Growing Audiences Prompt Extra Night for NZTrio

Media Release – For Immediate Release

GROWING AUDIENCES PROMPT EXTRA NIGHT FOR NZTRIO’S POPULAR LOFT SERIES

NZTrio presents
LOFT 2016

NZTrio’s ever popular Loft Series will again embark on new commissions and exciting collaborations for the enthralling, but intimate concert series in 2016. Burgeoning audiences have driven the addition of a regular Tuesday night performance at 6.30pm, allowing more music lovers to delight in ZOOM on 12th and 14th June, GLOW on 25thand 27th September and FLARE (with Simon O’Neill) on 13th and 15th November.

The Loft Series kicks off a rich and rhythmic line-up with a jazzy piano trio by JohnMusto, which flips between vigorous bopping rhythms and urban evening blues. ChrisWatson’s Schemata - subtitled Three views of an imaginary object, offers succinct and fleeting musings of perspective, followed by twelve equally taught and humorousEpigrams from the visionary Elliott Carter. The evening closes with Anton Zemlinsky’sPiano Trio in d minor, Opus 3. The title ZOOM accurately denotes this programme’s animated yet focused premise.

September brings GLOW, a bevvy of musical works lustrous in their exoticism and vibrancy. Zhou Long’s Spirit of Chimes conjures the translucent sounds of ancient Chinese instruments, while Gareth Farr’s Forbidden Colours shimmers and soars. The introduction of an ancient Chinese string instrument in Gao Ping’s new commission is a unique offering for Auckland audiences. International guzheng player Xia Jing will accompany the trio, with a composition that inspires the notion of sending thoughts and wishes into the sky.

Superstar NZ tenor, Simon O’Neill joins the trio in November for the final in the series;FLARE. Together, this dynamic team of musos will illuminate a broad spectrum of music, including a new commission from kiwi composer Stephen Matthews. Some re-imaginings of a Bach Cantata and a glorious set of Richard Strauss songs will add contrasting highlights to the mix. In the end, Mahler may well steal the spotlight.

The annual Loft Series has been heralded as the invigorating and contemporary revival of ensemble music in New Zealand, bringing audiences into a relaxed but wonderfully acoustic environment. The sociable evenings at Q Theatre offer performance-matched cocktails and are topped off by a post-show mingle with musicians Justine Cormack, Ashley Brown and Sarah Watkins.

Every NZTrio performance is an intimate, dynamic and engaging ride – homage to the importance they place on the relevance of live music in an increasingly digital world.

Recent international highlights for NZTrio include a debut at the 2015 Darwin Festival in Australia, and their 8th return tour to China where they delivered a series of public concerts and special performances celebrating the life and music of the late New Zealand composer Jack Body. The trio are committed to regularly touring work to Asia and see them themselves as a vital part of the Asia Pacific ‘neighbourhood’.

“This was a superb concert. Not just for the quality of the playing – which was predictably wonderfully focused – but rather for a beautifully balanced programme.”
John Button, Dominion Post, 2015

Buy one ticket to all three concerts as a Subscription Series by June 12th and enjoy a $15 savings. Subscription buyers will also go in the draw for a $200 WORLD clothing voucher, or a $200 beauty voucher from the Ministry of Hair.

NZTrio:
Loft Series 1 – Zoom plays Sun 12th 5pm & Tue 14th June 6:30pm / duration approx. 65 mins + interval
Loft Series 2 – Glow plays Sun 25th 5pm & Tue 27th September 6:30pm / duration approx. 1.5hr + interval
Loft Series 3 – Flare (with Simon O’Neill) plays Sun 13th 5pm & Tue 15th November 6:30pm / duration approx. 1.5hr + interval.

Venue: Q’s Loft Theatre, 305 Queen St, Auckland CBD
Tickets: Adult $50; Student $25 - booking fees apply
2016 Subscription – all three concerts for $135 Adult / $60 Student
Bookings: www.qtheatre.co.nz or phone 09 309 9771

More information on NZTrio: www.nztrio.com

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