ORIANA singers Inc
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Concerts
2019
CAROLS FOR CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS IS COMING!
Oriana Singers, Tauranga’s local community choir, is gearing up for
the Christmas season in fine choral style, developing a programme
of Carols for Christmas, music that will tickle the musical taste-buds
and warm the hearts of discerning listeners.
Featuring in the programme will be “Season of Wonders”, a
cantata arranged by Joseph Martin, combining classic carols with
recently composed anthems, interspersed with narrations that
introduce each piece. The joyous sound of this cantata will be an
unforgettable treatas it brings to life the story of the birth of Jesus.
Maegan Jones will be our guest artist, performing three piano pieces.
The choir will also perform a variety of other well-known carols, some
designed for audience participation, so bring along your best singing
voice!
The concert will be conducted by our regular Musical Director, Katrina
Daniela, who has been with the choir for six years, challenging the
singers to new levels. Katrina, who studied conducting with Karyn
Grylls and Uwe Grodd at the University of Auckland, is currently Head
of the Music Department at Papamoa College.
We are delighted to have the very talented and busy Leon Gray as our
accompanist for this concert.
When: 2.30pm Saturday 30 November, 2019
Where: St Peters in the City, corner of Cameron Road, and Spring Street
Tickets: Adults’ $20.00, accompanied children free
May 25-26 - ENDEAVOUR 250
Commemorating Captain Cook's arrival to New Zealand
The Oriana Singers are delighted to join with Rotorua District Choir in May 2019 to bring you a selection of music from the era of Captain Cook, as we celebrate 250 years since he first came to New Zealand. Music will include a variety of English folk and dance songs, sea shanties and Maori waiata, representing the voyage from one end of the globe to the other.
Where: Saturday 25 May St Peters in the City, Tauranga, 2.00pm
Sunday 26 May, Western Heights High School, 70 Old Quarry Road, Rotorua, 2.00pm
Tickets: Available at the door on the day - $15 adults, accompanied children free
2018
The Music of DAVID HAMILTON
Oriana Singers is delighted and honoured to introduce David
Hamilton, acclaimed New Zealand composer, choral conductor
& music educator as it performs a selection of his work,
including the world première of one of his newest pieces,
‘Carol of the Pohutukawa’.
While concentrating on composing, David maintains part-time
involvement in music education as a composition tutor and
choral conductor, working mainly with schools and community
choirs. His music is accessible and written to be within the
scope of choirs of mixed abilities.
David was Head of Music at Epsom Girls Grammar School, where
he conducted the award-winning girls’ choir Opus until the end
of 2001. He was Deputy Music Director of Auckland Choral (1996
-2011) and has been Composer-in-Residence with the Auckland
Philharmonia Orchestra (1999) and at both Sing Aotearoa (2013)
and the NZ Singing School (2015).
His choral music is widely performed, and is published in the UK,
USA, Germany and Finland. Works have been commissioned by
choirs in Japan, England, USA, Finland, Ireland and Australia.
He has won composer competitions in Italy, the USA, New
Zealand and the UK.
As part of his commitment to this Oriana Singers concert, David
has conducted a choir workshop to help us familiarise ourselves
with his work, and has also taken time to judge original compositions by talented young local composers—students from Tauranga and around the Bay of Plenty. The three best compositions will be played by the composers during the concert, and we hope you enjoy their efforts.
Where: St Peters in the City Church
When: Sunday 2 December, 2.30pm
Tickets: Available at door – adults $15.00, accompanied children free
Oriana Singers in concert with
Geelong Welsh Ladies Choir
Oriana Singers are delighted to welcome the Geelong Welsh Ladies Choir to Tauranga on the final leg of their tour to New Zealand, and to join them in concert in October.
The Geelong Welsh Ladies Choir was founded in 1998 and this year celebrates their 20th birthday with a fourth overseas tour - their third to New Zealand. Their first tour was to Wales [where else?] for three weeks in 2004, where they performed at Denbigh, Bangor, Caernarfon Castle, Newtown, Porthcawl, Llanstrisant and Ogmore Vale.
While this is the choir's third visit to New Zealand, it is their first visit to Tauranga, and we are thrilled that we have been asked to join them in concert here for their final performance of their tour. Geelong Welsh Ladies Choir will sing two groups of songs interspersed with items from Oriana Singers and two sets of combined-choir songs.
Geelong Welsh Ladies Choir is led by Musical Director Jeanette John who is the founding MD for the choir and Welsh born, and accompanied by Stefanie Gumienik.
Oriana Singers choir is led by regular MD Katrina Daniela, with accompanist Jacob Hartwell.
Concert Details:
Venue: Graham Young Theatre, Tauranga Boys' College, Cameron Road
Time: 7.00pm, Friday 26 October 2018
Tickets are available from Oriana Singers choir members or can be purchased at the door on the night.
"The Sprig of Thyme"
and other folk songs of the British Isles
The Oriana Singers, under the baton of regular Musical Director
Katrina Daniela, take pleasure in presenting John Rutter's "The
Sprig of Thyme", a cycle of folk songs telling ordinary peoples'
stories, traditionally passed from generation to generation.
In "The Sprig of Thyme", Rutter has gathered 11 songs from across
the British Isles and Ireland which, through simple, direct
language and lilting melodies, tell us about the complexities of
human life - especially in relation to love!!
Rutter expressed his feelings about this music as follows:
'For children growing up in post war England, as I did, traditional
songs still form a common musical currency. These songs
brought me delight and pleasure then, and they still do now,
though pleasure has become tinged with nostalgia because, for
the most part, they are forgotten and gone from our lives,
perhaps forever. The Sprig of Thyme is an affectionate tribute to
their composers and poets; a few were renowned, most were
obscure or unknown, but the songs they created were famous,
and I remember them fondly.'
Rutter's arrangements bring new life to these songs, passing on
his 'delight and pleasure' to singers and listeners alike.
To complete the concert, Katrina has chosen a further selection
of well-known folk songs from across the British Isles, which we
hope will also appeal to our audience.
Concert dates:
2.30pm Saturday 23 June at St Andrews Church, Mt Maunganui
2.30pm Sunday 24 June at Otumoetai Baptist Church, Otumoetai
2017
Almost Christmas...and anything goes!
Tauranga's' Oriana Singers present “Almost Christmas ...
and anything goes!” during the first weekend of December.
Under the baton of guest Musical Director Jess Bradley and
talented accompanist Leon Gray, the programme includes a
nicely-blended selection of popular songs and carols designed to make the audience smile and want to sing along!
Concert dates:
2.30pm Saturday 2 December
at St Andrews Church, Mt Maunganui
2.30pm Sunday 3 December
at Otumoetai Baptist Church, Otumoetai
Travellers' Tales
Oriana Singers' 2017 winter programme, "Travellers' Tales",
brings together an eclectic selection of popular, classical
and traditional songs, music and poems from around the
world that will surely delight the audience!
From "Hear My Prayer/O For the Wings of a Dove", written to
Mendelssohn's music, to "Shenandoah" to Brian Tate's "Java
Jazz", there will be something to appeal to all musical
appetites.
Two piano solo pieces are of particular interest -
"Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" by Norway's Edvard Grieg
and "Pantomime" by Spain's Manuel de Falla can be enjoyed
either side of the interval, played by our very own Coreen Gray.
A selection of poems adds to the enjoyment of the afternoon.
Concerts are at 2.30pm on:
Saturday 1 July at St Andrews Church, Dee Street, Mt Maunganui
Sunday 2 July at Otumoetai Baptist Church, 241 Otumoetai Road.
School pupils accompanied by an adult will be admitted free.
2016
A Kiwi Christmas
A Christmas programme filled with original Kiwi music, poems and readings.
A collection of traditional carols that have been arranged by New Zealanders and popular contemporary carols from New
Zealand. The programme includes some of New Zealand’s
best hymn writers, composers and songwriters and provides a wide range of new and interesting carols for Christmas celebrations. Many of which have a Southern hemisphere ‘flavour’ and ‘down-under’ perspective. As well as carols and Kiwi Christmas songs, the programme will include a range of small groups pieces, solos and will also feature original Kiwi Christmas poetry. Local students have contributed their original poetry for the Christmas concerts.
Included will be a Kiwi parody of a classic Christmas poem that has hurtled round the world via email is stirring up memories for homesick expats. Written by Auckland comedian Penny Ashton, A Kiwi Xmas is based on the poem The Night before Christmas. Instead of the classic prose,
her version is littered with kiwiana, featuring weta, Eden Park, Fanta and Kingswoods.
The programme features a traditional carol Te Harinui by the Reverend Samuel Marsden, who was the first person in New Zealand to preach the Christian Gospel, at the Bay of Islands on Christmas Day 1814. His sermon was based on Luke's text, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
Sing!
From The Beatles to J.S. Bach
Together with visiting guest choir, the Stratford Singers, Tauranga’ Oriana Singers present Sing ! – a selection of popular songs including items by Liverpools’ favourite sons as well as the ever popular Johann Sebastian Bach.
Performing for the first time at their new venue, the Performing Arts Centre at Otumoetai College, 105 Windsor Road, Bellevue, at 2.00 pm on Sunday 3rd July, the 70 strong joint ensemble will be accompanied by Tauranga’s acclaimed pianist, Leon Gray, was Musical Director to the Stratford Singers prior to moving to Tauranga.
Stratford Singers, led by Musical Director Peter Copeland, is a community choir who will have some 23 of their 40 members travelling to join Oriana in this concert. Conducting duties will be shared with Oriana’s Katrina Daniela – each leading their own choir as well as sharing the conducting role for joint numbers.
For this one off concert, school pupils are again offered free admission, while adults have an entrance fee of $12.
2015
The Mozart Project
A-massed Mozart – the Requiem. SIngers from twelve choirs
from across the central North Island are joining to perform one
of the most well-known and loved works in the choral world.
With acclaimed conductor David Squire of National Youth Choir
fame, four rising soloists hailing from Waikato University and the
Mozart Festival Orchestra under Jim McGregor, the concerts will
be a wonderful opportunity for singers and audience alike to
share in the beauty of this powerful Requiem. Three other well-
known Mozart works complete the programme including “Ave
Verum” for choir. Harmony across the region is the theme drawing
these musicians together from Taihape to Tauranga and Rotorua
to Waitomo. A year in planning and months of rehearsal will
culminate in four concerts across the region in Rotorua, Taupo,
Tauranga and Hamilton in late September. Funding from various
community sources has enabled the Waikato / Bay of Plenty
Branch of the NZ Choral Federation to mount this project and to
keep concert price affordable at only $15 a seat, children free.
With over 200 singers registered to take part this will be an
exciting and moving musical event, not to be missed for choral
lovers.
Don't miss the Tauranga concert.
Saturday 26 September 7:30 pm
Bethlehem College Performing Arts Centre
Moffat Road
Bethlehem
Tauranga
Tickets available at the door - no tickets are being pre-sold
SHOWCASE
A selection of songs from all your favourite shows - Mamma Mia, Sound of Music, Phantom, Les Miserables and more. The Oriana Singers will be joined by up and coming young musician Jessie Colbert.
August 1st 2pm St Andrews Dee St Mt Maunganui
August 2nd 2pm St Columba Otumoetai Rd Otumoetai
THE ARMED MAN - KARL JENKINS
This will be performed in conjunction with the Tauranga Civic Choir in commemoration of WW1.
April 25th -4pm Holy Trinity Church. Devonport Rd. Tauranga.
The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins (b. 1944) was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum to commemorate the millennium. This museum, the United Kingdom’s national collection of arms, armor, and artillery, promotes knife and gun crime prevention and raises awareness around resolving or avoiding conflict. Guy Wilson, then Master of the Royal Armories, selected the texts for Jenkins’ work. Dedicated to the victims of the then-ongoing war in Kosovo, the Mass premiered on April 25, 2000, at Royal Albert Hall, London; the CD was released on September 10, 2001, the day before the World Trade Center attacks.
It is a call for peace through exposure to the horrors of war—a theme that transcends cultural differences. Jenkins combined elements from the Catholic Mass, verses from the Bible (Psalms and Revelation), the fifteenth-century folk song L’homme armé, an Islamic Call to Prayer, an excerpt from the Mahàbhàrata, and various poets (Rudyard Kipling, John Dryden, Jonathan Swift, Guy Wilson, Sir Thomas Malory, and Alfred Lord Tennyson).
Jenkins, whose father was a church organist, studied classical music in Wales and England, but in his early musical career he composed advertising jingles and performed in jazz and rock bands. More classical compositions date from 1995 and later.
The Armed Man begins with the sound of marching feet, drums, and a piccolo melody in imitation of an approaching military band. The chorus enters with the fifteenth-century French fight song, L’homme armé. Throughout history composers used this melody as thematic material, especially during the Renaissance.
The pace of Jenkins’ Mass changes abruptly with the Call to Prayers, a chant intoned by a muezzin calling the Muslim faithful to prayer five times daily from a mosque’s minaret. The Greek Kyrie eleison from the Catholic mass follows. Next in Save Me from Bloody Men, the men intone excerpts from Psalms 56 and 59, which appeal for God’s help against enemies. The Sanctus and Hymn before Action set an ominous tone: the sounds of marching feet accompanied by trumpets, all leading to the anguished screams of dying soldiers in Charge! There follows an eerie moment of silence in which the fighting has ceased and then a single trumpet plays Last Post, reminiscent of Taps. In Torches Jenkins sets an excerpt from the sixth-century Sanskrit poem Mahàbhàrata to demonstrate that the horrors of battle have plagued man for centuries. A request for God’s mercy and peace follows with the Agnus Dei. A solo female voice declaims Now the Guns have Stopped; written by Guy Wilson, this poem describes the feelings of loss and guilt felt by the survivors of World War I. The Armed Man ends hopefully with a Benedictus and Better is Peace, an affirmation that change is possible and that sorrow and pain can pass. Jenkins returns to musical material from the beginning of the mass, but asserts, “better is peace than always war.”
2014 Concerts
BUBLE & GROBAN
A selection of well-known songs as recorded by Michael Buble and Josh Groban. Guest artists - Katikati College Musicians & Jazz Combo.
November 29th - 2pm St Andrews Church. Dee St. Mount Maunganui
November 30th - 2pm St Columba Church. Otumoetai Rd. Otumoetai
Michael Bublé is a Grammy-winner singer from Canada, his style inspired by the likes of greats Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.Born on September 9, 1975, in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, Michael Buble is a classic jazz and soul singer who cites Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald as his major influences. At age 17 he entered and won the British Columbia Youth Talent Search, launching his career. Since then, he has had several No. 1 songs and albums and has won several awards.
Josh Groban is a classical and pop music singer. He was born on February 27, 1981. Groban has made a career for himself in singing pop music. He is best known for this 2003 single, "You Raise me Up." Groban has had an interesting life and career, and he has succeeded in both acting and singing. Josh Groban was born in Los Angeles, California. Groban's mother's ancestors were from Germany, England, and Norway. It was Groban's father that inspired the singer to become a musician. It was his early tutelage in the piano that led to Josh's eventual theatrical and singing career. Josh Groban has had an exceptionally proliferant career.
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