Where folk and classical music collide

Photo Credit Nat Symonds.

Stories change over time, no matter how familiar they are. Every telling of the Trojan War has a slightly different slant, versions of Romeo and Juliet change with every director, sometimes morphing into a whole new story in the case of West Side Story. There’s even your friend’s tale of the legendary fishing trip which changes shape and size with every retelling… The point is, stories evolve, stories change and stories become richer as they are repeated, reinterpreted and retold.

As with stories, so too with music. We hear strains of other musicians, other songs, other tunes in the works of artists across musical genres. It may be explicit, in a cover of a song or in a performance of a known piece of music, but often it is far more subtle. There’s no signposting, just the echoes of something you have heard before, in a different time, a different place and a different context.

This confluence of musical ideas and influence lies at the heart of this year’s At the World’s Edge Festival which takes place in Central Otago and the Southern Lakes this October. From New York to the Northern Caucasus, from Shanghai to the Kawhia Harbour, AWE’s world class musicians will bring to life folk and chamber music from around the world over seven intertwined performances within some of the south’s most stunning settings.  

“Folk music is a celebration of cultures, places and shared stories and experiences,” says AWE Festival Director and renowned New Zealand violinist, Justine Cormack. “We’re thrilled to be bringing some of the world’s best chamber musicians to the Southern Lakes and Central Otago this spring. For many, this will be their first time in Aotearoa and, in a region that’s become a melting pot of cultures and experiences, there’s no better place to explore the history of folk music and how it has influenced classical music across continents and centuries.”

Joining Justine and fellow Festival Director and violinist Benjamin Baker is Cromwell-born, UK based violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish, who returns home for her first performances in Central Otago in a decade. Soprano Deborah Wai Kapohe will be providing Antipodean colour to folk songs from around the world and the CSO’s Principal Viola, Serenity Thurlow, will take to the AWE stages for the first time.  

These bright lights of Aotearoa chamber music will play alongside international peers including Julian Bliss from the UK, one of the world’s finest clarinettists. US violinist Alexi Kenney, acclaimed Hungarian pianist Daniel Lebhardt and rising star in the world of classical music, American cellist Sterling Elliott, all make their Aotearoa débuts at AWE.  

The performances include compositions by this year’s Composer in Residence, Eve Castro-Robinson, whose new work for clarinet and string trio, Earth’s Eye, will receive its world premiere in Wānaka. 

In addition to the seven ticketed AWE programmes, AWE+ offers an extensive and varied range of free events throughout the festival that are open to all including performances, workshops and talks with AWE’s family of remarkable musicians.  

At the World’s Edge Festival runs from 5-18th October, 2024. 

For tickets and a detailed programme, visit www.worldsedgefestival.com

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