Author: Kimberley

Knox Church
27 February 2015

St Kilda Brass and Da Capo Vocal Consort collaboration set the tone for the second New Zealand International Early Music Festival.

The concert, performed to an audience of modest size, opened with David Burchell’s crisp and articulate rendering of Gabrieli’s Intonazione on the church organ. Thereafter, Cantate Domino for voices and brass conveyed the jubilant Psalm 96 with control and poise. The accompanying brass quartet backed the singers sensitively.

Gabrieli’s two ensuing canzoni for brass showed keen understanding of the Venetian style, punctuated by moments of insecurity peppering the otherwise crisp texture.

Morenzio’s Caro dolce showed fine expertise from the voices; Chiaro segno amor displayed the skilled singers growing in conviction, delivering a thoroughly captivating “morte” cadence towards the close of this poignant madrigal. Susato’s three ensuing Renaissance Dances for brass were preceded by splendid, jocular anecdotes regarding the Renaissance delivered by conductor Errol Moore.

Gesualdo’s exquisitely preformed madrigal Baci soave e cari displayed the hallmarks characterising the anguished harmonies of Gesualdo’s vocal writing, conveying the sadness which surrounded his curious personal life.

The subsequent brass works by Gabrieli and Palestrina displayed real grandeur; through their seamless composure, they became quite transporting, achieving halcyon visions of distant Venice. The introduction of the organ, in combination with the brass, made for a refreshing blend of timbres. Moving to Monteverdi, Da Capo’s singing of Anima mia was spendid, its composition startling with its tonal shift; the performance was delivered with sublime proficiency.

The concert concluded in a similar vein to its opening, with great embellishment on the organ. Thereafter, Gabrieli’s Hodie complete sunt, in celebration of Pentecost, experimented admirably with antiphonal placement of musicians and concluded a largely captivating performance

George Chittenden
Review taken from the Otago Daily Times (March 2, 2015)

Mayfair Theatre
23 August 2014
Conductor: Steve Miles
Guests: Kelly Hocking (vocalist) and Barry Kloogh

St Kilda Brass was in good form on Saturday evening, under guidance from conductor Steve Miles, who is about to tour overseas in the New Zealand Brass Band. There are some very talented musicians in St Kilda Brass, as their recent success as Band of the Year at the national brass band champs confirms.

A rousing Summon the Heroes, written for the Atlanta Olympics and Glinka’s overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla opened, setting the standard in a venue with great line of vision for the audience. It was fascinating to follow sectional passages, as instrumental textures were layered and melded to produce varieties in timbre. Particularly busy were the four ladies of the percussion section, where even a couple of “ting-tings” proved vital punctuation.

Alloway Tales, a varied arrangement (Graham) of three of Robbie Burns’ songs, was accompanied by a strong, sometimes rap-like Scottish narrative from Barry Kloogh and fine pastoral soundscape for Flow Gently Sweet Afton was particularly effective.

The programme’s theme of “Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales” gave the opportunity to present popular music from theatre and movie soundtracks, such as Hedwig’s Theme and a fun medley with at least 10 Disney tunes. Singer Kelly Hocking (with well-balanced amplification) was a perfect vocal addition to numbers such as In My Own Little Corner, Let it Go from Frozen and, after an exhilarating instrumental arrangement of Lord of the Rings themes, her passionate delivery of Into the West.

Prayerful dedication with specific remembrance to past bandsmen came with emotional mellow-toned Deep Harmony, then three breath-taking solos in Cossack Fire Dance, before the programme ended with a powerful rendition of Mussorgsky’s Great Gate of Kiev.

Overall, an excellent concert, not too loud in the venue, and which deserved far greater public support.

Elizabeth Bouman
Review taken from the Otago Daily Times (August 25, 2014)

King’s and Queen’s Performing Arts Centre
11 May 2014
Conductor: Errol Moore
Guests: Steve Miles (Euphonium), Georgia Gray and Matthew Wilson

SUMMON the Dragon and Land of the Mountain and the Flood opened this first concert in a comparatively unpolished manner after seven months of silence from St Kilda Brass under the leadership of Errol Moore.

However, having got the technical difficulties posed by these first two items out of the way, the band returned to the strengths for which is is known and revered.

Believe Me if all those Endearing Young Charms, Skye Boat Song and David of the White Rock did retore faith in the band’s technical accomplishment and its charms. Guest performers also lifted the event. Accomplished euphonium soloist and former leader for the band, Steve Miles, explored his instrument’s wide range of high and low notes, its sonorous excellence and an exhilarating array of fast trills and runs.

Brillante: Fantasy on Rule Britannia is a particularly good vehicle for a performer of Miles’ truly virtuosic ability.

Guest singers Georgia Gray and Matthew Wilson both have excellent voices and strong control throughout their ranges. Their choices of costumes were nicely in keeping with the wartime era.

However, Gray did not need to use a microphone and her otherwise finely managed performance suffered as a result of being painfully loud.

Band soloists Jessica Schweizer on flugel and Rowena Howard on cornet are to be commended. Special note goes to Ella Cox, whose stories of wartime events were tellingly simple.

The second half of the programme commemorated World War 1 with well-known tunes Colonel Bogey March, Nightfall in Camp and Medley: Oh What a Lovely War, Daddy, Soldier Daddy and Pack up Your Troubles. The band chose the brilliant red and gold braided military uniform of the time.

An encore item of the sweetly romantic Myfanwy rewarded the grateful audience.

Marian Poole
Review taken from the Otago Daily Times (May 12, 2014)

King’s and Queen’s Performing Arts Centre
12 October 2013
Conductor: Nigel Weeks
Guests: Jane Craigie-Read, Darrel Read

A disappointingly small audience heard the well-rounded and well-reputed St Kilda Brass band perform on Saturday at the King’s and Queen’s Performing Arts Centre.

Their sound is tight and bright, rich and mellow; their repertoire includes a variety of classic popular work interspersed with familial banter and jokes from guest conductor Nigel Weeks. The audience joined in the repartee and a spirited sing-along of Jerusalem.

Highlights of the evening include the Slavische Fantasy with solo cornet played by Megan Gooding with great fluidity and control; the medley An American Tale and And the Band Played On, which both highlighted a capricious sense of fun; extra special mention must go to the full-bodied section of Amazing Grace, which went straight to the heart, and to the concluding item for the evening Dundonnell from Hymn of the Highlands, with soloists Erynne and Georgia Scherf and John McAdam on horn, flugel and baritone respectively, which brought a tear to my Irish eyes.

The charm and presentation achieved by solo singers Jane Craigie-Read and Darrel Read won audience approval. Their duet Something Stupid was presented with naïve honesty. Craigie-Read has a sweet, strong voice and Read’s solos, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, the Welsh national anthem, and Anthem from Chess showed off his strong voice and pitch control. Both singers will gain from further stage experience. Matthew Toomata’s direction of their pieces shows promise and likewise will improve with experience.

Less convincing was the arrangement of Sibelius’ Finlandia and Edward German’s March Paraphrase: Men of Harlech performed by the band under Weeks. Both started exceptionally well but seemed to get lost along the way.

All in all this was an enjoyable evening, its conviviality due equally to Weeks as compere and conductor and to the music.

Marian Poole
Review taken from the Otago Daily Times (October 14, 2013)

King’s and Queen’s Performing Arts Centre
24 August 2013
Conductor: Karen Knudson
Guests: Calla Knudson-Hollebon (soprano), Joel Amosa (bass-baritone) and Justin Muschamp (soprano cornet)

St Kilda Brass has presented themed concerts in King’s and Queen’s Performing Arts Auditorium over recent years.

Its latest attracted a good-sized audience on Saturday evening for a programme entitled “Brassed Off – Brassed Onwards”. The 1996 film Brassed Off featured a colliery brass band and a national band competition, and a number of Saturday’s items featured in that movie.

Local musician and choral conductor Karen Knudson made her debut as conductor of a brass band, and her daughter, Calla Knudson-Hollebon, was guest soprano soloist, along with bass-baritone Joel Amosa.

Compere for the evening was Peter Stockwell, who introduced each item with historical trivia.

Some brass band test pieces from last century provided a challenge, and seated to one side of Row B, I was more aware of rough edges and blend not always heard with the best of balance, but there were some impressive passages along the way in numbers such as Flowerdale (Sparke), and The Three Musketeers (Hespe).

Amosa’s I Got Plenty of Nuttin’ (Gershwin) and a Toomata arrangement of The Trumpet Shall Sound (Handel) with Invercargill guest, New Zealand soprano cornet champion Justin Muschamp, were highlights.

Knudson-Hollebon (17) gave a credible and professional performance of numbers such as Londonderry and O For the Wings of a Dove, although at times despite subtle amplification, the 26-piece brass band overshadowed some of the beautiful lyrical quality of this emerging soprano.

An arrangement for brass of Mussorgsky’s Night on the Bare Mountainended with one long bar of the most beautiful sound of the entire evening – three muted cornets in harmony, and William Tell Overture at a fast tempo literally became a breathtaking finish to an enjoyable recital.

Elizabeth Bouman

Review taken from the Otago Daily Times (August 27, 2013)

St Paul’s Cathedral, Dunedin
11 May 2013
Conductor: Robert Craigie and George Chittenden
Guests: St Paul’s Cathedral Choir

Traditionally, brass bands are expected to march along playing in street parades, or performing in a rotunda in the park, but times have changed and on Saturday evening, Dunedin’s St Kilda Brass explored new territory by playing in a cathedral, when it joined with St Paul’s Cathedral Choir.

St Paul’s proved an excellent venue, and the judicious choice of repertoire resulted in no unwanted reverb or mixed harmonics, and along with a reasonable sized audience I really enjoyed the combined recital.

The choir, conducted by George Chittenden, opened with a strong performance of Jubilate Deo, by Gabrielli, an organist in Venice in Baroque times, demonstrating contrapuntal choral at its very best, with good balance and true tonality.

A drummer and brass quartet accorded Funeral Music for Queen Mary(Purcell) a processional entrance with appropriate formality, and Vivaldi’s Winter achieved a sustained and suitably chilly mood, with fine solo work by Erynne Scherf (Tenor Horn).

Beautiful tone from the 28-piece band interpreted a brass arrangement of Elgar’s famous Nimrod with passion, and impressive crescendos soaring magnificently, with no blurring or loss of purity in the vastness of the cathedral acoustics.

Other repertoire was Light of the World (Elgar), O Clap Your Hands(Vaughan Williams), the popular royal wedding march Crown Imperial(Walton) and Parry’s I Was Glad which generated a big sound from the combined groups, with a joyous air of pomp and circumstance under the direction of young conductor Robert Craigie.

The concert ended with All people that on earth do dwell with audience participation and two band and choir-only verses of creative harmony and cornet obligato.

Bruce Aitken introduced items with interesting historical tidbits such as royal performances, and Alan Edwards added organ accompaniment to several items.

Elizabeth Bouman

Review taken from the Otago Daily Times (May 13, 2013)