Composer hits high note
ARIEL Abiad has already received his Christmas miracle.
The 17-year-old’s original composition is set to be played at the New Zealand Concerto Orchestra Christmas concert in Epsom.
The One Tree Hill College student only picked up the violin about four years ago.
‘‘My brother was originally the musician, he was playing the flute and he needed strings so I picked it up.’’
And it was only this year during his music class at school that he started composing.
‘‘You can express anything and everything you want,’’ Ariel says.
‘‘I tend to compose for instruments rather than for voice which makes it very interpretive for the listener.
‘‘With an instrumental you can come up with any interpretation and it will be valid.’’
The year 12 student says he never imagined his work would go so far.
‘‘It was originally something I was just doing for fun,’’ he says.
‘‘It was very surprising. I never expected it would ever be performed at all.’’
Ariel’s piece is titled Dance of the Evening Fairy.
‘‘If you expose the audience to something lively you will have them smiling in no time,’’ he says.
‘‘There are many episodes to this piece and I hope it will make people feel on the dancy side of things. I have tried to incorporate a bit of mystery in there.’’
The concert will also feature 12-year-old award winning violinist and Remuera Intermediate student, Danny Zhang.
The programme includes six soloists playing Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto in C, Bach’s Oboe and Violin Concerto, Vivaldi’s Two Violin Concerto, Mozart’s Horn Quintet; Marcello’s Oboe Concerto; Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, new music by New Zealand composers McGarity and Abiad as well as Christmas favourites.
The concert is at 7.30pm on December 9 at St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Epsom.
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