Violinist Emily Sun and pianist Gamal Khamis (piano) perform from a broad programme at Tiromoana on Monday. Picture supplied
Torua, a work by New Zealand composer Gillian Whitehead, features in a programme of romantic and virtuosic music Emily Sun (violin) and Gamal Khamis (piano) who perform at Tiromoana on Monday.
Commissioned by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as part of its Landfall series to commemorate the arrival of explorer
James Cook, Dame Gillian ‘s work Turanga-nui was performed in Gisborne last month. Toroa means to change direction, or to twill, as in weaving; double-thickness or duet.
Works by Faure, Grieg and Schubert are also woven into Monday’s programme but in another neat change of direction is 20th century Russian composer Igor Frolov’s Concert Fantasy on themes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, op. 19.
On top of her various awards, Australian violinist Sun lead role in feature-length documentary, Mrs Carey’s Concert, won the Best Newcomer category in Australia’s classical arts Limelight Magazine Awards. The documentary was the longest running documentary in Australian cinema history and has been shown in film festivals across the world.
Having completed his musical education at the Royal College of Music, Khamis’s awards include prizes at the Norah Sande, ESO Young Soloist and Christopher Duke piano competitions, the Award for Accompanists at the 2017 Royal Over-Seas League competition, and the Help Musicians UK Accompanist’s Prize at the 2017 Ferrier Awards. He has performed concertos across the UK and has given world premieres of works by Timothy Salter, Andrew Toovey, Eleanor Alberga, Howard Skempton, Shiva Feshareki, Edwin Hillier and Charlotte Harding. Sun and Khamis are now to adjudicate the 2018 Pettman ROSL (Royal Over-Seas League) Arts Chamber Music Scholarship. ROSLNZ is committed to supporting New Zealand musicians and artists at the onset of their careers through a programme of scholarships and performance opportunities.
