Musician returns to live in Whanganui

Cellist Annie Hunt has had a career in music. PHOTO/ BEVAN CONLEY

She's played electric cello in a pop group and acoustic cello in a Marrakesh hotel dining room - now Annie Hunt wants to live in Whanganui again.

She and her English partner Rob Mills moved back to her home town in March, and are looking to find work and buy a house.

Ms Hunt was born and educated in Whanganui, at Christ Church Preparatory School and Wanganui Girls' College. Both her parents were music teachers, her father Owen Davis Hunt well known for his involvement in classical music.

She and her sister Margaret were both expected to play instruments, and she started learning the cello at age seven. Her teacher was Marton's Alpha Ramsay, until she started going to Wellington for lessons.

She studied music at Auckland University and played in the Auckland Symphonia until she got a grant to further her studies in London. After a year of that she continued working as a professional musician, and spent 11 years in London.

"My music has taken me to lots of different places around the world," she said.

One of her best times was playing electric cello with rock band The LoYoYo. They toured Europe and made a record.

"We weren't famous. We just had an absolute ball for a few years."

Another was being paid to perform in a piano trio every night, in the Hotel Mamounia dining room, in Marrakesh, Morocco. Being paid to live in another country and play music was "a fabulour experience".

In 1990 she and her partner took their son Owen and went to live in the small town of Llanelidan in North Wales, near his parents. Ms Hunt taught music in schools and played in orchestras and chamber music groups.

Her son is now a software developer living in London, and Ms Hunt started yearning to return to New Zealand - despite the big upheaval it would mean.

"I have always seen myself as a New Zealander. I just started to feel like I wanted to come home," she said.

She chose Whanganui as a place to settle, because she still has friendships here and because property is affordable. She's now looking for work. It could be teaching the cello, double bass or bass guitar, or playing music, or teaching music in a classroom.

Her partner Mr Mills, an independent mental health advocate in Britain, would also like part-time work.

They're looking to make friends, travel within New Zealand and explore cultural offerings. In March they enjoyed the Artist Open Studios, and Mr Mills wants to do some coast walking.

For Ms Hunt, Whanganui is a mixture of the totally familiar and the very different. She's feeling it's the right place for them.

"It just seems bigger, with more energy about it, and a lot more things going on."