Once a month, a quiet, tree-lined street in Greytown becomes noticeably busier. Cars line up on the grassy curbs of Wood Street, numbers of smartly dressed people descend and stride briskly down a leafy driveway. Their destination? Ed and Juliet Cooke’s home, where intimate music concerts have been held for 15 years.
Wood Street may be a long way from the palace rooms of European royalty, where chamber music originated in the 18th century, but the spirit and intention of the Greytown Music Group is the same: to enjoy music played by a small number of performers in an intimate, friendly setting (‘chamber’ music comes from the French word for room - chambre).
Chamber music is also known as ‘the music of friends’, and indeed most of the performers are friends and colleagues of Ed and Juliet: “I probably know about three quarters of the NZSO and Vector Wellington Orchestra,” says Ed, “and they are always keen to do something outside of their main work.”
Like their rock music counterparts, classical musicians like nothing better than ‘jamming’ with friends, and it’s from these sessions that items on the programme often originate. This is the music the performers love to play in their ‘time off’, so the home concerts have an added personal dimension.
The idea for home concerts stems from the couple’s own passion for music – an enjoyable counterpoint to their careers as partners in local law firm WCM Legal. They both played in the National Youth Orchestra, and Ed has been a member of the Wellington Vector Orchestra, playing violin and viola, for over 25 years. He still plays around five concerts each year, most recently with Vector at the Jose Carerras vineyard concert in Hastings. Juliet is a flautist and has “always sung in choirs”.
“When we first came to the Wairarapa, we went to some Chamber Music NZ concerts but they were poorly attended and not financially viable for them,” says Juliet, “ so we thought we could put on our own”.
They presented some concerts at local churches and the Greytown Town Hall, then began staging concerts at their large old house in Kuratawhiti Street, with the audience overflowing into the hall and around corners. In the 1980s, they had staged a series of classical concerts for children with the Greytown Little Theatre, which surely inspired many children, not least their daughter Merran, who was an oboeist for the NZSO for eight years.
When they came to design their current house in Wood Street 15 years ago, home concerts were uppermost in their minds, hence the spacious open plan living area oriented to face their gleaming Toyo grand piano.
“It can be quite hard for small groups of musicians to find a venue so we are giving them an outlet,” says Juliet modestly.
Up to 100 people can be seated here and there is often a chatty introduction by the performers. Ed and Juliet provide refreshments after each concert, and there is time for more chatting and socializing. The couple has always kept tickets affordable and all takings go to the musicians. Grants from the three district councils’ Community Arts Councils cover overheads such as advertising.
The format for these concerts is classical music, with a smattering of New Zealand and contemporary work. Typical of this ‘accessible’ mix is next month’s concert featuring ‘Amici’, an ensemble of NZSO artists, who will play Mozart, Schumann, Prokofiev and Samuel Barber.
“Often it’s the classical music that draws people to the concerts but they end up enjoying the 20th and 21st century work,” says Ed. “These are the pieces that get talked about most afterwards.”
The couple shares other interests besides music - they own a large export apple orchard and enjoy tramping and travelling. But with a full programme of concerts to roll out this year, they won’t be straying far for too long. After all, home is where their heart is, in more ways than one.
Amici, Sunday 19 April, 4pm, at 57 Wood St, Greytown.
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