Club Night 6th February 2024

 The Club kicked off the year with the first Club Night of 2024, rounding off a glorious Waitangi Day in Auckland. Roy Steen provided the arrival music then the evening started with the first set provided by Linus Treefoot on his Korg Havian 30 ensemble piano, accompanied by his friend John Lethaby on guitar, harmonica and vocals. The audience chimed in on the chorus for 'I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends' and they finished appropriately for Waitangi Day with a lovely rendition of Pokarekare Ana.

Peter Longbottom followed on with a nice selection of tunes, fluidly played on his Korg Pa600 and then Roy Steen returned to finish the first half, including some stirring marches, highlighting the versatility of his Korg Pa300 keyboard.

After a refreshing supper, we welcomed back our good friend Ben Fernandez and his guest Tracey Collins, a virtuoso on her Titano piano accordion. While they humbly confessed that this was their first gig together, you would never know it. The synergy, energy and chemistry between them belied the fact and it was enthralling to see and hear the melodies being bounced and caught between them throughout their set. A mix of new and old and traditional songs provided a perfect blend and highlighted the lovely voice of the accordion when played by an expert such as Tracey. Ben of course was in fine form too, taking the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809 on a roller coaster ride of ever changing moods and melodies. What a great night's entertainment!

For those who missed the evening, a video has been produced and linked below via YouTube.

The Video:

Ben Fernandez on the Clavinova CVP-809 and Tracey Collins on her Titano piano accordion.

The Photos:

Roy Steen playing his Korg Pa300

arranger keyboard

Linus Treefoot on his Korg Havian 30 ensemble piano and accompanied by John Lethaby on his acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals.

Peter Longbottom playing his Korg Pa600

arranger keyboard

Ben Fernandez playing the Yamana CVP-809 ensemble piano and accompanied by Tracey Collins on her Titano piano accordion.

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