Saturday 10 June 7:30pm  and Sunday 11 June 2pm

 

Musical Director - Chalium Poppy

 

F. J. Haydn - Seven Last Words of Christ  & W. A. Mozart - Mass in C Major, K 220 (The Sparrow’s Mass)

 

Soprano - Regan McFarlane

 

Regan McFarlane started her classical singing career while at High School. She is a founding member of Scholars Baroque Aotearoa (est. 2010) under the direction of Chalium

Poppy. Since 2012 she has featured as a Soprano Soloist singing diverse solos including Rutter’s Requiem (both with Scholars Baroque Aotearoa and Edgecumbe Choir), Charpentier’s Judicium Salamonis, Allegri’s Miserere Mei, Haydn’s St Nicolas Mass, the

Johann Ritter von Herbeck pieces Pueri Concinite and Redemptor Nobis Natus Est, as well as many others.

Regan returns to Edgecumbe Choir for her 5th appearance.

 

 

Alto - Charlotte McDonald

 

 A country-girl born and raised in Waiuku, 24 yr. old Charlotte comes from a very music-orientated family and with being surrounded by music on a day-to-day basis, it was inevitable that she would have a love for this artform. She joined her first choir at five, before commencing private lessons and for the past seven years has been studying with Gina Sanders and has also had the benefit of the combined input of several of NZ’s excellent teachers and coaches, the majority of them based at the University of Waikato. Charlotte has performed in numerous concerts and shows, and competed in competitions around the North Island, winning several awards, including the Most Promising Adult singer in 2020 at SAPACS and a nomination to the PACANZ Nationals for 2022. Charlotte also achieved her LTCL diploma with Distinction in 2020. She also enjoys participating in community events and is a Trustee and Treasurer of the Clevedon Valley Music Foundation Trust. Charlotte has completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance Voice, at the University of Waikato and is currently in her honours year. Recently, she debuted in the role of Zita in Puccini’s ‘Gianni Schicchi’ with the Waikato University Conservatorium of Music.

 

Tenor - Taylor Wallbank

 

Taylor Wallbank has been singing for 8 years. He first started singing at high school, after his friends suggested he join a choir. He was then invited to join a youth opera initiative and later found himself in a full-scale opera, performing with international opera singers.

In 2017, Taylor debuted his operatic career in the opera Carmen as Le Remendado, standing on stage alongside some of Australasia’s top stars. Taylor is involved with Project Prima Volta, a youth opera initiative that helps young people to explore their talents in an empowering environment. He has also been awarded the Maori High Excellence Award in both 2019 & 2020. Taylor also has extensive experience in oratorio, such as John Stainers Crucifixion, Messiah, Durante’s Magnificat, Saint Saens Christmas Oratorio, Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle, Mozarts requiem and many more. In 2018 he also sang the role of Gastone in Festival Opera's production of La Traviata and is currently preparing the role of Monostatos in Festival Opera’s 2023 production of Die Zauberflöte. Taylor has an exciting year to come where he will be working with NZ Opera & the TANZOS programme (2023) as well as various other projects throughout Aotearoa.

 

Taylor returns to Edgecumbe Choir for his 2nd appearance. He performed with choir in European Christmas concert in 2020.

 

 

Baritone - Aidan Phillips

 

Aidan Thomas Phillips is a Baritone based in Hamilton. He completed his MMus in Classical Vocal Performance at the University of Waikato under Kristin Darragh. He is an alumnus of the NZ Opera School 2020-2022 and a member of the NZO Freemasons Chorus in Auckland. Recent performances include singing chorus for Verdi’s Requiem and Il Trovatore with the APO, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (Marco) with University of Waikato, The Last Five Years (Jamie) with Tauranga Musical Theatre, Phantom of the Opera (Phantom) with Theatre Whakatane and solo recitals with Tauranga Opera Forum and OCT Ensemble at Aratiatia Marae. This year he will perform in Jenkins’ The Armed Man with Hamilton Festival Chorus/Hamilton Brass, Handel’s Brockes Passion with Scholars Baroque Aotearoa/Opus Orchestra,Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ with Edgecumbe Choir. In July he will depart for Berlin where he willperform a chamber reduction of Wagner’s Die Walküre (Wotan) with the Dramatic Voices Programme, and he will perform Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte (Guglielmo) with Berlin Opera Academy, before heading over to Glasgow to begin further studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in their prestigious Masters of Opera programme.

Aidan returns to Edgecumbe Choir for his 2nd appearance. He performed with choir at Pirates of Penzance concert in September 2020. 

 

Michael C.W. Bell - Organist

 

Michael Bell is resident organist, composer and music teacher at Kings School in Remuera, Auckland. His early exploits in music were as an improviser on piano and later on the organ. He studied organ/harpsichord with John Wells at the University of Auckland and after completing a BMus and diploma, began teaching Music at Avondale College in 2003. He was Director of Music at St Matthews in the City from 2002 until 2016.

 

Michael was organist for many concerts with Edgecumbe choir under the baton of Tony Hogg. Choir is delighted to have Michael back performing with us.

F. J. Haydn - Seven Last Words of Christ Towards the end of the 17th Century, Jesuits in Lima (Peru) developed a specific Passion devotion on the “Seven Last Words” which soon reached the Catholic countries of Europe. Haydn’s setting belongs to this tradition, which is characterized by strong popular piety. Originally, it was purely an orchestral work based on a commission from Cadiz in Spain; the work was to consist of an appropriate prelude and seven instrumental movements of approximately the same length which were to reflect the respective words of Christ as meditation music. Upon first hearing the work publicly performed, Haydn was both inspired and encouraged to revisit his original score and add a choir and soloists.  The result of this burst of inspiration is a wonderfully expressive and thoroughly dramatic choral work. The work radiates with classical beauty and sentiment throughout and culminates with one of Haydn’s most dramatic and exciting choral moments ever written - the earthquake.  

 

W. A. Mozart - Mass in C Major, K 220 (The Sparrow’s Mass) Written by a 20 year old Mozart, the Spätzenmesse or “Sparrow’s Mass” was written for Easter 1776.  Leopold Mozart went to great lengths to secure his son the lucrative and highly-coveted position of court musician to Prince Archbishop Colloredo, the ruler of Salzburg. Mozart gained many friends and admirers in Salzburg during this time and had the opportunity to work in many genres, including symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, masses, serenades, and even a few minor operas. This decidedly celebratory and optimistic little mass would have surely been commissioned by Archbishop Colloredo himself for the Easter Mass in Salzburg Cathedral. The work earned the nickname “sparrow” on account of the violin figure in the Hosanna which amusingly sounds like the chirping of birds.  Despite his successes, Mozart quickly grew bored and discontented with Salzburg, which offered him few opportunities to indulge in his primary love, opera.  By the very next Easter (1777), Mozart will have abandoned his position in Salzburg and be en route for the pleasures of Paris.  

Following Mozart’s sad and untimely death, his rather incapable student Franz Süssmayr would use this Mass (and 4 others Mozart had written) as his model and template to complete the unfinished Requiem. This was at the request of Mozart’s widow, Constanze, in order that the impoverished family might collect the ever-important commission.

 

Venue: St George and St John Church 30 Domain Rd Whakatane