English will be reunited with his beloved Norma for an anniversary celebration concert this Sunday from 3pm at the town hall.
The concert will be packed with English’s signature mix of top-notch musicianship and quirky humour, and will feature wide-ranging music from Bach, Saint-Saens, Rawsthorn, Lithgow, Takle and Lefebure-Wely, offering something for every musical taste.
Special guest for the concert will be violinist and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Yuka Eguchi, who will join English to perform music written for them by Norwegian composer Mons Leidvin Takle, along with Benedictus by William Lloyd-Webber.
Although based in New Zealand, English is in demand as a solo organist, specialist fortepiano exponent and collaborative pianist worldwide, relishing the opportunity to work in a diverse range of styles and periods.
He has recorded 23 CDs , including the Stormin’ Norma trilogy, and has won numerous awards.
After a period as executant lecturer in music performance at the University of Otago, he made the decision to concentrate on his increasingly hectic performing and recording career.
In 2013, he gained a PhD from the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide, with a dean’s commendation for doctoral thesis excellence and nominations for a University Medal for his ground-breaking Kozeluch studies.
These studies culminated in a 12 CD set of world premiere recordings of Kozeluch’s 50 solo keyboard sonatas.
Eguchi has been NZSO assistant concertmaster for the past six years, combining her orchestral role with a busy chamber music schedule.
Before moving to New Zealand she was solo concertmaster of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra (2007-11) and Tokyo Mozart Players (2006-11), and a guest Concertmaster throughout Japan.
Eguchi has recorded many solo and collaborative CDs, including with her prominent cellist brother, Shinichi Eguchi.
