Sarjeant on the Quay will host its first concert this Sunday when Wanganui favourite Deborah Wai Kapohe presents a programme of Italian arias as a fundraiser for the Sarjeant Redevelopment Project.
Wai Kapohe, now in her third year as Wanganui District Council arts facilitator, has developed a big following among with performances ranging from a classical guitar and voice recital to classic opera.
Her repertoire includes folk-rock and jazz, and she has an international reputation as a soprano with many classic roles in New Zealand, Australia, Britain, China and South Africa.
Recently she performed with the Wanganui Male Choir and at the Wanganui Collegiate chapel farewell concert for organist Nicholas Grigsby.
Sunday's will be the first of three concerts this year in the popular Musicians for the Sarjeant series, and it's fitting that Wai Kapohe will be the first performer in the new venue on Taupo Quay as she came up with the idea of the regular music fundraisers and presented the first, sell-out concert in the Sarjeant in Queen's Park in January 2013.
With strong support from Wanganui Collegiate staff and music students, concerts were held last year at the Sarjeant and the school. Gap year music tutor and organist Sam Baker, who returned to Britain late last year, played a big part in supporting the concerts.
Visiting musicians in 2013 included pianist Michael Houston, who performed with Ingrid Culliford last July.
Performers donate their time and talent, and concert revenues supplement the generous flow of funds from the Thousand Stars fundraising programme launched in 2012 which has attracted pledges of regular donations from businesses and individuals.
Wai Kapohe is looking forward to Sunday's 40-minute concert, which starts at 4.30pm in the Sarjeant on the Quay gallery space. She'll be accompanied on piano by Judy Barrett in a concert of arias for sopranos ranging from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Composers include Handel, Mozart and Puccini, and there'll be a treat for fans of Jerome Kern's Showboat.
Tickets at $10 (gallery members and Stars $7.50) can be bought at the gallery at 38 Taupo Quay. and more information is available by phoning 06 3490506 or from info@sarjeant.org.nz