NEWSLETTER

ABSOLUTELY ROMANTIC

On 16th of July, Aroha Quartet delighted and charmed, with their superb ensemble playing and their obvious enjoyment of playing. We look forward to having them play for us again. There was a more 'regular' sized audience for this concert, but for those of you who did not attend - you missed a splendid concert.

About 150 people attended the fundraising concert for Blythe Press, with the Society donating all the concert takings to Blythe. Quite a number of people also made donations. This too was a very successful concert as you may have seen from Joan Sherley's review in the Kapiti Observer. Blythe has written to the Society as follows:

"I would like to sincerely thank the Society for organising and running my fundraising concert. I very much enjoyed playing in the concert and am thrilled with the support that the community has given me! Thanks once again."

LOST PROPERTY: We still have 2 cushions, a pair of red gloves and a ladies green jacket. Please contact Wendy van Delden on 905 6070 if you think they might be yours.

For those of you who are feeling a bit "Mozarted out" this month, Soprano Goeknil Meryem Biner, violinist Anne Loeser, horn player Gregory Hill and pianist Tom McGrath bring us a very attractive programme of Schubert and Brahms, on a watery theme.


SUNDAY 20 August AT 2.30PM WAIKANAE MEMORIAL HALL

ABSOLUTELY ROMANTIC


SCHUBERT

Duo for violin and piano in A major, D574


SCHUBERT

Three lieder: Die Forelle (The Trout), Fischerweise (Fisherways) and Auf dem See (On the Sea)


SCHUBERT

Auf dem Strom (On the River), for soprano, horn and piano


BRAHMS

Horn Trio in E flat Major, Op 40

Ticket prices:   Members $15   Public $21   "Under 20s" no charge
Goeknil Meryem Biner, soprano, studied singing at the Richard Strauss Konservatorium in Munich. She has performed in oratorio, opera and on the concert platform across Europe, Japan, Israel and New Zealand and has broadcast for Bavarian Radio and Radio New Zealand. She is an active chamber musician in New Zealand and premiered the role of Sister Angela in The God Boy by Anthony Ritchie for the Otago Festival of the Arts.

Anne Loeser studied violin at the Musickhochschule Frankfurt am Main. While there she formed a string quartet which spent a postgraduate year studying at the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest and performed across Europe and South America. She played in the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and the Hesse State Theatre Orchestra Wiesbaden before joining the NZSO first violins in 2000. Anne is an active chamber musician with ensembles such as Stroma, Ethos and baroque original instruments.

Gregory Hill studied horn in New Zealand and the US. He has held positions in the Tasmanian and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, the Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and the Auckland Symphonia. While in Australia, he was also an active chamber musician, soloist, teacher and recording artist. In 1987, Gregory was appointed Principal third horn with the NZSO and since then has played with numerous chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout New Zealand.

Tom McGrath studied piano with Diedre Irons at the University of Canterbury and at the Richard Strauss Konservatorium in Munich. He was a finalist in the Schubert and Music of Modernity Competition in Graz, Austria for singer and pianist duo and won a special Accompanist's Prize at the Gasteig Culture Centre Competition in Munich. He has performed in Germany, Austria, Japan and New Zealand and recorded for Genuin Musikproduktion, Bavarian Radio, Austrian Radio and Radio New Zealand. He returned to New Zealand in 2003 and has appeared throughout the country as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. He is currently Teaching Fellow in Piano Accompaniment at the University of Otago.