (Upbeat)

Programme

“Sure on this Shining Night”
Beethoven: Collection of songs
Mahler: Lieder from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Songs by Poulenc, Quilter and Rossini
Works by American composers: Aaron Copland and Morten Lauridsen.

Emma Pearson soprano, Robert Tucker baritone, Kirsten Robertson piano
Declan Cudd tenor, Maaike Beekman mezzo soprano

We welcome a return visit from the Tākiri Ensemble, an exciting vocal ensemble of New Zealand musicians – four opera singers and a pianist.  Emma Pearson (soprano), Robert Tucker (baritone), Kirsten Robertson (piano), Declan Cudd (tenor), Maaike Beekman (mezzo soprano)

The Tākiri Ensemble is usually led by Anna Leese, but Anna is at home in Dunedin with a new baby, so for this concert she will be replaced by highly regarded soprano Emma Pearson. Other musicians in the group include the experienced mezzo-soprano Maaike Beekman, who has performed widely in Europe and New Zealand, and tenor Declan Cudd, a 2017 Freemasons New Zealand Opera Artist. Baritone Robert Tucker sang opera professionally in England and Japan before returning to New Zealand where he appears regularly with New Zealand Opera.

Kirsten Robertson, one of this country’s most experienced vocal accompanists, has worked with such greats as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Dame Malvina Major.

The programme will include solos, duos and ensembles by a wide variety of composers

Vesa and Friends

Concerts 2020

Sunday 5 July at 2.30pm

Vesa and Friends – Horn Sextet

“the playing under Vesa-Matti Leppänen’s direction throughout these vividly-characterised sequences was, by turns, sensitive, colourful, sharply-etched and full-blooded” – Middle C

Programme

Beethoven: String Trio in Eb, Op 3
Mozart: Horn Quintet in Eb, K 407
Beethoven: Sextet in Eb, Op 81b

Since moving to New Zealand from Finland in 2000, Vesa-Matti Leppänen has become an integral part of our musical world, both as NZSO Concertmaster and as a chamber musician, teacher, jurist and soloist. He has put together this exciting programme, partly in celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday in 2020, and also to showcase the skills of brilliant NZSO Principal Horn Samuel Jacobs who has recently returned to New Zealand after spending two and a half years as Principal Horn with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Vesa and Sam will be joined by their NZSO colleagues Andrew Thomson (violin/viola), Nicholas Hancox (viola) and Andrew Joyce (cello). 

The concert features two of the most beautiful chamber works for horn and strings – Mozart’s Horn Quintet (which unusually features two violas) and Beethoven’s wonderful Sextet for Two Horns and String Quartet, a piece that is almost a mini concerto with its virtuosic writing for the horns. Joining the ensemble as second horn in the Sextet will be Shadley van Wyk, Principal Horn for Orchestra Wellington.  To open the programme will be a charming early Beethoven work, the String Trio in E flat.

NZ Trio

Concerts 2020

Sunday 4 October at 2.30pm

NZ Trio

“wonderful extremes of classical lyricism with raw power proved once again that NZTrio truly delivers contemporary artistic virtuosity” – Radio 13

Programme

Beethoven: Piano Trio in C minor, Op 1, No 3
Christos Hatzis: Old Photographs
Salina Fisher: Kintsugi
Dinuk Wijeratne: Love Triangle
Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor

Ashley Brown (cello), Somi Kim (piano), Amalia Hall (violin)

This is the first Kapiti appearance of the “new” NZTrio. Cellist Ashley Brown is the only remaining founding member of an ensemble that for many years has forged a reputation for its eclectic repertoire, outstanding talent and warm stage presence. Early in 2019 the trio began a new chapter with the arrival of two dynamic new musicians – violinist Amalia Hall and pianist Somi Kim who bring an exciting new perspective. Their fresh enthusiasm combined with Ashley’s indisputable talent ensure that the NZTrio will remain a treasure in our country’s cultural landscape.

Amalia and Somi have both amassed an impressive array of qualifications, awards, prizes and international performances. Amalia is well-known as Concertmaster of Orchestra Wellington, acclaimed for her “sumptuous and sweet tone”. Somi’s skills are very much in demand in the UK and Europe, while Ashley is one of NZ’s leading soloists and chamber musicians. His wide experience includes a Doctorate of Musical Arts exploring the collaborative relationship between composer and performer.

In typical NZTrio style the programme includes some intriguing new repertoire, but those less adventurous can take heart from the presence in the programme of two favourite standard works by Beethoven and Ravel.