OKTA presents "The Classic Concert"

7pm Friday 11 May
WEL Academy of Performing Arts, University of Waikato

Hamilton’s specialist new music ensemble, Okta, presents it first concert of 2007 on Friday 11 May. The programme is a classic Okta line-up. Twentieth century standards, like Italian Luciano Berio’s famous Sequenza 1, a full-on virtuoso workout for solo flute, sit beside brand new pieces by New Zealand composers.

Okta regular Richard Nunns flies in from Nelson to perform on traditional Maori instruments in Phil Brownlee’s Te Hau of Tawhirimatea with Ingrid Cullford on Western flute, and in the world premiere of a new work by Hamiltonian Jeremy Mayall, Nunns gives an amazing performance on plastic watering cans as musical instruments. In this multimedia piece he is joined by Mayall on turntables, plus video projection.

Katherine Austin and Lara Hall anchor the programme with Martin Lodge’s Violin Sonata, giving the first complete performance of this substantial work in Hamilton for nine years. The middle movement of the sonata is a set of variations on a New Zealand folk song ‘My Man’s Gone’ from the Depression years of the twentieth century.

In a special tribute to senior New Zealand composer David Farquhar, both parts of the concert will open with his Equali, short pieces for two cellos. Performers are James Tennant and Ros Hill. Wellington-based Farquhar recently celebrated his 79th birthday, and has strong links to the Waikato. He attended St Peter’s School in Cambridge as boy, taught several current staff of the Waikato University Music Department during their student years in Wellington, and has also done occasional teaching in the Waikato Department himself.

Artistic co-director of Okta, Michael Williams, says the ensemble is delighted to offer this classic blend of twentieth century masterpieces and more edgy new work in one programme. Varied, engaging and not to be missed.

Enquiries: okta@waikato.ac.nz