Club Night 5th December 2023

 What a great way to finish off the Club's 2023 event calendar! With a distinct Christmas feel, the evening started off with Roy Steen playing the arrival music. Roy was followed by Mary Brown playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809. Next up, Len Hancy led us all in a Christmas sing-along from lyric sheets handed out with Len singing the lead enhanced by great orchestration backings from his laptop. We then drew our very special Christmas Hamper Raffle. There were 10 buckets chock full of goodies and wine to share the festive cheer.

Our catering manager, Karen Steen, had arranged a really nice supper with warm mince pies, strawberries, marshmallows and biscuits. All washed down with tea, coffee or cranberry juice. Very nice, thank you Karen. For the second set, we were entertained by two exceptionally talented pianists: firstly, Denise Gunson and followed by Patrick McMillan. Both played for around 20 minutes with a selection of jazz standards and Christmas songs. They were both using the Club's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809.

Special thanks to Delyse Whorwood and Kay Boyes for organizing the Christmas Hamper Raffle. Also, thanks to Kay for door duties and Delyse Whorwood and Murray McLachlan for helping with the setup of the room - lots of electronics, screens, sound and chairs to arrange as well of some Christmas decorations.

All in all, a great way to finish the Club's 2023 programme.

The Photos:

Roy Steen played the arrival music on his Korg Pa300

Mary Brown playing the Clavinova

Denise Gunson playing the Clavinova

Patrick McMillan playing the Clavinova

Our Christmas Raffle Hampers

Coffee Day at Mayfair Village

 Some great music performed by some of our most talented members at this lovely Village, Mayfair. The Steinway grand piano was put to good use by our pianist members! A terrific way to catch up with our fellow musicians in an informal atmosphere and share good music with the Village residents whilst we enjoyed a relaxing and tasty lunch.

The Photos:

Kay Boyes playing the Steinway grand piano

Ayana Tayler playing the Steinway grand piano

Ayana playing the Steinway grand piano

Patrick McMillan playing the Steinway grand piano

Gordon Sutherland playing his Korg Pa5X arranger workstation

Club Night 7th November 2023

 What a fantastic night of music! We started the evening with Roy Steen playing the arrival music for about 20 minutes on our Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809 - nice Roy. A well-sized audience was entertained in the first set by our guest artists, Conundrum, a band from the Warkworth/Wellsford region. What a superb concert they gave us, with nice fast and bouncy songs with an amazing array of instruments played. Can't wait for next year when we can invite them to play for us again! See the video below of their amazing performance.

After a coffee and biscuits break, we drew the raffle and then proceeded to our second set wherein three of our talented pianists played our Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809. First up a new member debuted with a mixture of popular music, a Christmas song and even some Chopin! Thank you, Ayana Tayler, for your music and we look forward to more contributions both at our Coffee Days and Club Nights. Next, Graeme Webber entertained us using the orchestral features of the Clavinova as well as vocals and an original song! Excellent Graeme. To complete the musical experience of the evening, Brian McMurray played for us with a very relaxed cocktail style night music of jazz standards. Beautifully executed by Brian - such talent!

                                            The Video:

Our Guest Artists for our November Club Night, Conundrum.

From L: R Cathy Busbridge on fiddle; Linda Hobbs on bass guitar and woodwind; Jeff Hobbs on acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals; Julia Withers on percussion/drums; and Peter Thomas on mandolin and banjo.

                                            The Photos:

From L: R Cathy Busbridge on fiddle; Linda Hobbs on bass guitar and recorder/flute; Jeff Hobbs on acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals; Julia Withers on percussion/drums; and Peter Thomas on mandolin and banjo.

From L: R Cathy Busbridge on fiddle; Linda Hobbs on bass guitar and recorder/flute; Jeff Hobbs on acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals; Julia Withers on percussion/drums; and Peter Thomas on mandolin and banjo.

From L: R Cathy Busbridge on fiddle; Linda Hobbs on bass guitar and recorder/flute; Jeff Hobbs on acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals; Julia Withers on percussion/drums; and Peter Thomas on mandolin and banjo.

From L: R Cathy Busbridge on fiddle; Linda Hobbs on bass guitar and recorder/flute; Jeff Hobbs on acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals; Julia Withers on percussion/drums; and Peter Thomas on mandolin and banjo.

Graeme Webber playing the Clavinova

Ayana Tayler playing the Clavinova

Brian McMurray playing the Clavinova

Coffee Day at Greenwich Gardens Metlifecare Village

 An enjoyable day for our members at this lovely Lifestyle Village with great support from the residents and Management. The Village has a Boston grand piano (made by the Steinway Company) and certainly our piano players enjoyed using it! We had a wide variety of musical genres played from classical to jazz standards.

The Photos:

Beverley Henderson is both a member and resident of the Village.
Beverley played semi-classical pieces for us.

Diane Lyons played Gordon Sutherland's Korg Pa5X arranger keyboard

Kay Boyes our Events Manager

Patrick McMillan

Warren Levick

Gordon Sutherland playing his Korg Pa5X
arranger keyboard

Club Night 3rd October 2023

 One of our best evenings! Superb musicianship both on the piano and keyboards. Arrival music was ably provided by Brian McMurray on the Clavinova. Warren Levick then gave a 15-minute performance on the Clavinova using style arrangements to enhance the songs. Denise Gunson then entertained us for 15 minutes with her usual masterful performance on the Clavinova. To finish the first half, Patrick McMillan played the Clavinova for us with his own sensitive style.

After the raffle and a 30-minute refreshments break, we were entertained by our guest artist for the evening - Paul McIsaac. Paul is a master of keyboards and played both his Korg Pa3X arranger keyboard in conjunction with his Kurzweil PC5-8 workstation. The Korg drove the rhythms and the attack was provided by the Kurzweil and the sounds of the Kurzweil were further enhanced using Keyscape software from his laptop. Unbelievable mastery of the instruments and excellent selection of jazz standards to boot!

                                                                 The Video:

           Our guest artist this month was Paul McIsaac. Paul was playing his Korg                        Pa3X arranger keyboard in conjunction with his Kurzweil SP5-8 workstation.

The Photos:

Brian McMurray playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Warren Levick playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Denise Gunson playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Patrick McMillan playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Our guest artist, Paul McIsaac playing his Korg Pa3X arranger keyboard
                    in conjunction with his Kurzweil PC5-8 workstation

Coffee Day at Knightsbridge Village 20th September 2023

 An enjoyable day at Knightsbridge Village on Wednesday, 20th September 2023. The weather was lovely, and the music was wonderful and with an enthusiastic audience of Knightsbridge residents and members of our Club. A wide variety of music was played from the classics to contemporary and both on the K. Kawai grand piano and on various arranger keyboards members brought along. It was nice to have one of the Knightsbridge residents play the grand piano for us to share in the fun (Norma Kingsley-Smith).

The Photos:

A potentially new member of the Club, Ayana Tayler, played for us on the K. Kawai grand piano

Claude Moffat

A resident of Knightsbridge Village, Norma Kingsley-Smith

Yvonne Moller playing her arranger Korg Pa3X

Mary Barret playing her arranger Korg Pa1000

Denise Gunson

Warren Levick

Patrick McMillan

Kay Boyes

Gordon Sutherland playing his Korg arranger Pa5X

Club Night 5th September 2023

 We had a good turn-out on a wet, wintry night and the effort was worth it! We had some great music played by our members in the first set and by our guest artists in the second set.

Roy Steen provided the arrival music on our Clavinova. Roy was followed by Yvonne Moller who brought along her Korg Pa3X arranger keyboard. Audrey Henden then played the Clavinova taking us on a walk down memory lane. To finish the first set, Rod and Nelleke Moffat entertained us - Rod on his Korg Pa4X arranger keyboard and Nelleke adding vocals to some of the numbers played. What a wide variety of music and so well played. Well done Y'all.

After the raffle and a refreshments break, we were ready for our guest artists, Darren Smith on our Clavinova CVP-809 ensemble piano and accompanied by Dean Tremlett on electric bass guitar. A good variety of genres were covered spanning the last 80 years! Most enjoyable, thank you Darren and Dean.

The Video:

Our Guest Artists for Club Night - Darren Smith on keys and Lee Tremlett on bass guitar

The Photos:

Roy Steen playing the Clavinova CVP-809

Yvonne Moller playing her Korg Pa3X

Audrey Henden playing the Clavinova CVP-809

Rod Moffat playing his Korg Pa4X

Rod Moffat playing his Korg Pa4X
and accompanied by Nelleke Moffat on vocals

Our guest artists, Darren Smith on the Clavinova CVP-809
and accompanied by Dean Tremlett on his electric bass guitar

Coffee Day at Northbridge Village

 As part of the Club's ethos of "Bringing Music to the Community", we held a Coffee Day at the lovely Northbridge Retirement Village in Northcote, North Shore, Auckland, NZ on Tuesday, 15th August 2023. We had a wonderful day at the Village. The residents thoroughly enjoyed the day with some of our most talented musicians playing for the residents and our members. These events are a terrific way for our members to relax and catch up on all the 'goss' from their music friends.

The Photos:

Ian Jackson playing the Village's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-609

Patrick McMillan playing the Village's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-609

Warren Levick playing the Village's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-609

Gordon Sutherland playing his Korg Pa5X arranger keyboard

Kay Boyes playing the Village's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-609

Club Night 1st August 2023

 One of the best evenings ever! What a fantastic variety of music and musicianship. Arrival music was kindly provided by Paul McIsaac and followed by Ian Jackson both on our Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809. Next up, Peter Longbottom played his Korg Pa600 arranger keyboard and followed by a 20-minute recital by Hana Tani. Hana played two classical pieces on our Clavinova piano. The renditions by Hana were magnificent and still in her mid-teens! In the second set, Taka Iida brought along his portable Yamaha Electone Stagea two manual keyboard with pedalboard. Taka played nine pieces with many of them focused on The Carpenters. Wonderful music as always by Taka.

The Videos:

Taka Iida playing his Yamaha Electone Stagea as our Guest Artist on Club Night

The Photos:

Peter Longbottom playing his Korg Pa600

Hana Tani playing our Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Paul McIsaac playing the Clavinova

Taka Iida playing his Yamaha Electone Stagea as our Guest Artist

The audience