Sunday, November 3, 2013

The PumpHouse Theatre Concert on 3rd November 2013

This was the fourth concert in the series "A Sunday Afternoon Musical Spectacular at the PumpHouse Theatre" and what a concert it was! A good sized audience were entertained right royally in the first half by Takashi Iida on his superb state-of-the-art Yamaha Electone Stagea organ. Taka played nine pieces from the classics 'Wagner' to the show ballads like "I Dreamed a Dream" to some contemporary jazz with "A Taste of Honey". Superb orchestrations, masterful musicianship and wonderful, balanced selection of songs that simply dazzled the audience.

In the second-half we were delighted to have as our special guest artists, The Ben Fernandez Trio, with added sax player and two female vocalists. The photos below give the names of the players when you move your mouse over the appropriate photos. What a polished performance - you would not find better anywhere and it was an honour to have such talented musicians perform for the North Shore Organ and Keyboard Club's PumpHouse Concert Spectacular.

A big thank you to members of the NSOKC Committee for the logistics and namely: Jim Nicholson; Delyse Whorwood; Peter Brophy; and Peter Littlejohn. Also a special thank you to Sylvia Riddell for handling pre-bookings ticket distribution at the door and to Len Hancy for being our MC for the show and doing such a great job as always.

All in all, a concert for the archives of the memory and for those that did not share this very special occasion there will be some video clips posted on this Web Page in the next few days so keep posted.

The Video Clips:

Click on the start icon below to watch a YouTube embedded video of Takashi Iida playing his Yamaha Electone Stagea organ at the PumpHouse Theatre at the Concert:

Click on the start icon below to watch a YouTube embedded video of The Ben Fernandez Trio and Guest Artists playing A Concert for the Club at the PumpHouse Theatre (Part One of Two Videos):

Click on the start icon below to watch a YouTube embedded video of The Ben Fernandez Trio and Guest Artists playing A Concert for the Club at the PumpHouse Theatre (Part Two of Two Videos):

The Photos:

Ben Fernandez starting the show with a piano solo of Lorde's "Royal". The grand piano is a Bluthner. A virtuoso performance by one of our senior members, Takashi Iida playing his Yamaha Electone Stage organ. What a splendid selection of pieces for his recital and superbly executed of course! Taka really stole the hearts of the audience with his masterful musicianship. Takashi Iida eyeing-up the audience just before the start of his magnificent recital.Our MC for the Concert, distinguished Club member, Len Hancy. Setting-up for the second-half of the Concert. Ben Fernandez introducing the Band members to the audience.Five of the six artists making up The Ben Fernandez Band for the Concert. Left to right: Ben Fernandez; Maria O'Flaherty; David; Jason Orme; and Jim Langabeer. A fantastic drum solo by Jason Orme. Bass player David Hodkinson giving a solo excerpt.Maria O'Flaherty gave a stunning vocal rendition of the classic "Route 66". The Band in full flight. Jim Langabeer on Sax 'flirting' with Maria O'Flaherty. Whilst drummer Jason Orme keeps the temp nice and tight.Ben leading the Band with his superb touch on the Bluthner grand piano. Ben leading the Band with his superb touch on the Bluthner grand piano. The full band of 6. Left to Right: Ben Fernandez; June Hayes; Maria O'Flaherty; David Hodkinson; Jason Orme; Jim Langabeer.June Hayes and Maria O'Flaherty focussing on Jim Langabeer's stunning sax playing (off shot to the right). Jim Langabeer gave some virtuoso solo interludes. Ben Fernandez keeping it all together very masterfully.The team. Left to Right: David; Ben Fernandez; Joshua Fernandez; June Hayes; Jim Langabeer; Gordon Sutherland (President of the North Shore Organ and Keyboard Club); Maria O'Flaherty; Jason Orme; and Takashi Iida. The valedictory photo after the wonderful Concert.

Ben Fernandez with his beautiful wife, Maria, and son Joshua relaxing immediately after the show. The organizers of the Concert: far left, PumpHouse Theatre Manager, David Martin, and far right Gordon Sutherland, President of the North Shore Organ and Keyboard Club. The two key players from the Concert in the middle: Ben Fernandez and Takashi Iida. Ben's son Joshua showing his pride in his dad!

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