“The inaugural meeting was held on Tuesday March 8, 1977, at the home of John and Janet Mullon; present were Elizabeth Jones, Gerard Pinnock, John and Janet Mullon, Fay Baker, John Rowe and Peter Shaw.
“The objectives of the society then were to perform and teach music in all its aspects, to promote, foster and encourage the study, appreciation and performance of music in all its aspects, including that associated with dance, mime and drama, foster interest in the music salon and concert hall, and to encourage the study of music appreciation and the techniques of concert organizing and presentation.”
In the early 1980s concerts were held to raise money to purchase a grand piano for Thames and a Yamaha CX3 grand piano was subsequently purchased.
Free lunchtime concerts began in September 1984 and became a monthly event the following year, with performances from Jenny Miller (soprano), Ian Williamson (piano), Geoff Core (violin), Con Robertshawe and Hilda Hancock (piano duets), Joyce Doull (contralto) and Alison Williamson (soprano), Sarah Jane Backhouse, Alice Carline and Joy Haigh.
In the next few years there were regular major events, with orchestral concerts by the Waikato Secondary Schools Orchestra, Auckland Youth Orchestra, Waikato Symphony Orchestra, St Matthew Chamber Orchestra and the Auckland Sinfonietta, among others.
Visiting choirs included the Hamilton Civic Choir, Auckland Dorian Choir, Orlando Singers, Viva Voce, Auckland Youth Choir and world-renowned pianists.
Groves said lunchtime concerts featured many local musicians, especially Ian Williamson, together with his wife Alison, John Monro, the Maris Cantores Choir and Joyce Doull’s Thames Chorale.
The name was then changed to the Thames Music Group.
“Throughout the years Thames Music Group has presented a very wide range of musical entertainment to the public through its monthly Free Friday Lunchtime series (45 minutes) and monthly Sunday Afternoon Concerts (1.5 hours) in St George’s Church.
“Groups with players from throughout New Zealand and internationally have performed here to the delight of audiences.
“Entertainment has included piano solos, organ recitals, choirs, vocal groups, solo singers, instrumental groups and quartets, student and professional performers in a wide genre of music.”
A special concert was arranged in July 2023 to celebrate the 40th birthday of the group’s Yamaha grand piano where a variety of accomplished and professional pianists played music to an audience followed by a cake-cutting ceremony.
Groves said the group funded its activities through membership fees, private donations and grants where possible from Creative Communities, Thames-Coromandel District Council, and Trust Waikato.
“We are currently seeking further funding; our continuing activities are made possible too through the generosity of many residents and visitors who attend our concerts.
“The group continues to organise and run eight or nine Free Friday lunchtime concerts and eight or nine Sunday paid concerts from March to November each year.”
“Thames Music Group concerts give professional and emerging musicians as well as local school students a platform and opportunity to perform to audiences in Thames as a community, that appreciates live classical and popular music, with a range of singers and instrumental groups.”
Educated at King’s College Chapel and Indiana University, Dr Wells was Auckland City organist from 1998 to 2012.
During that time, he spearheaded the project to rebuild the Auckland Town Hall organ.
He recorded New Zealand’s first organ CD in 1989 and has worked as a composer, teacher, broadcaster, recitalist and choral accompanist.
He was organ tutor at Auckland University’s School of Music from 1992 to 2012.
From Bach’s “cure” for a German aristocrat’s insomnia to a celebration of the Treaty of Waitangi is typical of Wells’ well-known ability to put varied and engaging programmes together.
The Sunday concert on August 4 starts at 2pm. Tickets available at the door.
