News release
11 January, 2011

Christchurch’s city centre awash with sound of music

Christchurch’s central city will soon beat to a different drum as a host of talented musicians take to the streets at the World Buskers Festival’s CPIT Music Pitch.

For the second year running the popular outdoor festival will feature a “music pitch’’ proudly supported by CPIT and featuring established and emerging New Zealand musicians.

Many of those selected to perform are graduates of the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology’s Jazz School, which has gained a strong reputation over the year as a nurturing ground for Kiwi musicians.

Among those performing at this year’s festival is local band Fighting the Blue, which is made up of four graduates of the CPIT Jazz School. The band won the inaugural ASB JazzFest Queenstown jazz competition.

Also performing is Supership, which features six emerging young jazz musicians whose mix of soul, funk, groove and sublime vocal harmonies is earning them a solid following.

Others performing on the music pitch include Latin guitarist Dr Sanchez, vocalist Flip Grater fresh from her European and New Zealand tours, and Maori performing arts group Maui.

World Buskers Festival artistic director Jodi Wright says the addition of musical acts to the festival proved hugely popular last year and she expects the music pitch will attract even larger crowds this time around.

“We’ve got an enormous pool of musical talent in this city and appreciative audiences so I think the music pitch is going to be a really popular feature of this, our 18th, festival,’’ Ms Wright says.

The CPIT Music Pitch, on the forecourt of the Christchurch Art Gallery, will run daily 11.30am to 4pm from 21 to 30 January.

For more details log onto www.worldbuskersfestival.com.

ENDS

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