Events Calendar

Audiences loved her when she toured with Arts On Tour NZ in 2010. Now Fiona Pears is back again, taking her violin and talented band to small towns and out of the way gigs across both islands.

A consummate artist who wears her heart on her violin strings, Fiona’s unaffected pleasure in music making is readily transferred to audiences who enjoy her exuberance as much as her musicianship.

With performances described as ‘electrifying’, Fiona could have enjoyed a highly successful career as a classical violin player. Instead she enjoys the freedom of composing and playing according to her own rules – calling upon tango, jazz, gypsy, Celtic and classical styles, some times all in the same piece of music!

New Zealand born and now dividing her time between London and Lyttelton, Fiona will tour with her husband, UK pianist and musical director, Ian Tilley (formerly music director for Hayley Westenra and Aled Jones) on piano, Pete Fleming on bass and Mike Ferrar on guitar.

Fiona has performed and recorded with artists such as Dave Dobbyn, Hayley Westenra and Bic Runga, as well as opening for Tony Bennett, Ottmar Liebert and ‘the crown prince of Denmark”, the late Victor Borge. Personal highlights include appearing at Ronnie Scott’s world famous jazz club in London and performing her own compositions and arrangements with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

She has been a spokesperson for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), and appeared in Bear Sanctuary, a film about her life as a concert violinist and her 2009 visit to the Romanian Bear Sanctuary on the outskirts of Brasov.

During her tour, Fiona will play from her latest CD, Feeling, to be launched on 2 March.

‘Sheer vibrancy, a sense of fun and pure pleasure’ - Peter Bills, NZ Herald 9 Jan 2012

Adults $25; Supergold $20; Student/ child $5; are obtainable from the Cromwell and Alexandra iSites.

Location

Memorial Hall