Leah Thomas Photo: Pearl Kennedy
Wellington has a new venue for informal classical chamber music sessions.
Clarinettist and recent graduate from the NZ School of Music, Leah Thomas, is managing Pōneke Classical Sessions at the Rogue & Vagabond bar off Cuba St.
This continues the concept of a regular, informal classical music space started a few years back by Chamber Music New Zealand, and hosted every month at the Third Eye Brewery in Wellington until it closed in November last year.
The aim of the Classical Sessions is to provide an accessible space for musicians, whether they're students, seasoned professionals or multi-talented freelancers. And also to provide a venue free from the sometimes stifling conventions of the traditional classical concert hall for the audience.
Sessions will be performer driven, Leah says. "I really believe that performers and arts practitioners have their own ideas, and they know what they want to play because they've spent years practising it and loving it with the friends that they make their music with. What people need is just a space... to bring their ideas to life, really."
Pōneke Classical Sessions launches in April 2021.
