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2023 Concert Series

We are pleased to announce a season of five concerts for 2023. Memberships and season tickets are available here.  Tickets to individual concerts are available in advance here, or at the door – cash only – $30 for members and $40 for non-members. For more details, view the Chamber Music Hutt Valley 2023 brochure.

Aroha String Trio 
Wednesday 5th April – 7:30pm
St. Marks Church, Woburn Road, Lower Hutt

Aroha String Trio derives from the Aroha Quartet, founded in 2004 and known for “accomplished brilliance, soulfulness and sublime intensity, in perfect balance and tonal unity”. For this concert, entitled Serenade, the musicians present Serenades for String Trio by Dohnányi and Beethoven, plus a sparkling trio movement by Schubert, a gorgeous short work by New Zealand composer Salina Fisher and the witty String Trio (1933) by Jean Françaix.

Les Voisins 
Wednesday 3rd May – 7:30pm
St. Marks Church, Woburn Road, Lower Hutt

Les Voisins (Neighbours) is a conjunction of neighbours who, despite following very different careers in music, have remained close friends – Justine nurturing NZ music with NZTrio and James pursuing baroque performance practice; joined by theorbist Simon Martyn-Ellis. Their concert is a journey through French music – from Baroque era through the colours of Ravel’s impressionism to the irresistible swing of Django Reinhardt and jazz violin of Stephane Grappelli.

Mark Menzies & Michael Endres
Wednesday 21st June – 7:30pm
St. Marks Church, Woburn Road, Lower Hutt

Menzies/Endres Duo Renowned international soloists who are also teachers at University of Canterbury, Mark Menzies and Michael Endres present cornerstone works of the violin, or viola, and piano repertoire. They performed together first playing Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata and have continued to perform chamber music together, including a recital including Schnittke’s Quasi una sonata (1967) that he later arranged for violin and chamber orchestra.

Akarana Piano Quartet
Wednesday 30th August – 7:30pm
St. Marks Church, Woburn Road, Lower Hutt

Akarana Piano Quartet Making its debut performances in 2023, this piano quartet brings together Andrew Beer (Concertmaster for the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra) and Sarah Watkins (piano) with colleagues from the APO, Robert Ashworth (viola) and Chen Cao (cello). They present exhilarating programmes, the experience being of vibrant story-telling that connects important composers of European music with Aotearoa New Zealand.

Calathea String Quartet
Friday 22nd September – 7:30pm
St. Marks Church, Woburn Road, Lower Hutt

Calathea String Quartet is a quartet of young musicians from New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and England, all post-graduate students at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The concert opens with the clarity of Mozart’s writing, leading into evocative music of Dame Gillian Whitehead and Imogen Holst’s jazzy-flavoured Phantasy Quartet. It concludes with the rawness of Shostakovich’s Fifth Quartet, which grows from the 5-note motif derived from the composer’s name.

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2022 September Concert Change

Due to the withdrawal of one of its members from public performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert by the Aroha String Quartet scheduled for Tuesday 20th September has been replaced. CMNZ is pleased to present – but note the change of date:

New Zealand String Quartet
Wednesday 28th September – 7.30 pm
St Marks Church, Woburn Road, Lower Hutt

– Sarah Ballard Brahma-samhitā for soprano and string quartet (world premiere performance)
– Britten String Quartet no 2 in C major, op 36
– Beethoven String Quartet in F major, op 59/1 Rasumovsky

The New Zealand String Quartet has been a leading chamber ensemble since it formed in 1987, with a distinguished record of international successes and acclaimed recordings. It has been the quartet-in-residence at the N Z School of Music since 1991. With Sarah Ballard (soprano) the Quartet will present the world premiere of Sarah’s new composition – Brahma-samhitā.