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Club Night 5th November 2024

 One of our best nights ever! A good-sized audience were superbly entertained by our guest artists and members who played. Our Treasurer and Media Manager kicked the evening off with some great background songs whilst our audience settled. Next up, our guest artists, Conundrum, played the first set for us. They play the first set as they come down from Warkworth/Wellsford area for the Concert. As in previous years, Conundrum were fantastic! The played an eclectic mix of songs of ranging from Country, Folk and Irish Ballads. The details about the Band can be found in the caption below of the photo taken on the night.

After a refreshing tea break kindly organized by our Secretary, Delyse Whorwood, three of our members played for us. To start, Ian Jackson played our Clavinova with some lovely ballads from the likes of John Lennon and Lionel Ritchie and with a little Southern Blues and 12-bar boogie to boot! We were thrilled to have our member, Charles Rafi [Rafi], play his acoustic guitar with added vocals. This was Rafi's debut at the Club, and he was terrific with some great ballads etc. Well done, Rafi, it is never easy on your debut! To finish the evening, Warren Levick played our Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809 with a lovely mix of songs including Rhinestone Cowboy which Warren selected for our recently departed Committee member, Russell Boyes, who loved his country music. Thanks for your great music, Warren.

The Videos:

Our Guest artists, Conundrum,
from Warksworth/Wellsford region

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

Club member, Charles Rafi [Rafi], playing his
acoustic guitar plus vocals

The Photos:

Our guest artists, Conundrum

From L to R: Cathy Busbridge on fiddle; Linda Hobbs on bass guitar and penny whistle; Jeff Hobbs on acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals; Julia Withers on percussion and keys; and Peter Thomas on mandolin and banjo. 

Warren Levick giving Arrival Music

Ian Jackson playing our Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Warren Levick playing our Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Charles Rafi [Rafi]

Coffee Day at Northbridge Village

A very good Coffee Day held at Northbridge Village. Lots of enthusiastic residents and a good turn-out of our members to play and entertain the audience. It was nice that a resident, Stephen Beech, kindly gave us a short recital. Stephen is a leading figure in the classic organ world but does a good job on the piano as well!

The Photos:

                               Mary Barrett playing the Village's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-609

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

Gordon Sutherland playing his Korg Pa5X arranger keyboard

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

Stephen Beech playing the Village's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-609

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

Club Night 1st October 2024

 A very relaxed and enjoyable evening of great music! To start the evening, the arrival music was kindly performed by Patrick McMillan on our Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809 piano. Patrick was followed by Claude Moffat on piano and played beautifully without music sheets - well done! Next up, Peter Longbottom played his Korg Pa600 arranger keyboard with some great arrangements. To finish the first half, Mary Elvin-Brown played the piano with some great 50's music including some Elvis numbers - lovely stuff Mary.

After the raffle and tea break, we were entertained by our guest artist, Denise Gunson. Densie gave us a great concert of some of her favourite songs and composers from Jerome Kerns onwards. Denise made good use of the accompaniment capabilities of the Yamaha Clavinova by using layered voices and some great background styles. As always, most enjoyable and beautifully executed. Thank you, Denise. Acknowledgement should be made of our Treasurer, who helped Denise with the set-ups of some of the numbers. Warren has the same model Clavinova at home!

The Photos:

Our guest artist, Denise Gunson playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Patrick McMillan provided the arrival music on the
Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Claude Moffat played the
Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Peter Longbottom played his
Korg Pa600 arranger keyboard

Mary Elvin-Brown playing the
Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Our guest artist, Denise Gunson playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Coffee Day at Knightsbridge Village

What a great dat spent entertaining the residents of Knightsbridge Village in their luxuriant lounge. We had use of the Village's K. Kawai grand piano which many of our members took advantage to play. We also had two arranger keyboards brought in to add a different perspective to the music. We had a good turn-out of our members to enjoy the day with good music, good companionship and a great cafeteria for morning tea and lunch! 

The Photos:

Kay Boyes playing the K. Kawai grand piano

Our host and resident of Knightsbridge Village, Margaret Black,
manning the Raffle Desk

Norma Kingley-Smith (a resident of Knightsbridge Village
 playing the K. Kawai grand piano

Warren Levick playing the K. Kawai grand piano

Mary Barrett playing the K. Kawai grand piano

Denise Gunson playing the K. Kawai grand piano

Roy Steen playing his
Korg Pa300 arranger keyboard

Patrick McMillan playing the K. Kawai grand piano

Mary Brown playing the K. Kawai grand piano

Gordon Sutherland playing his
Korg Pa5X arranger keyboard

Club Night 3rd September 2024

 This was an amazing evening of music, from Classical to Pop. Arrival music was provided by Roy Steen on the Club's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809 with some nice easy listening numbers whilst we settled-down for the formal meeting to begin. First up we had a 16 year old student from Westlake High School here on the North Shore - Ryan Chen. Ryan played some classical pieces from composers such as Schubert. Very well executed and most enjoyable to listen to. Patrick McMillan then played some light jazz standards in his inimitable style of arrangements - great music! Next up our member, Ayana Tayler, played several pieces of modern ballads but finished with a lovely, gently piece by Chopin. To finish the first set we were treated to a mini-recital by 17 year old Hana Tani. Hana used the occasion as a pre-run through for a competition she was due to participate on 6th September 2024. A little Beethoven and a magnificent performance of Chopin's Balled #3. Great music to the highest standards - wonderful!

After the raffle and a refreshments break, we were entertained by our guest artists: Joe Fingers, his partner, Jill, and saxophonist Steve Sherriff. Joe has been a regular visitor to our Club over the years and is a wonderful entertainer with his creative use of his Yamaha PSR-S950 arranger keyboard with added vocals. Jill also provided lead vocals on some numbers, and to add extra 'zip' we had the pleasure of listening to well known saxophonist Steve Sherriff. The concert was focussed on early fifties and sixties music that we all love and were able to sing along with in most cases. A most enjoyable concert - thank you Joe, Jill and Steve. This was in some ways a sad occasion as Joe and Jill have decided to relocate to Malyasia in about 6 weeks time so this was a 'Swan Song' performance. We wish Joe and Jill all good things in Malaysia.

The Video(s):

Our September Club Night Guest Artists: Joe Fingers, partner Jill, and Steve Sherriff on Tenor Sax

The Photos:

From L:R: Steve Sherriff on Tenor Sax; Joe Fingers on Yamaha PSR-S950 arranger keyboard; and Jill on Vocals

Ryan Chen playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Patrick McMillan playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Ayana Tayler playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Hana Tani playing the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

From L:R: Steve Sherriff on Tenor Sax; Joe Fingers on Yamaha PSR-S950 arranger keyboard; and Jill on Vocals

    Steve Sherriff on Tenor Sax and Joe Fingers
on Yamaha PSR-S950 arranger keyboard

Club Night 6th August 2024

 A great evening of music enjoyed by an enthusiastic audience with a significant number of visitors in attendance. Roy Steen played the Arrival Music on the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809 to warm us up for the performers. Yvonne Moller played her Korg Pa3X arranger keyboard for us with a lovely selection of pop standards. Next up, a newish member gave her debut performance at the Club, Celine Ye. Celine has a semi-classical style of piano play but very enjoyable to listen to on the Clavinova. Well done Celine on your Club debut! Last up in the first half, Gordon Sutherland played his Korg Pa5X arranger/workstation with a hightlight of Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire" which was the theme music for the movie of the same name and about an English runner intending to compete in the Paris 1924 Olympic Games. Very topical as we are in the midst of the Paris Olympic Games of 2024!

After the raffle and a refreshments break, we were entertained by our guest artist, Ben Fenandez. Ben is a wonderful musician, educator, producer, song writer and well published with many albums. Ben had just returned from a visit to Canada and East Coast USA. He gave us a musical run down of the music he played to friends and audiences in such towns as New York and Toronto. The audience were enthralled with Ben's playing and in fact the concert carried on for over an hour! Thank you Ben for sharing your journey and music with your friends at The North Shore Music and Keyboard Club. There will be a video of the concert shortly and downloaded to this post and to YouTube.

What a wonderful evening of music.

The Videos:

Our guest artist, Ben Fernandez, giving us a concert

using the Club's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Celine Ye on debut at the Club and playing the Club;s
Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Club Member, Gordon Sutherland, playing his

Korg Pa5X Arranger Keyboard

Photos: 

Ben Fernandez giving us a concert using
the Club's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Ben Fernandez giving us a concert using
the Club's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Ben Fernandez giving us a concert using
the Club's Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Roy Steen played the Arrival Music

Yvonne Moller played her
Korg Pa3x arranger keyboard

Celine Ye on debut at the Club using the
Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809

Gordon Sutherland playing his
Korg Pa5X arranger/workstation

Coffee Day at Greenwich Gardens Village 24th July 2024

 What a lovely day our members had at Greenwich Gardens Village - a superb lifestyle village on the North Shore of Auckland. A good turn-out of our members and lots of players made the day very special and the residents seemed to enjoy the variety of music that we offered. We had a great lunch too in the recently remodelled dining area. A big thank you to our Events Manager, Kay Boyes, for organising the event for us and kudos also to the Village Management that were most accommodating.

The Photos:

Some of our members enjoying lunch at Greenwich Gardens Village

On Raffle Table duty L:R Delyse Whorwood and Kay Boyes

Ayana Tayler playing the Boston grand piano

Warren Levich playing the Boston grand piano

Gordon Sutherland playing his Korg Pa5X workstation

Denise Gunson playing the Boston grand piano

Claude Moffat playing the Boston grand piano

Our member and resident of Greenwich Gardens

Beverley Henderson

Patrick McMillan playing the Boston grand piano

Roy Steen playing his Korg Pa300 arranger keyboard