Teen cornetist follows in parents’ footsteps

Award-winning young musician Liam Wright joins his parents, Dave and Kate, on stage with North Shore Brass next month.

Next month’s Morning Melodies concert at the Bruce Mason Centre will be a family affair for Dave and Kate Wright and their 19-year-old son Liam, who all perform with North Shore Brass.

Principal trombone player Dave and flugelhorn player Kate have been in the premier band for more than a decade, while cornetist Liam joined four years ago.

Having worked his way up from junior band ranks, Liam is a three-time – and reigning – national junior champion of champions brass musician.

The award recognises the overall top player from the Under-19 champions of each brass instrument.

Liam says it is nice to have won the recognition again. “It was definitely one of my most proud moments.”

He promises to bring a set of audience-pleasing “entertaining and jazzy” pieces to the concert on 8 May.

The long-running Morning Melodies series features different artists and groups each month.

University of Auckland student Liam said performing with his parents can be “kind of weird” at times, but that it’s also a huge advantage when it comes to learning.

The three are all soloists, which Liam says helps them critique and complement each other.

“Whenever their solo comes on you’re clenching your seat a bit because you want them to do well.”

With the three musicians all practising regularly, the Wrights’ Forrest Hill home can be noisy.

“When Mum’s watching Coronation Street or something, I have to go practise in my room,” Liam says.

Liam is studying for a BA in music performance. “I can go to uni, play music then go home and play more music.”

Among other interests, Liam spends time and money on his “very old” Mercedes and enjoys wakeboarding on Lake Tarawera, where the family has a holiday home.

But he says music consumes most of his time. Winning competitions and “the fear of being average” motivate him to work hard and improve.

“I want to be something special and do something special with my music.”

After university, he hopes to “make a splash” in the UK, with the goal of playing cornet in a top brass band and being principal trumpet in an orchestra.

Liam said “going back to his roots” is part of his goal, as both of his parents are from England and he has cousins in Manchester he hasn’t met. • North Shore Brass perform in the Morning Melodies series at 11am, 8 May, at the Bruce Mason Centre.

Tadpole bets on proven hit by UK theatre legend

Two knights of the theatre – one a local treasure, one a London luminary – share a connection to the latest Tadpole Theatre Production at Takapuna’s PumpHouse Theatre.

Sir Roger Hall, the playwright behind a string of Kiwi comedies, is the patron of Tadpole and has long been an admirer of the work of Englishman Sir Alan Ayckbourn, whose first play, Relatively Speaking, is soon to be staged by the company.

The men, who met some years ago, have both seen their acclaimed comedies widely staged.

Relatively Speaking, a revealing story of mistaken identities, involves two couples. It debuted in 1967 and was the first of more than 40 West End hits Ayckbourn penned over five decades.

In all, he has written more than 100 plays, some of which have been adapted for the screen.

Tadpole says Relatively Speaking is enduringly funny. Ayckbourn wrote the play when a British theatre manager asked him for something amusing to entertain holidaymakers stuck at beachside towns in rainy weather.

After Auckland’s intemperate summer, the need for diversion rings as true as ever, Tadpole believes. Expect a merry-go-round of secrets, lies and unexpected consequences.

Two of Relatively Speaking’s lead roles are played by experienced hands Louise Wallace and Edwin Wright, with Michelle Blundell

Seasoned stars... Benjamin Murray and Louise Wallace take two of the lead parts in Alan Ayckbourn’s first West End success and Benjamin Murray as the younger couple. Experienced director Janice Finn helms the production.

Tadpole has used the PumpHouse as its base for shows for over a decade, building up a loyal local audience, while drawing its cast from the wider Auckland region. Its aim has long been to bring quality productions to the North Shore, employing professional actors in lead roles and offering opportunities to young talent in other parts or in backstage technical roles. Its last production, Campervan, sold out last year.

• Relatively Speaking , 4-14 May, at the PumpHouse. Bookings ph (09) 489-8360 or online at pumphouse.co.nz.

A Night of Beautiful Music promises its audience will be transported by Moonyoung Jang’s voice as she performs well-known songs from opera and musicals, with a splash of jazz thrown in.

The concert also features the IQTUS Men’s Choir and comes to the PumpHouse Theatre tonight, Friday, 28 April.