Adam Chamber Music Festival ­ Nelson February 3-12 2011

The Adam Chamber Music Festival opens in Nelson on Thurs (Feb 3), promising to deliver ten days packed with 30 events, mainly concerts - each of them unique.

“That may sound extravagant,” says artistic director Gillian Ansell, “but it really is true and it’s what makes the Adam Festival so special – the musicians come together, rehearse, interpret and present each concert only once.”

Ms Ansell, who shares the artistic director role with her New Zealand String Quartet colleague Helene Pohl, likens this to a group of actors coming together to perform a play.

“We have the score, and we’re playing it with some of the world’s top musicians – it’s a process of discovery as they bring their own nuances of timing, dynamic range and interpretation that make it all add up to a gorgeous whole.”

Having just one chance to ‘get it right’, makes each concert performance very special for the musicians, and the audience.

“The Adam festival has a very loyal, committed and receptive audience,” Ms Ansell says. “People are open to the excitement of the festival and to the whole Nelson summer experience – there is a real buzz as they flock from one concert to the next.”

Three of the concerts will be repeated in Blenheim – part of a programme that features Canadian clarinettist James Campbell, the outstanding Russian Hermitage String Trio, Hiroshi Ikematsu on double bass, resident ensemble the New Zealand String Quartet and a New Zealand line up that includes pianists Michael Houston and Richard Mapp, soloists from the NZSO and local group Tasman Brass.

Liszt has a special concert dedicated to his 200th birthday, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is a carrot to draw in new concert-goers, there are master classes, a Schubert song cycle with a translation in sur-titles, a Waitangi Day concert with taonga puoro expert Richard Nunns, and a Klezmer concert in historic St John’s Church.

The biennial Adam Chamber Music Festival has made Nelson a summer Mecca for chamber music lovers, with concerts in heritage churches, vineyards, the acoustically excellent School of Music auditorium and the wonderfully atmospheric Cathedral. The Top of the South’s other attractions of beaches, wineries, crafts and shopping add to the appeal, especially for those escaping the northern winter.

The festival is supported by local and national sponsors, including the Nelson City Council. The 2009 festival generated a net spend of $1.5 million, according to a report commissioned by the Nelson Regional Economic Development Agency from Wellington-based McDermott Miller.

Full details of the programme and bookings are now available at www.music.org.nz and at Everyman Records in Nelson, ph 03 5483083.

ENDS

© Scoop Media