Celebrating 40 years of classical music concerts
Sunday September 2 is a special day for the Waikanae Music Society as it celebrates 40 years of presenting classical music concerts on the Ka¯ piti Coast with a special concert.
From its beginnings in 1978 the Society has grown to be one of the largest and most successful organisations of its kind in the country, attracting the cream of New Zealand performers as well as prominent overseas artists.
The Society is sharing this 40-year milestone with the Amici Ensemble, who are making their own 25th appearance in Waikanae. This long partnership has resulted in many memorable concerts since they first played in Waikanae in 1989. Led by the NZSO’s Associate Concertmaster Donald Armstrong, the ensemble is made up of prominent NZSO musicians.
Amici will be playing one of the pieces (Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet) that they performed at their first 1989 concert. Also on the programme will be Mozart’s Flute Quartet, Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute and Ravel’s evocative Introduction and Allegro. To mark the 40th Anniversary the Waikanae Music Society has commissioned a new work from Salina Fisher, a young composer who is one of this country’s most exciting new voices. Salina has won the prestigious Sounz Contemporary Award two years in a row and has been honoured with a 2017 New Generation Award from the NZ Arts Foundation. Her new work, Coastlines, written for strings, flute, clarinet and harp, takes its inspiration from the Waikanae landscape and promises to be one of the highlights of the programme,
The 40th Anniversary Commission is supported by the Lion Foundation and Wellington Community Trust. The concert, in the Waikanae Memorial Hall, starts at 2.30pm.
Tickets will be available at Waikanae New World, Moby Dickens Books in Paraparaumu Beach or at the Kapiti i-site in Paraparaumu.
■ Enquiries are welcome on 04 293 4025, 04 905 6070 or via the society’s website www.waikanaemusic.org.nz