Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Coffee Day at Piha RSA 17th March 2015

What a great 'Big Day Out' Coffee Day at lovely West Coast Piha. The weather was great and the Piha RSA treated us wonderfully with providing on tap tea and biscuits and the chef taking charge of our food offerings. We were the guest of our Club Member, Val Alison, who is a member of the Piha RSA. The 17th March was, of course, St Patrick's Day and so there was plenty of green on display and a variety of Irish melodies played. We had a good selection of keyboards to play and lots of participation. Quite a few of our Members stayed on after 3.30 pm to continue playing in a relaxed atmosphere and then were spoilt with an a-la-carte menu by the chef. We eventually packed-up and headed back to Auckland in convoy about 7.45 pm with wonderful memories of a very special day.

A big thank you to the Piha RSA and our Club Member host, Val Alison, for setting-up the day so well. Also, thanks to Val's sister and Club Member, Dagmar Tennant, who assisted with the preparations.
A big thanks also to Committee Members: Diane and Dennis Lyons; Laurie Conder; and Margaret Black for keeping the day flowing so well.

The Photos:

Views of Piha from the deck. Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons. Piha 9  Piha 1 Piha 4 Piha 6Piha 8 Piha 11 Piha 13 Piha 15 Piha 22Piha 14 Piha 16 Piha 21 Piha 25 Piha 28 Piha 30  Piha 32 Piha 33

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Club Night 3rd March 2015

Our March Club Night was preceded by our AGM which we kept to under 30 minutes. We were then thrilled to welcome back to the Club, Kuniko Nakatani, who is on holiday from Japan. Kuniko was a member of NSOKC in 2013 whilst she had an extended stay in NZ. Kuniko played our Clavinova and enthralled us with her piano skills and great selection of music. After a leisurely tea break we were ready for our guest artist, Rod Moffat. This was Rod's first time playing for us and  the wait was worth it!  Rod used his 76 note Korg Pa3X to great effect. Also, his wife, Nelleke, joined Rod for a couple of songs on vocals and delighted us with her jazz style singing.
It was great to have nearly 60 persons present for Club Night and certainly helps to build a good atmosphere.
Member, Merv Adair, did the arrival music for us on the Clavinova and was most enjoyable to listen to. This was Merv's debut at the Club - about time at 91 years young!
The Videos:
Kuniko Nakatani playing the Club’s Clavinova CVP-509. Kuniko flew-in from Japan just the day before:
Our “Club Night Guest Artist, Rod Moffat, playing his Korg Pa3X 76 Note version. Rod is joined by his wife, Nelleke, for a couple of vocal numbers:
The Photos:
 
 
Merv Adair enjoying the occasion and playing the arrival music for us. Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons.
Kuniko Nakatani gave a mini-concert for us on our Clavinova. Kuniko was a member of our Club in 2013 when she spent an extended stay in New Zealand. Kuniko is in Auckland for a week's holiday and kindly agreed to come along and play for her NSOKC music friends. Thanks Kuniko for your wonderful music and enjoy your holiday in NZ! Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons. Kuniko Nakatani playing our Clavinova CVP-509. Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons.Kuniko Nakatani playing our Clavinova CVP-509. Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons. President, Gordon Sutherland, thanking Kuniko for her wonderful mini-concert. Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons.
Our guest artist, Rod Moffat, was our guest artist and brought along his magnificent Korg Pa3X 76 note arranger keyboard. Thanks for a great concert Rod! Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons.  Our guest artist, Rod Moffat and Nelleke Moffat, gave us a couple of songs with jazz vocals - great stuff! Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons.President, Gordon Sutherland (on right), thanking Rod Moffat for his great concert for us. Photo courtesy of Dennis Lyons.