18th – 20th July 2025
University of Auckland, School of Music
Join members of NZ Barok and guests for an intensive weekend academy this July. This is a professional development opportunity on baroque instruments (or modern with baroque bows) in a welcoming and friendly environment. The history, theory, and practical application of baroque performance principals will be covered. The weekend will comprise lectures, demonstrations, orchestral sessions and sectionals, culminating in a final informal concert at 3.30pm on the Sunday.
The featured work will be the groundbreaking Les Élémens by French baroque composer Jean-Féry Rebel. Morning and afternoon tea is provided.
Instruments offered: violin, viola, cello, double bass, viola da gamba, recorder, harpsichord
Tutors and Lecturers Violin – Dr Graham McPhail and Miranda Hutton, Viola – Fiona Haughton, Cello – Helen Brinkman, Bass – Eric Scholes, Viola da gamba – Dr Polly Sussex, Harpsichord – Dr Rachael Griffiths-Hughes, Recorder – Jessica Shaw
Cost $300 total; observer $15/opening lecture $25/half day
Schedule
Contact Miranda Hutton miranda.hutton@nzbarok.org.nz to register your interest. Submissions close on Monday 23rd June.
Introducing Greta Claringbould, soprano soloist for NZ Barok's Midwinter Christmas Concert by Candlight, Saturday 28 June, 7.30pm, St Luke’s Church, Remuera, Auckland.
Greta Claringbould (nee Mark) is a Baroque soprano who performs with purity, warmth and precision. Born in New Zealand but now based near Canberra, Australia, she has carved a niche into the world of Baroque music, beguiling audiences with her natural execution of florid coloratura and expressive vocal timbre.
Growing up on a sheep and cattle farm near Cambridge, Greta’s cherished memories of her first musical experiences, shared nigh on three decades ago, are with Helen and Catherine Polglase at the Waikato Secondary School's Orchestra. Despite an initial focus on playing strings, Catherine vividly remembers Greta "always singing"!
A late bloomer in voice, before evolving into a celebrated soprano, Greta first gained a BMUS (Hons) in performance Viola and was a professional orchestral violist, also leading the Violas in the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra. At the same time she sang with the Wellington Cathedral Choir and later took on the noble task of shaping young voices as Director of Canberra Children's Choir. However eventually Greta's lifelong enduring love of singing saw her retrain as a soprano and pursue a career in Baroque voice. Greta attributes her string background as advantageous to mastering phrasing, coloratura and a sense of holistic, cohesive ensemble as a vocalist.
Passion and aptitude for Baroque music has guided Greta to the position of principal Soprano Soloist with Canberra Bach Ensemble and a founding member of Ad hoc Baroque, a trio dedicated to performing esoteric Baroque chamber works. In 2017 the trio gave the antipodean premiere of Brunetti's 1764 Stabat Mater reviving a once forgotten masterpiece.
Greta’s performances have also taken her to prestigious local and international festivals including Europe where she has sung works by Bach, Handel and Pergolesi et al. Whether she’s soaring through the pages of Bach’s Magnificat or rendering Handel’s Messiah to life, she does so with a unique pure tone.
When not enchanting audiences, Greta shares her expertise as a private vocal coach, helping aspiring singers develop their own voice and style. With a career that blends virtuosity, passion, and a deep love for Baroque music, Greta Claringbould continues to be a shining and rising vocal artist in the baroque music world.
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