Awarded Best Classical Artist at the 2020 NZ Music Awards, violinist Andrew Beer has been described as a "musical gift" (New York Times), a "virtuoso soloist" (San Francisco Classical Voice) with a “glorious string tone” (Strad magazine). He has performed as a soloist throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia, and as a chamber musician at the Music@Menlo, IMS Prussia Cove, Aspen, Tanglewood, Banff and Orford Festivals, with leading artists including Midori, the Parker String Quartet and Emerson String Quartet.
Andrew has served as Concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra since 2014, and has performed as guest Concertmaster with the CBSO (Birmingham), Hallé (Manchester), MSO (Melbourne), ASO (Adelaide), VSO (Vancouver) and NZSO (Wellington). His previous job was Assistant Principal 2nd Violin with the OSM (Montreal), a frequent winner of Grammy and Gramophone awards.
His NZ-premiere performance of the Ligeti Concerto was described as a “consummate performance” and “one of the most exciting things I’ve heard for a while” (RNZ). William Dart (NZ Herald) described him as “a fully validated virtuoso” in his world premiere performance of Gillian Whitehead’s Concerto. Having worked with leading composers including Kurtag, Davidovsky, Reich and Boulez, Andrew has enjoyed exploring the music of NZ's many gifted composers.
Contemporary music plays a large role in Andrew's career, and his debut CD with Sarah Watkins, '11 Frames', features works by 11 of NZ's leading composers won the Best Classical Artist award at the 2020 New Zealand Music Awards.
Andrew performs on an 1845 Vuillaume violin, and an 1880 J.J. Maire bow.
Hailed for her “breath-taking range of colour, tone and inflection” (The Times), South Korean born New Zealand pianist Somi Kim is one of Aotearoa’s most sought after pianists. A winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Accompanist Prize and the Gerald Moore Award for Accompanists, Somi enjoys an impressive career as a chamber musician and soloist. She performs extensively as the official pianist of NZTrio, one of New Zealand’s most indispensable ensembles, and her recent solo appearances include concertos with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
Alongside her performing accolades, Somi has been an official pianist and vocal coach for the International Vocal Competition‘s-Hertogenbosch since 2018 and has performed with the winner of the Gisborne International Music Competition every year since 2017. She is a valued member of the collaborative pianist team at the International Holland Music Sessions, working as a studio pianist for internationally acclaimed violin professors including György Pauk, Pierre Amoyal, Krzysztof Wegrzyn and Takashi Shimizu. Somi’s passion for song and opera is reflected by her work as a vocal coach for the New Zealand Opera School and she gives regular recitals with esteemed singers for the Auckland Opera Studio.
Somi is a graduate of the University of Auckland (NZ) and the Royal Academy of Music (UK) where she obtained a Master of Music in solo piano and an Advanced Diploma in Performance and Master of Arts in collaborative piano with Distinction. She was recently awarded the Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) to recognise her contribution to music.
New Zealand born accordionist and the first person to win World Championships in Classical, Virtuoso and Digital accordion categories. Grayson Masefield has a Master of Arts HES-SO in Specialised Music Performance from Lausanne and a Master of Studio Pedagogy from the University of Auckland, New Zealand where he is currently the Instrumental Music Teacher for Accordion.
He is regularly invited to adjudicate and/or appear as Guest Artist at international competitions he has previously won (Coupe Mondiale - CIA, Trophee Mondiale - CMA, Primus Ikaalinen, Roland International) and has been invited to perform in many countries including France, Spain, Germany, UK, Portugal, Slovakia, Italy, USA, Canada, Russia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Portugal, China, Switzerland, Chile, Czech Republic, Singapore, South Korea, Austria, Australia & Finland.
Grayson has available a varied program of serious concert works as well as entertainment music as a soloist, with ensemble and orchestras. His extensive repertoire can be heard on his three albums as well as many live performances on youtube. He has worked with several of the world's leading composers such as Frank Angelis (France), Gorka Hermosa (Spain), Petri Makkonen (Finland) , Gary Daverne (New Zealand), Bete Ilin (Macedonia) & Ross Harris (New Zealand) to perform and record new original works for the accordion.
APO Principal Bass Gordon Hill was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. He started playing the bass at age 14 and went to high school at Interlochen Arts Academy. After graduating high school he attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and finished at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he studied with Edwin Barker and Larry Wolfe.
He spent two summers with the National Repertory Orchestra, participated in the Spoleto Festival in Italy, and performed a season with the New World Symphony. Gordon has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As a Principal player, he has been Principal Bass of the New Hampshire Symphony, Principal Bass of the Boston Philharmonic, and performed two seasons as Principal Bass with the Sarasota Opera Festival.
He has held the role of Principal Bass of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra since 1997.
https://www.apo.co.nz/about/meet-the-orchestra/gordon-hill-section-principal/
A jazz guitarist who is involved in many genre-spanning projects spanning from 70’s Funk, to Rockabilly, to Jazz. Of note, Sam Swindells is the musical director and bandleader for Big Ticket, an 8 piece swing band with a long standing residency at Auckland Viaduct’s ‘The Lula Inn’.
He plays guitar for the internationally renowned rockabilly band ‘Boom! Boom! Deluxe’ who have released two albums and have done multiple nationwide tours. Sam is also a respected member of Auckland’s jazz community and can often be spotted at venues around the city collaborating with some of Auckland’s top jazz musicians. He regularly performs with artists such as Caroline and Roger Manins, Mike Walker, Julie Mason, Mike Booth, Steve Sherriff, Paul Norman, Ron Samsom and many others.
Sam is a member of staff at Kristin School where he teaches music and runs the school’s Jazz Combo program.