Guitar & Voice Recitals

I became interested in the idea of Guitar & Voice Recitals in the 90s; this interest led to a tour with Chamber Music New Zealand using my Paul Fischer Classical Guitar. It was a very popular tour; I performed throughout New Zealand.

Other performances with the Paul Fischer Guitar included St. James Palace (London, UK), La Motte Wine Estate (Franschhoek, South Africa) and in a sheep shed in remote Western Australia. There are actually too many performances to recall; the combination is portable, cost effective (I don’t require a pianist) and beautiful.

The Paul Fischer is a large concert guitar; I was seated and found it difficult to breathe. Therefore, in 2015, I commissioned Dr. Suzanne Court to make a replica of a Romantic Parlour Guitar. A Parlour Guitar is smaller; I can now stand and move while I sing. 

During the pandemic, I worked with the legendary Richard Loring (South Africa) to create a new programme, spanning a wider range of material including Opera, Jazz and Pop. This new programme, called ‘A Few of My Favourite Things’, debuted at Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate (Franschhoek, South Africa) during the pandemic. 

I performed ‘A Few of My Favourite Things’ in the Great Hall Concert Series 2021 in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand. In 2022, I introduced new material and renamed the new programme ‘Serenades’ for the Auckland Arts Festival 2022 (my three booked shows were cancelled due to the Auckland Lockdown during the Pandemic). 

This video (above) is a summary of my performance in the Futuna Chapel, Wellington, on April 7th, 2024. For this performance, I included a piece by New Zealand composer Dorothy Buchanan and played tumutumu kōhatu (a Māori musical instrument). I also included a French song on my renaissance guitar.

I would like to thank Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust for inviting me. In addition, thank you to Anthony Donovan for recording me; it is a treat for a performer to have a good recording of a live performance. I am very grateful that I can share the highlights of my recital in this video!

I am excited to say that I will be able to announce my next guitar and voice recital on my website soon. I will be playing at an exciting festival and can’t wait to share my news.