PROGRAMME
A variety of works such as the Adagio from Sonata in E Major by J.S. Bach, Sonata in C major by Antonio Vivaldi, Nocturne by Lili Boulanger, Gravity by Sara Bareilles, and more.
A variety of works such as the Adagio from Sonata in E Major by J.S. Bach, Sonata in C major by Antonio Vivaldi, Nocturne by Lili Boulanger, Gravity by Sara Bareilles, and more.
THE MUSICIANS
Mark Menzies has established an important, world-wide reputation as a violist and violinist, pianist and conductor. He has been described in the Los Angeles Times as an 'extraordinary musician' and a 'riveting violinist.' His career as a viola and violin virtuoso, chamber musician and pianist, conductor and advocate of contemporary music, has seen performances in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and across the United States, including a series of appearances at New York's Carnegie Hall.
In February of 2017, Menzies performed the debut of a remarkable series of solo recitals in Los Angeles. Called 4:7 (4-in-the-time-of 7) – four separate solo violin/viola programs in one week, the concerts received considerable critical praise with the “New Classic LA” blog writing ‘Menzies was in full command’. 4:7 has been since performed in Christchurch (2017), Sacramento (2019), Wellington (2020) and Auckland (2021).
Mark Menzies has a considerable reputation as a chamber music performer; currently he is violist and violinist in the Formalist Quartet whose discography includes a forthcoming release of the complete quartets by Christian Wolff. A significant number of Menzies’ (solo) recordings are premiere performances: Michael Finnissy’s …above earth’s shadow; Roger Reynolds’ Process and Passion and imagE viola; Barry Shrader’s Fallen Sparrow; James Newton’s In a moment… Menzies’ compositions are increasingly played across the globe with recent premieres in The Netherlands, Italy, Los Angeles and Christchurch.
Viola, violin professor and coordinator of conducted ensembles at the California Institute of the Arts, from 1999-2016, where Mark Menzies curated a remarkable series of concerts at REDCAT at Disney Hall in downtown Los Angeles, he moved to New Zealand in 2016 to take up a Professor of Music & Head of Performance position at the University of Canterbury.
Described as a musician with “flair and panache” by the Christchurch Mail, Rakuto Kurano has established himself as a versatile Japanese/New Zealand performer & composer.
As a multi award-winning musical artist, Kurano has completed numerous concert tours around New Zealand, and international appearances include performances in Japan and Vietnam. His extensive repertoire ranges from early music to music composed by living composers, but has particularly spent a lot of time studying Historically Informed Performance Practice (HIPP) of baroque music.
In 2019, his piece Fantail in Tokyo was selected as a winning work in the NZTrio composition competition, and performed by the NZTrio in Auckland. The work was recorded and released the following year by Mark Menzies, Tomas Hurnik, and Rakuto himself. The recording has been broadcast by Radio New Zealand on numerous occasions following the release.
As a performer of contemporary music, Kurano was invited to perform in the International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) & Asian Composers League (ACL) double festival in 2022 as a violinist, violist, and pianist, where he performed 10 works by composers from all around the world. He was invited to the CANZ (Composers Association of New Zealand) Nelson workshop as a violinist/violist in both 2019 & 2020 to workshop and perform new works written by living New Zealand composers. Kurano has personally commissioned works by five young New Zealand composers to date.
As a recording artist, he has recorded and released many of his own works, but also has experience playing in recordings for other artists, including UK singers Aled Jones and Russell Watson with the BMG label (UK). Orchestral experiences include joining the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra at the age of 18, performing with NZ Opera, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, Hawke's Bay Orchestra, Secret Sinfonia, and many more.
He is currently an Artist in Residence at the Aspiring Lifestyle Village in Wanaka and Artistic Director of the Magic Carpet Music Trust.
Sofia Scales is currently a second-year student at UC pursuing a BSc degree, with a major in Medicinal Chemistry and minors in Psychology and Music. Originally from Auckland, she now resides in Christchurch with her family.
Sofia graduated from Howick College in East Auckland and was actively involved in their Music and Arts department. She achieved Excellence in Music across NCEA Levels 1-3 and received multiple Extra Curricular Arts Awards, Vocalist Awards, and the 'Biggest Voice' in Drama.
From a young age, Sofia enjoyed performing and started singing and piano lessons at the age of four. She picked up guitar at the age of eleven and was involved with multiple choirs and theatre groups throughout the years. Although she is currently studying Classical Performance Voice at UC, Sofia is interested in other genres of music and is learning to apply Classical vocal techniques to those genres. Outside of her studies, she mostly accompanies herself on guitar and has performed as a wedding singer. She has also previously been the lead singer in a band, singing primarily rock songs, some of which have been released on Spotify.
Mark Menzies has established an important, world-wide reputation as a violist and violinist, pianist and conductor. He has been described in the Los Angeles Times as an 'extraordinary musician' and a 'riveting violinist.' His career as a viola and violin virtuoso, chamber musician and pianist, conductor and advocate of contemporary music, has seen performances in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and across the United States, including a series of appearances at New York's Carnegie Hall.
In February of 2017, Menzies performed the debut of a remarkable series of solo recitals in Los Angeles. Called 4:7 (4-in-the-time-of 7) – four separate solo violin/viola programs in one week, the concerts received considerable critical praise with the “New Classic LA” blog writing ‘Menzies was in full command’. 4:7 has been since performed in Christchurch (2017), Sacramento (2019), Wellington (2020) and Auckland (2021).
Mark Menzies has a considerable reputation as a chamber music performer; currently he is violist and violinist in the Formalist Quartet whose discography includes a forthcoming release of the complete quartets by Christian Wolff. A significant number of Menzies’ (solo) recordings are premiere performances: Michael Finnissy’s …above earth’s shadow; Roger Reynolds’ Process and Passion and imagE viola; Barry Shrader’s Fallen Sparrow; James Newton’s In a moment… Menzies’ compositions are increasingly played across the globe with recent premieres in The Netherlands, Italy, Los Angeles and Christchurch.
Viola, violin professor and coordinator of conducted ensembles at the California Institute of the Arts, from 1999-2016, where Mark Menzies curated a remarkable series of concerts at REDCAT at Disney Hall in downtown Los Angeles, he moved to New Zealand in 2016 to take up a Professor of Music & Head of Performance position at the University of Canterbury.
Described as a musician with “flair and panache” by the Christchurch Mail, Rakuto Kurano has established himself as a versatile Japanese/New Zealand performer & composer.
As a multi award-winning musical artist, Kurano has completed numerous concert tours around New Zealand, and international appearances include performances in Japan and Vietnam. His extensive repertoire ranges from early music to music composed by living composers, but has particularly spent a lot of time studying Historically Informed Performance Practice (HIPP) of baroque music.
In 2019, his piece Fantail in Tokyo was selected as a winning work in the NZTrio composition competition, and performed by the NZTrio in Auckland. The work was recorded and released the following year by Mark Menzies, Tomas Hurnik, and Rakuto himself. The recording has been broadcast by Radio New Zealand on numerous occasions following the release.
As a performer of contemporary music, Kurano was invited to perform in the International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) & Asian Composers League (ACL) double festival in 2022 as a violinist, violist, and pianist, where he performed 10 works by composers from all around the world. He was invited to the CANZ (Composers Association of New Zealand) Nelson workshop as a violinist/violist in both 2019 & 2020 to workshop and perform new works written by living New Zealand composers. Kurano has personally commissioned works by five young New Zealand composers to date.
As a recording artist, he has recorded and released many of his own works, but also has experience playing in recordings for other artists, including UK singers Aled Jones and Russell Watson with the BMG label (UK). Orchestral experiences include joining the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra at the age of 18, performing with NZ Opera, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, Hawke's Bay Orchestra, Secret Sinfonia, and many more.
He is currently an Artist in Residence at the Aspiring Lifestyle Village in Wanaka and Artistic Director of the Magic Carpet Music Trust.
Sofia Scales is currently a second-year student at UC pursuing a BSc degree, with a major in Medicinal Chemistry and minors in Psychology and Music. Originally from Auckland, she now resides in Christchurch with her family.
Sofia graduated from Howick College in East Auckland and was actively involved in their Music and Arts department. She achieved Excellence in Music across NCEA Levels 1-3 and received multiple Extra Curricular Arts Awards, Vocalist Awards, and the 'Biggest Voice' in Drama.
From a young age, Sofia enjoyed performing and started singing and piano lessons at the age of four. She picked up guitar at the age of eleven and was involved with multiple choirs and theatre groups throughout the years. Although she is currently studying Classical Performance Voice at UC, Sofia is interested in other genres of music and is learning to apply Classical vocal techniques to those genres. Outside of her studies, she mostly accompanies herself on guitar and has performed as a wedding singer. She has also previously been the lead singer in a band, singing primarily rock songs, some of which have been released on Spotify.