Annual organ curator's concert 2024
Some of the 1300+ assembling before an earlier concert in the Christchurch Town Hall.
Dear Friend of the Town Hall Organ,
Personal greetings from me, Martin Setchell, your Town Hall organ curator, on behalf of the Friends of the Christchurch Town Hall Organ. I wanted to let you know in good time that thanks to the support of the Friends of the Christchurch Town Hall Organ Trust, and Venues Management Otautahi, my annual organ curator’s concert this year will again take place in the Town Hall auditorium on the King's Birthday public holiday afternoon, Monday 3 June 2024 at 2.30pm. So, what's on the programme you ask? It will feature the usual varied and entertaining programme, appropriately beginning with my arrangement of the March from the Ode for the King’s Birthday 1769, written for King George III by William Boyce. This is from a new volume of Boyce’s music, featuring my transcriptions of his delightful symphonies and overtures, soon to be published by Butz Publishers in Bonn, Germany. The programme will also include Bach’s great Toccata, Adagio and Fugue BWV 564, Léon Boëllmann’s puckish Ronde francaise, Josef Rheinberger’s Cantilena (often heard on Radio NZ Concert with cellist Julian Lloyd-Webber), a new Toccata giocosa by Hans-André Stamm and Paul Spicer’s Kiwi Fireworks, a set of witty variations on God defend New Zealand, appropriate for a NZ national holiday! (This was written for Christopher Herrick, who played it when he opened the Christchurch Town Hall Rieger pipe organ in 1997. Its registrations can now be enhanced by the new stops added in 2019 so it’s well worth repeating.) I hope you will be able to join me for this annual celebration of our iconic Rieger pipe organ in concert. Online booking is ready for you - and how to do it Click on https://organconcert2024.eventbrite.co.nz/ and it will take you direct to the Eventbrite booking site with all the details: Scroll down to the bottom and click the red bar marked GET TICKETS. On the next screen under Tickets, hit the + sign till it shows the number of tickets you want. Once again, the Trust is bringing you this concert FREE OF CHARGE, but is requesting a koha/donation of $20 (or whatever you can manage) to help defray our costs. (Being a public holiday there are extra costs e.g. for our Venues Otautahi house staff). Please help us to keep this annual event free; every little helps the cause! If you wish, you can donate on line at the time of booking. If not, or you can't manage to donate online, there will be an opportunity to donate in cash at the concert on the day. As we are a registered charitable trust, all donations of $5 or more qualify for the IRD donation rebate. Our treasurer will email you a receipt if you supply your email address. Then hit CHECK OUT and fill in the fields marked CONTACT INFORMATION so your booking can be confirmed by e-mail. Then scroll down to the last bit marked Ticket 1 General Admission and fill in the name of the person attending. If more than one in your group, do the same for Ticket 2, 3 and so on. Finally, hit the red bar marked REGISTER at the bottom of the page and checkout. A final page will pop up asking for your name plus either your email or phone number. This is so they can send the ticket (the confirmation of your registration). That's it! You're now all ready to enjoy the concert. I do hope you will be able to join us for this annual celebration of our iconic Rieger pipe organ in concert. In the meantime, if you want to know more about the organ and its history, explore more pages here on nzorgan.com Best wishes, Martin Setchell |
Go to Eventbrite to register for the concert
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Past Events
Martin with the commendation he nearly didn't notice
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The 2022 Organ Curator's concert was a popular event on Monday with around 1300 people attending. Organist Martin Setchell got the biggest surprise of his life when Mayor Lianne Dalziel announced that the City Council was about to present him with a commendation in honour of his 25 dedicated years as curator of the iconic Rieger organ. Everyone in the audience was let in on the secret, but blinded by spotlights, Martin didn't see Councillor Yani Johanson trying to present him with the award, and sat down to begin playing.
The delighted laughter of the audience alerted Martin to the approaching award and he paused long enough to accept it, lost for words. But his playing said it all. Thank you Martin, for those 25 amazing years.
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Christchurch Town Hall
organist Martin Setchell 
Buy "Resounding Aftershocks" CD from which Martin chose his programme for the re-opening concerts. Order here.
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(To be presented by the Friends of the Christchurch Town Hall Organ Trust)
Christchurch Town Hall
86 Kilmore Street
Christchurch 8013
86 Kilmore Street
Christchurch 8013
