12 November 2024

Last Tuesday we played a concert in Dunedin and the composer Gillian Whitehead was actually in the audience. I’m playing one of her pieces called Bright Silence and I got to meet her backstage. She was so warm and genuine and I’m really happy that I got to meet her.

After Dunedin we went to Christchurch for two days then flew to New Plymouth for a concert on Friday. That was a different experience. The 4th Wall Theatre was a small venue but it was tidy and nicely and presented. The audience were great and I met some grandmas who made some funny comments and I really enjoyed talking to them afterwards. We found a place where the food trucks were all parked together and I had some really nice Thai there.

I flew into Wellington on Saturday for our concert at St Andrews on the Terrace and, oh gosh, it was so windy. I’m surprised that people told me it’s just the normal thing in Wellington. I really enjoyed playing the Saint-Saëns sonata. That might have been my favourite performance this tour.
I actually had a quite a big dinner before the concer t and my body was using a lot of energy to digest it. I grew really sleepy before the concert and during intermission. I kept yawning and tears from the yawns kept falling in my eyes, and I think that somehow helped me to relax and not stress too much.

We performed in Auckland on Sunday night. I think Auckland might be one of my favourite places in New Zealand. It was nice to be back in the Concert Chamber. That was where I played my semifinal round for the Michael Hill International Violin Competition last year. I was in the same dressing room backstage. It felt different, but I was really happy to be back.

I’m in Hamilton now to record our CD for Attol records with Wayne Laird. Recording is less stressful than I imagined. I could run through the pieces a couple of times and Wayne just knows what he needs. It’s nice because I have someone to trust and work with. He suggests places where I can do a passage again so he can patch it in later.

I went to a dairy farm this afternoon that’s owned by the Goldsack’s who we are staying with in Hamilton. The cows are really beautiful. I played some violin for them. At first, they were drawn in, then I played a movement from a Beethoven sonata and they started drawing back. I think they didn’t like the high pitches. There was a repeated high E that I was playing in the Beethoven. I think that was the cause!