Concerts

By Popular Request

2 December 2023

Get ready for a special evening on December 2nd at 7.30pm with Camerata Chamber Choir's 'By Popular Request'. Our choir members have chosen their favourite choral music for an evening filled with enchanting melodies and harmonies that have captured their hearts. Under the direction of Matthew Howes, and with the talented Sheryl Clarke on the piano, we'll also be celebrating the festive season with our favourite Christmas music. And, of course, we invite you to join us and sing along to some of our most beloved Christmas carols.

The Sprig of Thyme

6 May 2023

Join us for an enchanting evening of choral music as we present our first concert of the year. Under the direction of Matthew Howes and accompanied by pianist Megan Quatermass, we invite you to indulge in the nostalgic melodies of John Rutter's The Sprig of Thyme. This collection of folk-song settings of beloved tunes, including Down by the sally gardens, The willow tree and Afton water, will take you on a lyrical journey through the British Isles. Allow yourself to be captivated by the hauntingly beautiful King David by Herbert Howells. Hear of the struggles of being a shore-whaler in 19th century New Zealand with Douglas Mews' arrangement of Come all you Tonguers. To round out the evening's repertoire, we will also perform Edward German's Just So Songs. This lively musical setting comprises twelve poems from Rudyard Kipling's beloved Just So Stories, a collection of tales of how different animals came to be.

Céleste et Diabolique

8 October 2022

Vive la France!  Camerata returns to St Matthew-in-the-City in October to present a programme of French music. Drawing from the best of the French masters, our anchor work will be the Duruflé Requiem, completed in 1947 and described as an elegant, luxuriant and spellbinding gem. We are thrilled to sing this with the magnificent organ accompaniment played by Philip Smith. The programme is rounded out with more Duruflé (the exquisite Quatre Motets) as well as Fauré’s serenely beautiful Cantique de Jean-Racine and Poulenc’s Videntes stellam. We also welcome Megan Quatermass, who will accompany us on the piano. Celestial music indeed. In opposition we will sing Poulenc’s motet Timor et tremor and Fauré’s Les Djinns with its wild cries from hell. A nod to earthly troubles comes with Fauré’s Madrigal about men’s and women’s views of each other in love.

Te Iwa o Matariki

3 July 2021

The appearance of Matariki (known elsewhere as the Pleiades) in the early winter morning sky heralds the beginning of the Maori New Year.  This is a season for looking both backwards to our tupuna and forwards to our hopes for the future, for celebrating our environment, and for coming together after harvest and preparing for planting.   Camerata marks a new beginning by performing in the city for the first time, at the iconic St Matthew-in-the-City.  We are delighted to present music reflecting the nine stars of Matariki, in conjunction with The Fundamentals, the premier mixed choir from Rangitoto College.  Conducted by Matthew Howes and Luana Prictor, and accompanied by Janet Gibbs, we will sing a range of works from both New Zealand and overseas, from contemporary and more traditional times.  The performance will feature, among other things, Chris Artley’s 2020 composition, Matariki, Esenvald’s Stars, Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque, traditional Maori songs, and movements from John Wells’ Call of the Running Tide, all loosely themed with one of the nine stars.

Fit for a King

5 December 2020

It’s almost Christmas, and who’s ready for celebration?  Christmas is a time for kings, newborn and wise.  But there are other kings and there is rich music to celebrate them too.  This concert, Fit for a King, begins with Coronation Anthems by Handel and Parry, including the well-known Zadok the Priest.  Then we move on to Christmas, continuing with the king theme (The Three Kings, In Dulci Jubilo, Hark the Herald Angels Sing) in traditional carols, and wishing you a Merry Christmas, with figgy pudding, in more secular style.  Conducted by Matthew Howes, accompanied by Janet Gibbs, and joined by soloists Fiona Tibbles and Miles Timmis, we are thrilled to be presenting our third concert in this year of change in the world.  We hope you will come and hear us (and even join in with us at times) as we sing music which is fit for a king and which promises positive times ahead.  Then come and join us for supper in the hall afterwards so we can share some Christmas cheer.

(P)simply Psalmody

25 July 2020

We’re very excited to be back at last after Covid-19 lockdown, presenting a concert of two firsts: our first for 2020 and our first with our new Musical Director, Matthew Howes.

So it’s fitting that this concert spans from the beginnings of choral music as we know it until the present day.  In our world ravaged by Covid-19, we are reminded of the many calamities which have beset the world over the centuries.  The psalms, originating in the ancient Jewish world, offered comfort and hope.  This led to the beginnings of Christian community church singing, influenced as well by the music of other Mediterranean and European cultures, which in time gave birth to the wonderful choral repertoire we have available today.  

Our concert will include traditional plainchant, Anglican chant and more modern versions of psalms, including Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42, Parry’s I was glad, Rutter’s Psalm 23, Matthias’ Let the people praise thee O Lord (composed for Charles’ and Diana’s wedding), and Matthew Howes’ Mau hoki a whakau (composed for St-Matthew-in-the-City in 2019).  We are delighted to be joined by Te Ohorere Williams as soprano soloist for the Mendelssohn.  Conducted by Matthew and accompanied by Janet Gibbs, we bring you a concert with a focus on community and ensemble singing. 

An Englishman in Germany

24 August 2019

Brexit might make you think Britons don’t like Europe. But that wasn’t always the case.  In 1894, as many English people did, Sir Edward Elgar (of Nimrod and Pomp and Circumstance fame) went walking in the Bavarian Highlands with his wife and composed a series of songs as a memento of the trip.  Of course when travelling in Germany it is a must to hear some of its glorious music, as Elgar must have done (and, surprisingly, he was more famous in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century than he was in England).  So, under Jenny Firth’s baton, this concert takes us on a journey through German music of the Romantic period, from three of Elgar’s songs, to Brahms (A Thought Like Music), Rheinberger (Abendlied; excerpts from his Mass in Eflat), Bruckner (Locus Iste), and Mendelssohn (Above All Praise and All Majesty, Der ersten Frühlingstag).  A highlight will be Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer featuring our charming soprano soloist, Elizabeth Mandeno.  We are delighted that Janet Gibbs will again accompany us on piano and organ with her beautiful musicianship.

Summer Christmas 

24 November 2018

You asked for it! Camerata’s Christmas concert features music selected from requests by the choir and our audience. We are privileged to have as guest conductor the delightful Dr Penny Watson, who will preside over an eclectic collection of Christmas music, some well-known and some less so, accompanied by the wonderful Janet Gibbs. Ranging from New Zealand to the UK to France and the Ukraine, the concert features a range of styles as well as some traditional carols, providing a programme of variety and fun. It includes the sparkly Bob Chilcott arrangement of the Twelve Days of Christmas, the beautiful Hymne à la Vierge by Pierre Villette, Carol of the Bells, Text Me Merry Christmas, No well (a humorous take on We Three Kings) and Calypso Lullaby. In support of our local context, we will sing Po Marie as well as Summer Christmas, the premier performance of a work composed by our own Wayne Senior (no snow, but the glow of a golden sun). There will be a second guest conductor in amongst it all – the eminent scholar and talented choral director Professor Frank Worrell from UC Berkeley, California. This will be an entertaining experience both for the choir and for the audience, introducing the Christmas season with verve, interest and choral beauty.

Wild Daisies

19 May 2018

May is New Zealand music month. What better time to go wild and attend Camerata’s concert, ‘Wild Daisies.’

We begin with a Maori chant of welcome composed in the early 20th Century, after which all our music is by very much alive New Zealand composers, from the long-established and esteemed John Wells to internationally acclaimed David Childs,  Felicia Edgecombe from Wellington, and Aucklanders Chris Artley, Cecily Sheehy, Ken Leech and William Green.

Our home being the city of sails, we sing a Maori canoe paddling song set by Cecily Sheehy, then go to sea with John Wells’ Call of the Running Tide, and again with William Green’s delightful Sea to Shore –where Devonport takes a starring role. We touch on Solitude with Chris Artley, become lyrical with Wells’ setting of poetry by New Zealanders in Wild Daisies, get quirky while checking out camping with Felicia Edgecombe and sing a lot of nonsense with Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky set for choir by Ken Leech.

Beauty in Music

19 August 2017

Beauty is truth, truth beauty; that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know (Keats)

Come and join us for this concert of truly beautiful music – music which choristers love to sing and which may transport you to another plane!

We feature Fauré’s Requiem with soloists Kelly Harris (soprano) and Arthur Adams-Close (baritone). We are delighted to welcome back the splendid Janet Gibbs to play the lovely organ accompaniment.  Who would not be moved by the Agnus Dei, Libera Me or Pie Jesu?

The concert also gives us time to luxuriate in the beautiful sounds of music by Mozart, Parry, Stanford, and Harris, including Beati quorum via, Faire is the heaven and My Soul, there is a country.   Beautiful music comes from all times.  So we will also sing works by the more modern composers Morten Lauridsen, John Taverner and Ola Gjeilo, as well as earlier masters like Victoria and Byrd. 

Amidst the beautiful harmonies, you will hear the ethereal bluebird, feel the sting in the tail of the dying swan, surrender to the serenity of Ave Verum (Mozart) and Ubi Caritas (Gjeilo), and hear two versions of The Lamb, just to mention a few of the delights that await. 

Good King Wenceslas

3 December 2016

In 2014 Bob Chilcott was asked to compose a twenty minute choral work to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the well-known British chain store 'John Lewis'. The result is an engaging work for choir and piano, titled simply Wenceslas , evoking the original story with its message of winter cold, poverty and charity. 

The acclaimed Sheryl Clarke will delight us on the piano. Wenceslas will be sung by Hamilton bass, Jonathan Eyers , and The Page by young Auckland singer, Dilys Fong. Jonathan is currently studying towards an Honours degree at Waikato University with Dame Malvina Major. Dilys is an ex-Westlake Girls High School student, a singer from Key Cygnetures who has gone on to achieve BMus/ BSc majoring in Performance Voice and Physics. 

We will also sing some other carols for you, plus three chorales from J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio, interspersed with arias sung by Dilys and Jonathan. 

Poetry in Music

30 April 2016

Our first concert for this year contains two works, both dealing with horizons. Poetry is central in both. 

We start at home, with New Zealand composer Christopher Marshall's To The Horizon: Images of New Zealand. This expressive song cycle includes the well-known poems Horizon by Ian Wedde, Walking On My Feet by A.R.D. Fairburn, The Magpies by Denis Glover and On the Swag by R.A.K. Mason. John Parker will read each poem before we sing it. 

Then we move to Great Britain, with Horizons by English composer Andrew Carter. This at once lively and reflective music perfectly underscores poetry by Anne Brontë, Arthur Hugh Clough, John Masefield, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Rudyard Kipling and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The work is scored for solo soprano, chorus and piano. Gina Sanders will be our soprano soloist and Jennifer Gorbey our pianist. 

Glorious Romantics

6 September 2015

Camerata Singers present Glorious Romantics with a bit of a twist.

We halloo from the Bavarian highlands where Spring is underway.... "Now we hear Spring's sweet voice.... bidding all the earth rejoice".

There is some delightful Mendelssohn, including the old favourite Hear My Prayer .

Then Camerata goes somewhat operatic with Puccini's Messa di Gloria - an exuberant work presaging his later fine operas. Puccini composed it for his graduation thesis at the age of eighteen.

As it is an afternoon concert, bring along family and friends who prefer that time of the day and celebrate with us the start of Spring! 

Conductor: Jenny Firth 

With special guests Janet Gibbs, Iain Tetley, Jan-Maree Baughan and Alexander Garvey 

Duruflé Requiem and European Christmas Music

29 November 2014

The Camerata Singers, conducted by Jenny Firth, perform Duruflé's Requiem and European Christmas Music on Saturday 29 November. 

The North Shore Camerata (or The Camerata Singers as we are now more commonly known) began its life as a community choir on Auckland’s North Shore, then known as the Rothesay Singers, some 25 years ago in 1989. 

As well as celebrating our 25th anniversary as a choir this year, we are also celebrating our 10th anniversary as "The Camerata"! 

To end this special double anniversary year, The Camerata Singers, conducted by Jenny Firth, are performing Duruflé’s Requiem and a beautiful selection of European Christmas music. 

Joining The Camerata Singers for this magical programme is one of New Zealand's most respected musicians, organist Dr John Wells. John's daughters, Jessica and Rachel, will also be joining the choir as Mezzo Soprano and 'Cellist and the Wells family will be performing Johannes Brahms "Zwei Gesange".