Saturday 15 August at 2.30pm
Conductor | Martin Riseley
Martin Riseley studied at Juilliard with Dorothy DeLay, where he completed Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts Degrees. He subsequently became Concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for fifteen years and is also former Concertmaster of the Chamber Players of the Juilliard School (now Juilliard Chamber Orchestra), Cape May Festival Orchestra, National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the Johann Strauss Orchestra of Canada, and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
He has played chamber music with some of the leading musicians of our time, including Pinchas Zukerman, Yo Yo Ma and John Kimura Parker, and has held other concertmaster positions, including Interim Associate Concertmaster of the National Arts Center Orchestra, under music director Pinchas Zukerman.
Since returning to New Zealand to be Head of Strings at the New Zealand School of Music he has premiered John Corigliano’s Red Violin Chaconne, given performances throughout the country of the complete Paganini caprices, and teamed up with Diedre Irons for regular recitals. He has also made the first CD recordings of some important chamber works of Douglas Lilburn and of violin/piano compositions by David Farquhar.
From 2015 until this year he was also Concertmaster of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and was the first Patron of The Piano, Center for Music and the Arts. He is also a member of Te Koki Trio, with Jian Liu and Inbal Megiddo, which has performed throughout Australasia and Asia. Their tour with Jennifer Stumm for Chamber Music New Zealand produced a new work by Michael Williams, soon to be released on Atoll Records.
He has also collaborated with Michael Houstoun in chamber music concerts several times and completed a short residency of chamber music concerts and masterclasses at Brigham Young University in 2020.
Soloist | Yuka Eguchi
Since joining the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2015, Yuka has been enjoying creating music together with her colleagues, and she especially treasures the experience of playing alongside Donald Armstrong. Before making her home in New Zealand, Yuka was Solo Concertmaster of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.
Yuka studied with Dr Suzuki, Josef Gingold (at Indiana University), F. Gulli and Y. Yaron. As a high school student, she won the 55th Japan Music Competition.
After receiving a Bachelor of Music degree and a Performers Diploma from Indiana University, she won a prize in Washington International Violin Competition and 3rd prize in Paganini International Competition.
Composer | Craig Drummond-Nairn
Craig Drummond-Nairn is a violist and composer currently based in Otautahi, Christchurch. He studied viola under Donald Maurice and Martin Riseley at the New Zealand School of Music, as well as composition with noted New Zealand composers including John Psathas and Michael Norris.
Craig completed his Master of Fine Arts from the NZSM in 2019, and has since performed professionally with orchestras such as Orchestra Wellington and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (as well as the Kapiti Concert Orchestra!). Craig remains an active composer, having been a national finalist in the NZSO’s Todd Young Composers Award.
His music has been performed by the New Zealand String Quartet, Wellington Youth Orchestra and the Hutt Valley Orchestra. He seeks to continue championing original composition and orchestral playing for many years to come!