Buzzing Sewing Class
The students at Bea Lorimer’s Intro to Sewing class held last weekend are buzzing about the creations they made. We have had wonderful feedback about the class. Check out Bea’s Instagram to see what they made:
Invention Workshop with Margaret Feeney
Margaret Feeney recently ran a Wild Animal Glyph workshop with Tracey and the artists of Adult Learning to investigate the idea of animal language.
The ephemeral installation is in two parts displayed in the Library courtyard. The first half is 2D and pretends we are not part of nature is composed of brightly coloured synthetic materials such as vinyl adhesive, coloured insulation tape and polypropylene. The second half is a 3D assemblage of subdued palette, composed of natural materials such as airdry clay, sticks, raffia and cotton string.
Whittakers Musical Museum are presenting a fascinating talk: The Life of a Female Conductor | In conversation with Rita Paczian
Tickets available here: https://musicalmuseum.org/event/rita-paczian/
Join us for an evening with one of New Zealand’s foremost conductors, and hear about the challenges and rewards of her work. There will be the opportunity to ask questions and join in the conversation.
Rita Paczian, Music & Artistic Director
An exceptionally gifted conductor, Rita Paczian has earned a growing reputation world-wide for bringing an electrifying balance of musicality, intellect, technique and passion to her performances. She is extremely versatile, and her musical interests and professional experience embrace a repertoire spanning five centuries.
A native of Germany, she graduated Master of Music (with distinction) in conducting, organ, harpsichord and singing at Dortmund and Lübeck universities, her tutors including Martin Haselböck and Helmuth Rilling. Recognized in Germany as one of the outstanding young conductors of her generation, she was one of four conductors selected to participate in a two-week master class with Leonard Bernstein at the 1989 Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. She then studied further with leading international conductors Odaline Martinez, Eric Ericson, Klaus-Peter Seibel, Richard Schumacher and Joshard Daus.
From 1989 to 1991 she specialised in historically informed Baroque and Classical interpretation, working particularly with the Viennese Baroque orchestra, Wiener Akademie, in operas, symphonies and oratorios of Mozart and Handel. Between 1991 and 1993 Rita was Musical Director at the principal church in Hamburg, St Jacob’s (a post formerly held by Telemann), and of the Verdi Orchestra, Hamburg.
She was Associate Principal Conductor on the world concert tours of the British National Youth Choir in 1996 and 1999, performing in America, Asia, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Amongst others, Rita has conducted the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestras of Lübeck and Schwerin and the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen (Germany), the Tallinn (Estonia) and Riga (Latvia) Symphony Orchestras, and the National Symphony and the Durban Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa.
In New Zealand she has directed the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, the Vector Orchestra and Dunedin Sinfonia, and in Australia, the Queensland Orchestra, the Monash University Orchestra, the Willoughby and Darwin Symphony Orchestras, Camerata Queensland and the Suncoast Sinfonia.
Rita is known for the high standard of her performances and several of her oratorio concerts, involving some of Australasia’s finest singers (notably Simon O’Neill, Dame Malvina Major, Martin Snell, Henry Choo, Patricia Wright, David Hamilton, Shaun Dixon, Barry Mora and Rodney McCann), have been broadcast by Radio Concert (NZ).
Since 1994 Rita has been Musical Director of Bach Musica NZ, New Zealand’s leading combined orchestral and choral ensemble.
Other Musical Director positions included the Opus Chamber Orchestra from 2001 to 2004 and the NZ Pops Orchestra from 2012 to 2018. She also performs with her baroque ensemble Hausmusik NZ.
In October 2019 Rita was became a finalist in the Arts & Culture section of Women of Influence. As well as conducting orchestras and choirs, Rita is sought after for her highly acclaimed international Conducting and Singing workshops, and in her spare time also works as a professional Level 2 Tennis Coach.
In November 2022 Rita and her husband John moved to Motueka on the South Island.
Free Invention Workshop with Margaret Feeney
Wild Animal Glyph project
Margaret Feeney is running a Wild Animal Glyph workshop with Tracey and the artists of Adult Learning to investigate the idea of animal language.
WHERE AND WHEN
We’ll be at the Waiheke Adult Learning, 2 Korora Rd, Oneroa, Waiheke Island (beside the Waiheke Library).
Friday 24th February, 10am – 3pm
Saturday 25th February, 10am – 3pm
I’ll be in the courtyard installing on Sunday installing the mahi.
The Idea
“Glyphs are elemental units of communication. The workshop looks at the idea that other life forms are complex and communicate with each other, we just can’t hear them. We’ll be thinking about the human shift of mind and environment from culture/nature to culture/culture, as if we are made by culture alone and are not part of nature.
Over two days we’ll make an ephemeral installation of two binary halves to be displayed in the Library courtyard. The first half is 2D and pretends we are not part of nature and will be composed of brightly coloured synthetic materials such as vinyl adhesive, coloured insulation tape and polypropylene. The second half will be a 3D assemblage of subdued palette, composed of natural materials such as airdry clay, sticks, raffia and cotton string.
The installation will also be interactive. I’ll leave scraps of tape and adhesive for people to contribute to the 2D work with. And sticks, thread and raffia for the 3D assemblage.
The mahi is experimental and inventive! We’ll draw, paint, korero and make. The Glyph project is a hybrid of my Water Systems investigations and my project A Dark Comedy In Pastels.
The core kaupapa is inclusion and invention, love to see you there!”
Any queries please contact Margaret on 0220316760