Take 3 former NZSO players, an Arts Laureate composer, a jazz bass player, and a charismatic singer, and you have the Kugels! The ensemble has been together for 10 years now, and has completed nationwide tours for Arts on Tour NZ and Chamber Music New Zealand, as well as performing as guest artists at several NZ festivals. 

With passion and sensitivity, the Kugels play traditional Klezmer music and original works by their in-house Arts Foundation Laureate composer/accordionist Ross Harris. Klezmer is the folk music of Jewish people from Eastern and Central Europe and it speaks to the heart of oppressed people everywhere. This genre is enjoying a huge rebirth of interest and popularity. The music is wild, passionate and haunting and makes you want to dance!

The Kugels recorded a second CD in October 2020 and it will be available at all their concerts. Their first CD was voted in the top 10 by the NZ Herald in 2017.

#### **THE PERFORMERS**:
**Ross Harris**, accordion, former NZSO French horn player and lecturer at Victoria University, is one of our leading NZ composers. He became an Arts Laureate in 2015 and is the recipient of numerous other prizes and awards. His symphonies and numerous chamber works are recorded and performed both here and in Europe
**Robin Perks**, violin, played in a number of orchestras in Europe in his 20s, and was a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for 37 years. He has performed Klezmer in Wellington for about 15 years culminating in his membership of the Kugels, which has become a perfect vehicle for his passion for the genre. 
**Debbie Rawson,** Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, and Xaphoon is a former NZSO player, probably best known as the leader of the ensemble Saxcess, and veteran of many tours with diverse ensembles for Chamber Music NZ and Arts on Tour NZ, and performed in USA, Canada, Belgium and Australia. Until recently she was Head of Woodwind at the NZ School of Music, Victoria University and in 2021 was presented with  a Lilburn Citation Award for outstanding services to New Zealand music.
**Nick Tipping**, bass, wears many hats - from a PhD and lecturer in Jazz to playing with national and international stars such as the NZSO, Bic Runga, and Kenny Burrell. He tours with top local bands such as The Jac and the Hip-Town Bangers, and is nationally well loved for his programmes ‘Inside Out’ and ‘The Works’ on RNZ Concert. 
**Anna Gawn**, soprano, classically trained at Victoria University, has since become a versatile and charismatic soloist. She has been oratorio soloist of choice for Peter Godfrey [Godfather of NZ choral music], and given premier performances of Ross Harris’s moving and beautiful Yiddish songs, especially dedicated to her. Her dramatic vocals and brilliant rapport with audiences create a vibrant layer of expression and colour to the ensemble.

‘For over a decade this group have delighted both young and old and are enjoyed by music lovers everywhere.’


The Kugels

#### **Neill Pickard says:**

“The River City Jazzmen are so happy to be returning to the Wanaka scene  after a major hiatus of two years.
 
 Their playing is as bright and dynamic as ever with superbly crafted arrangements and tight ensemble work.
 
The post-Covid ‘revival band’ features the loquacious Neill Pickard on Banjo & vocals, the scintillating Michael Fairhurst, on Trumpet, Cornet and vocals, honeyed Allan Hawes on Clarinet, mellifluous Glyn MacDonald on Trombone and Piano, irrepressible Dave Pitt on Double Bass and the peerless, percussive power-house 
Louie Moverley on the Drumkit. 



River City Jazzmen

Andrew Joyce & Jian Liu:
Renowned New Zealand-based musicians Andrew Joyce and Jian Liu have crafted an ambitious programme that celebrates their musical and cultural heritages.

Showcasing music for cello and piano from the UK, China, and NZ, the virtuosic duo brings a colourful assortment of melodies for the first half, followed by a larger Romantic sonata by Brahms for the latter half of the programme.

Before joining the NZSO as Principal Cellist in 2010, UK-born Andrew Joyce played regularly with the London Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestras, and toured the world’s great concert halls as Guest Principal. He joins forces with internationally-acclaimed concert pianist Dr Jian Liu, who is currently the Programme Director of Classical Performance and Head of Piano Studies at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī. Although the pair have played together in chamber ensembles, this is their first collaboration as a duo.


Andrew Joyce, Cellist & Jian Liu, Pianist

Hailed by critics as a “gifted young pianist of genuine substance” and “New Zealand’s most notable young emerging pianist,” Sylvia Jiang is a brilliant performer on the rise. 

For her debut national tour as a soloist, she has built a programme around the theme of 'home' - both to her personally and as a broader concept. 

This results in a unique blend of New Zealand music, American compositions marking her time at Juilliard, and works reflecting her family’s Chinese heritage.

New Zealand pianist Sylvia Jiang is a Juilliard graduate and holds an Artist Diploma from the Peabody Institute. 

Her performances have been featured on BBC News, ABC Australia, and RNZ Concert, amongst others, and she has won numerous prizes at prestigious competitions including the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition. 

She currently studies with Richard Goode, Yong Hi Moon, and Rae de Lisle. 

As a soloist, Sylvia has performed with the Royal Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Queensland Symphony, and Juilliard Chamber Orchestras, and has given recitals in Australasia, South Korea, Great Britain, and North America.


Pianist Sylvia Jiang

Acclaimed as demonstrating "accomplished brilliance, soulfulness and sublime intensity in perfect balance and tonal unity" (The Dominion Post), the Aroha String Quartet is firmly established as one of New Zealand's finest chamber music ensembles.

Founded in 2004, this versatile Wellington-based quartet is known for its passionate musicality, impressive technique, and multicultural innovation.

Haihong Liu and Zhongxian Jin are original members of the Aroha Quartet. Robert Ibell joined the group in 2009 and Konstanze Artmann in 2018.

The Aroha Quartet is committed to presenting string quartet works from western classical and avant-garde repertoire to traditional Chinese folk music, as well as works for larger forces through collaborations with numerous high-profile musicians.

Overseas trips have seen them participate in the prestigious International Summer Academy in Austria in 2010, give concerts and masterclasses in China in 2010 and 2013, and perform at the Huntington Music Festival in Australia in 2011.

As well as performing, Aroha Quartet lead the faculty of its very own Chamber Music Festival in Asia, Zhongshan, China since 2018.
In 2024, The Aroha Quartet will celebrate 20th Anniversary and The 10th IMA Academy in July.


Aroha Quartet

The Karlsruhe Concert Duo, founded with the cellist Reinhard Armleder and the pianist Dagmar Hartmann is very successful and in demand in Germany and abroad. 

The ensemble has established itself not least by winning several international competitions in Italy and France. The Duo has the rare gift of captivating and inspiring his audience. A sound and music experience that touches the soul. It is regularly highly praised for fascinating its public by the depth of its interpretations, brilliant technique and its imaginative choice of programmes.

In the past years the duo has performed in 80 countries on all continents and has enjoyed  success at prestigious stages and concert series like, Schubert Society London/Great Britain, Verbier-Festival/Switzerland, Beethoven Music Society Washington/USA, Festival de Musique aux Château de Bourglinster/Luxembourg, Festival Art November Moscow/Russia, International Bach Festival Kaliningrad/Russia, Haifa Music Festivals/Israel, Rovinj International Music Festival/Croatia, Barenboim-Said-Foundation Ramallah/Palestine, Festival Friends of Jordan/Amman, International Music Festiva Kharkiv Assemblee/Ukraine, Bir Miftuh International Music Festival/Malta, Johannesburg International Mozart Festival/South Africa, Braşov Music Festival/Romania, Alem Saz International Music Festival Astana/Kazakhstan, Concert series Palais Ennejma Ezzahra Tunis/Tunesia, Festival Baščaršijske noći Sarajevo/ Bosnia Herzegovina, Vendsyssl-Festival/Danmark, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Scotland
The Duo has recorded in various Radio and Television productions as well as several CD‘s.

In addition to their teaching activities at the Karlsruhe Conservatory, both artists are regular guest lecturers of masterclasses in Switzerland, South Africa and Panama.

To quote praise by a specialist publication: ”... it is rare to find a duo with such a fortunate and intense combination of a kindred musicality, affinity and interaction with their instruments.”

The latest WCS events in Wanaka

The Kugels

River City Jazzmen

Andrew Joyce, Cellist & Jian Liu, Pianist

Pianist Sylvia Jiang

Aroha Quartet

Karlsruhe Concert Duo

Support

Organisation

Privacy

Find us on:

The latest WCS events in Wanaka

The Kugels

River City Jazzmen

Andrew Joyce, Cellist & Jian Liu, Pianist

Pianist Sylvia Jiang

Aroha Quartet

Karlsruhe Concert Duo

Sign up for our newsletter