Music is about to start blooming in quiet rural communities around Otago.
Four young orchestral musicians are taking their music to the people in a bid to entertain in areas where orchestral musicians rarely venture, as well as giving themselves experience at presenting a concert tour, titled Bloom.
The Magic Carpet Music Trust has organised an ambitious 13-concert tour over 15 days, in which award-winning violinist-composer and Aspiring Lifestyle Village artist in residence Rakuto Kurano will be joined by Wanaka violinist Cameron Stanley, University of Canterbury viola student Harry Kim and University of Otago cello student Boudewijn Keenan.
Between November 8 and 22, the four young musicians will travel and perform together as a string quartet in Bannockburn, Wanaka, Arrowtown, Tarras, Oamaru, Ashburton, Moana, Reefton, Cheviot, Rolleston, Oxford, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Their programme features Mozart's string quartet no.4, Rachmaninoff's "Unfinished" string quartet no.1, a new commissioned work
Morning Birds by young New Zealand composer Sarah Fouhy, Beethoven string quartet no.2, Kurano’s newly composed work
Blooming, and Elgar's
Salut d'Amour.
The string quartet will also visit Mt Aspiring College and Lake Brunner School to perform for pupils.
Lake Brunner School principal Shirley Serban said the concert would play a key part in expanding her pupils’ experience of the world.
"String quartets, and even classical music, are not normal things for our rural students, so having this visit and interaction allows our children to discover and delight in something new, which may well shape their future life choices as well."
john.lewis@odt.co.nz
