Ed and Juliet Cooke are excited about their concert line-up for the year: a mix of old and new, with some unusual features.
Completely new to Greytown (and most of NZ) is American violinist Andrew Sords, with Canadian pianist Cheryl Duvall. They made their “Down Under” debut last year with concerts in Christchurch and Australia but will see more of NZ in October. One reviewer’s comment was “Vituosically fun and frantic”.
Also coming from the States will be pianist Eugene Albulescu, who came to NZ with his family as a young teenager, fleeing the Communist regime in Romania. He was the youngest competitor, and winner, of the NZSO Young Musicians Competition in 1988, and completed his musical education at Indiana University. He is currently the Ulrich Professor at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and combines this with concerto performances and teaching.
Two regular groups will return: Saxophonist Simon Brew will join the Amici Ensemble with “When Classical Meets the Unexpected” in May, and in August the NZTrio (with new permanent cellist Matthias Balzat) will present their programme “Space Jump” with music from Turkey, Germany, NZ and the USA.
Also in August will be another visit from pianist Sarah Watkins, this time with the Auckland Philharmonia’s principal oboist Bede Hanley, acclaimed for his gorgeous tone and buoyant phrasing. Sarah describes the programme as a “wonderful pastoral line-up”
.June will see Wellington trio jazz vocalist Hannah Griffin, composer and pianist Norman Meehan and saxophonist Blair Latham presenting their song cycle, “A Field Guide to New Zealand Birds”, complemented by song settings of texts by Bill Manhire, James K Baxter and others.
The opening concert, in April, will include a world premier performance of Schubert lieder and Quebec folk songs arranged for two sopranos (Barbara Graham and Genevieve Gates Pannetton) and two cellos (Ken Ichinose and Bethany Angus).
The Music Group’s brochure is expected to be available in late February, but contact Ed and Juliet for further details, efjacooke@gmail.com.
