The Finns celebrated with Kerikeri show

In honour of Neil and Tim Finn’s musical legacy, and celebrating 50 years since Split Enz released their first record, a new local band has been formed to perform
at the Black Box Theatre for two nights only.

The Far North All-Star band will play songs from the Finns as a tribute to their talent in crafting some of the best and most anthemic songs this country has ever produced. Some songs will be faithful reproductions from the Split Enz/Crowded House catalogue with some other Kiwi rock classics thrown in as well.

Tim Finn co-wrote some of the band’s best-known songs including I See Red and Six Months in a Leaky Boat. While still a member of Split Enz he began a solo career which included the hit Fraction Too Much Friction. He left the band in 1984 and Split Enz folded soon after.

Neil Finn was 18 years old when he was invited to join older brother Tim in Split Enz. He wrote one of the band’s biggest hits I Got You. He started Crowded House in Melbourne in 1985.

They disbanded in 1996, reformed in 2007 before embarking on another hiatus period and reunited in 2020 with a new line-up that included Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy.

The Finn brothers were both awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 30 years ago in June 1993.

Members of the Far North All-Star Band contributing voice, guitar and keyboard are Suzie Hurd, Harley Alexander, Mark De Vries and Nick Scott.

Those contributing voice only are Jo Slack and Jack Laird. Julian Brady is on bass and Paul Lafotonoa is on drums.

The shows are to raise funds for Black Box Theatre which will allow the theatre group to continue to prosper from the rehearsal and performance rooms.

Performances: Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24 at 6.30pm

Black Box Theatre, 17 Sammaree Place, Kerikeri. blackboxtheatre.co.nz/finntastic/

The Baroque era coming to the Turner Centre

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is bringing the Baroque masterpiece Harmonia Artificioso-ariosa to the Turner Centre in June.

Composer is the legendary Baroque violin virtuoso Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber. He wrote Harmonia in 1696 and it’s considered one of the greatest compositions of the Baroque era.

It was his last known published collection of instrumental music and it was his second work that explored the scordatura techniques in which players of string instruments tune their strings to different notes from a normal tuning.

In it, he used the full potential of the technique including all possibilities for complex polyphony which is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody. No other chamber works by Biber use such devices and because of this he was considered something of a maverick in his day.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is led by concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen who was born and raised in Turku, Finland. He moved to New Zealand in 2000.

For the Baroque Innovations performance there is no conductor as such. Vesa-Matti Leppänen will play violin throughout each performance as one of 16 contributing players. It reflects how Baroque musical works were first performed, by small ensembles of musicians rather than a large orchestra.

He was appointed NZSO Concertmaster in 2003 and has earned international recognition as a chamber musician, teacher, jurist and soloist. With the NZSO he has performed Sibelius, Lalo, Mozart, Bach concertos as well as works by leading New Zealand composers.

He teaches at the New Zealand School of Music and has given masterclasses and coached the NZSO National Youth Orchestra and the Asian Youth Orchestra. He is also a Jury member in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition.

Turner Centre, 23rd June 2023 @ 7.30pm turnercentre.co.nz

Russell Museum creates new educational hub

The Russell Museum, Te Whāre Taonga o Kororāreka, has developed a new educational and community space to be called The Hub.

What was a former council office and originally the Plunket Rooms, has been turned into a space that is intended to be used for numerous purposes but primarily (initially) as an education hub for school groups.

Fiona Mohr, manager curator of Russell Museum, said a considerable amount of work has gone into the project.

“We removed some of the walls to enlarge the space and then relined them. I don’t think anything had been done to them for 30 years or more,” she said.

“We removed the vinyl floor covering, stripped the floor back to the original wood and had it sanded and polished.”

Creating The Hub was made possible from a Lotteries Commission facilities grant of $100,000. What hasn’t been used to get The Hub ready for use will be put towards the refurbishment of the Museum Whare.

The official opening is tonight, June 8. Held in conjunction with the opening was a display of the paintings by the late Pauline Yearbury and the book she and husband Jim produced, The Children of Rangi and Papa. Guest speakers are Hugh Blomfield and Bernard Woodcock.

Fiona Mohr said the curatorial emphasis for the Yearbury display is Māori mythology, the theme of Pauline’s artwork and the book.

The future of The Hub will include computer digital training plus there will be film nights, the space will be available for book club functions and can be used as a meeting room for a number of community groups.

Treghan Lodge wins Best of Best Award

Best of the Best award winners are among the top 1 per cent of listings on Tripadvisor. Treghan Lodge in the Bay of Islands has been recognised in receiving the 2023 Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best award.

The awards honour travellers’ favourite destinations and are based on the reviews and opinions collected from travellers and diners around the world over a 12-month period.

The owners of Treghan Luxury Lodge are Anna and Murray Hamilton. They have both had eclectic careers.

Before buying The Lodge, Anna lived in Australia and Britain and travelled widely. She was a director of marketing and communications for Stockbroker Buttle Wilson, the director marketing/public affairs for Fay Richwhite. She joined them in the early days of the America’s Cup campaign in Perth.

She worked for several years for ACC, General Finance and BP in senior roles. After leaving the corporate scene, Anna established Oryx Technologies, a start-up website development company which is operating successfully to this day.

Murray, too, has travelled widely. In between times, he loves his golf to the extent he described himself as a “fanatic”.

His career included working for the Banking for Trust Bank NZ and as assistant governor of the New Zealand Reserve Bank. He became CEO initially of the Foundation of Research and Technology and later CEO of the Ministry For Science and Innovation.

Together they have also established The Little Black Gallery in Kerikeri that exhibits a range of Northland and New Zealand artists.

“We are really delighted to have been recognised in this way by Tripadvisor,” said Anna Hamilton.

“Of course, without the team and their high standards the award would not have been possible and we give a special vote of thanks to them.”

She added that with changing expectations, continual labour shortages and rising costs, winning the award was no easy feat. treghan.co.nz info@treghanlodge.co.nz.