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Trio Obscura will take the stage at the Warkworth Town Hall on Sunday March 22, at 4pm.
Presented by Warkworth Music in partnership with Chamber Music NZ, the virtuosic chamber ensemble is set to deliver a dynamic, thought-provoking and evocative programme.
The trio includes award-winning violist Robert Ashworth, pianist Sarah Watkins and Auckland Philharmonia principal oboist Bede Hanley.
The concert starts with the impressionistic beauty of August Klughardt’s ‘Schilfilieder’ (Song of the Reeds) from his five Fantasy Pieces and Charles Martin Loeffler’s ‘Two Rhapsodies for oboe, viola and piano’, then explores the meaning of life in American composer Alyssa Morris’ ‘The Big Questions’.
The trio will also premiere a new commission by Kiwi composer Janet Jenning, ‘Five Emotional States’.
Named best classical artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards 2022 for their album ‘Moonstone’, both Ashworth and Watkins have an impressive classical pedigree.
Ashworth has been a guest principal viola for the Sydney, Melbourne and NZ Symphony orchestras, as well as the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and assistant-principal for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
Meanwhile, Watkins is an active performer and recording artist specialising in collaborative piano and chamber music. She has performed throughout the Asia-Pacific region, US and Europe as a founding member of contemporary classical three-piece NZTrio.
Rounding out the trio is Hanley, who is currently principal oboe with the Auckland Philharmonia. He has also held positions with Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia in Spain.
Tickets are available at the door (cash only) or online at www.warkworthmusic.org. Students are free with an accompanying adult.
