Extra

Students given pointers

Forks paired with porcelain dolls and computer parts staged with silver tea pots, are not your typical subject matter of stilllife photography. But for the Wairarapa students taking part in Aratoi’s Photography Workshops, typical was not part of the brief.

After being guided though a rabbit hole of wonder and colour, that is Andrea Gardner’s exhibition, This is the Rabbit Hole. Students were prepped and ready to let their creativity fly.

A few more technical tips were shared by guest photography tutors, Lucy Cooper and Lucia Zanmonti, schooling the students in the basics of composition, including how to look for the intersecting lines of the Rule of Thirds and other hints on how to tell a story within a photo.

The students were then let loose to select objects that related to a key idea they wanted to explore. Maybe this was colour, or pattern or shape.

The incredible selection of unusual and familiar made the students think abstractly about their images. Many had fun creating juxtapose compositions.

Playing with how an object was framed became an important teaching moment for many students. Seeing Gardner’s photo, Pink Glove, with the oversized model bursting

Aratoi educator Kate Devenny shares compositions tips with a pupil from Carterton School during one of Aratoi’s Photography Workshops. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Above: QUARTZ Violin Quartet. PHOTO/DAVID SUTTON Left: Violinist Rakuto Kurano. PHOTO/EMILY PITT

out of the frame, inspired many children to try the same technique. By getting close and personal with the objects they were photographing, students were able to highlight small details within larger stilllife scenes.

The great thing about these workshops, is that it reaffirms the children’s natural ability to line up objects in a dramatic way, and gives them confidence to push boundaries of traditional photography.

These workshops are developed in collaboration with REAP Wairarapa. They are supported by photographers Lucy Cooper and Lucia Zanmonti, and also by Wairarapa Resource Centre who kindly lent all the objects for the student’s compositions.

• The photographs taken by students during these workshops, can be viewed in the foyer at Aratoi, from September 5-25.

GREYTOWN MUSIC GROUP Quartet to bring ‘nuance’ to Greytown

Described as an ensemble with “great attention to nuance” by the Otago Daily Times, QUARTZ Violin Quartet have now successfully completed eight concerts in the South Island as part of its IMPRESSIONS national concert tour.

In September, the quartet will be bringing the performance to Greytown. The Greytown concert will be performed on four violins made by Greytown luthier Ed Cooke.

IMPRESSIONS will be presented by Rakuto Kurano, Henry Nicholson, Mekaela Fleener, and Aya McLarty of the QUARTZ violin quartet with the concert featuring a newly commissioned work by University of Canterbury School of Music student Oscar Kersey alongside music by Telemann, Bohm, Hofmann, Dancla, Massa, and Kurano.

Head of Performance at UC Professor Mark Menzies, said he is very proud of the musicians’ accomplishments.

“The selection of music is a colourful representation of old and new, and promises to make up a highly enticing and engaging programme,” Menzies said.

This is violinist Rakuto Kurano’s third national tour this year, but this time he is taking on the roles of tour manager and artistic director.

“Luckily I have been able to take part in numerous national tours in the last few years. This time, I wanted to organise one myself, now that I have a better understanding of how it all works,” Kurano said.

Tour supporters include the Magic Carpet Music Trust, a charitable trust Kurano co-founded with former New Zealand director of the Royal OverSeas League Lyn Milne.

The trust aims to provide young musicians with more performance opportunities and to bring music to smaller communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Live classical music brought to people in their own community by young musicians can change the way they connect with this wonderful genre forever,” Milne said. • QUARTZ Violin Quartet

Presents: IMPRESSIONS | Greytown, 4-5pm Sunday, September 11 Greytown Music Group, 57 Wood St, Greytown

Adult $25, Senior $20, Student $10, Child [12 and under] free

To book tickets, please email or text Rakuto Kurano [rakuto@ magiccarpet.co.nz or [021] 061-9613] with your name, phone number, and the number of tickets you would like. Please specify how many of each ticket type. Payment to be made in cash at the door [no EFTPOS]. Masks are recommended but not obligatory.