COLOURS OF FUTUNA CONCERT SERIES 2024

COLOURS OF FUTUNA 2024 - 1O CONCERTS

7 April: Deborah Wai Kapohe

14 April: Klezmer Rebs

21 April: Hala Aotearoa

28 April: Gary Wilby - Cello

5 May Riki Pirihi + Alistair Fraser: taonga pūoro, modular synths and percussion

12 May: String Quartet – Christine Wang and others

19 May: Michelle Velvin: solo harp

26 May: Wososi: unaccompanied choir

2 June: A viola recital of pieces written by Elliot Vaughan and friends.

9 June: Baroque Voices

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR PERFORMERS INFORMATION

Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki and Ngāti Rua (Te Whakatōhea).
Born in Southland, New Zealand, Deborah has performed in operas, musical theatre, contemporary Māori music, arts festivals, proms, concerts, recitals, self-accompanied guitar and voice recitals, and special events throughout New Zealand and Australia, as well as in the UK, Asia Pacific Region, and South Africa.

WEBSITE: https://deborahwaikapohe.com

14 April: Klezmer Rebs

Formed in 2002, the Klezmer Rebs pump out lively klezmer music with Eastern European Jewish-Yiddish roots. They will entertain with authentic folk tunes from the ‘old country’ along with an eclectic mix of story songs, wedding dances, 1940s swing and quirky originals. Dance, cry and shake your ‘tuchas’, and get home in time for your afternoon nap!

21st April - Hala Aotearoa

Information to come

28th April: Gary Wilby : Cello

Gary Wilby has recently retired after nearly 50 years in the classroom. He taught Music both in the classroom and as an Itinerant teacher – mostly in secondary schools. He was fortunate in 1995 to be appointed to the Composer in Schools position which resulted in many works for students to play. Gary graduated from the University of Canterbury with a MA(Hons). He plays piano and cello and while he has in the past sung in choirs, he now enjoys the annual NZCF Wellington May Workshop. Gary has played in many ensembles and has been in the Wellington City Orchestra (formerly Wellington Chamber Orchestra) since 1986. He formerly was for 15 years the Music Director and Conductor of the Capital Performing Arts Orchestra. He has regularly played with “Opus 3 Trio” for the past decade. This will be Gary's first performance in Futuna Chapel.

5 May: Riki Pirihi + Alistair Fraser: taonga pūoro, modular synths and percussion

Riki Pirihi and Alistair Fraser move towards a post-genre musical form where percussion, modular synths and ngā taonga pūoro are able to communicate their rangi, in a musical space that pushes experimentation, and expression of belonging to a part of something deeper and wider than ourselves. With the weaving together of Alistair’s ngā taonga pūoro to provide sonic ties to the sound world of te ao tawhito, this duo combines percussion with the ancestral in a way that allows the music to reveal what has been hidden for so long.

12 May: STRING QUARTETS: FISHER, MENDELSSOHN and MONTGOMERY

Heal for string quartet Salina Fisher (b.1993)

Strum for string quartet/quintet Jessie Montgomery(b.1981)

String Quartet in E flat major Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (1805-1847)

1. Adagio ma non troppo
2. Allegretto
3. Romanze
4. Allegro molto vivace

Julia Broom - violin

Christine Wang - violin

Eli Vincent - viola

Eleanor Carter - cello

19 May: Michelle Velvin: solo harp

Michelle Velvin is a Wellington based harpist, composer and teacher. She performs regularly as part of Orchestra Wellington and the NZSO and she is involved with diverse chamber music groups. As a musician her explorations have led to collaborations over wide-ranging genres and disciplines, such as Flow (trombone, voice and harp), Stroma, Duo Eolienne (saxophone and harp), Tamira Pūoro (taonga pūoro, cello, vocals and harp) and Seasons Ensemble (piano, saxophone and harp). In 2022 she released the debut album ‘Feather Spines’ with Ruby Solly, as part of the new duo 'Tamira Pūoro’ This duo features taonga pūoro, cello, vocals and harp, exploring the relationship between the contrasting instruments, and the history of Aotearoa New Zealand's social landscape. In 2019/2020 Michelle won the SOUNZ Community Commission to create a new work for the Auckland Harp Orchestra and live dancers. Most recently Michelle completed a new commission for the NZ Harp Festival, to be performed at the festival in February 2023. Michelle completed her PgDip in harp performance at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music in 2015.

Concert description: Michelle will be performing a solo harp concert centered on NZ music, including new music by James Middleton, Autumn Arabesque by Kenneth Young and her new solo harp work, The Paekākāriki Blues.

26 May: Wososi: unaccompanied choir

WOSOSI stands for World Song Singers. We're a small dynamic a cappella choir that brings the world’s rich singing traditions to you. Our repertoire ranges widely, from quiet longing for homeland, through the delicate beauty of a song of peace, to celebrating the joy of independence won, or the despair of loved ones lost. Let us take you on a magical musical journey around the world.

2 June: A viola recital of pieces written by Elliot Vaughan and friends.

Elliot Vaughan is a composer, performer, and artist based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa. His output includes exploratory concert music, composed theatre, pop songs, performance art, and contributions to collaborative projects. He is the 2024 CNZ/NZSM Composer-in-Residence.

For fifteen years he lived in Vancouver, where he completed a BFA at SFU School for the Contemporary Arts and made his living freelancing. His career there extended from arrangements for theatre and pop records to music for dance and contemporary classical composition.

Returning to Aotearoa in 2018 to earn his MMus at Te Kōkī—New Zealand School of Music, Elliot has established himself as a key voice in exploratory composition and performance here. His blurring of performance art and music has been recognised with awards and commissions, including for his shows First Buzzard at the Body (2021) and Fish in Pink Gelatine (2019).

Elliot is violist with the Moth Quartet, and recently formed pop band Eigenface.

9 June - Baroque Voices, "The Choicest Songs"

June 2024 is the month that marks the 30-year anniversary of Baroque Voices. A concert to celebrate our variety of repertoire, old and new. The programme entitled, "The Choicest Songs" includes works of Purcell solos and duets for soprano & bass, with continuo (Robert Oliver on bass viol and Douglas Mews on virginalls) as well as a few earlier Renaissance pieces and some modern compositions, including premieres of two short works of Pepe Becker that were written for Robert & David earlier this year.

Host or Publisher Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust