This week, we added a noble string to our bow with a performance during the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. Four Auckland Phil professional string players visited Samoa for three days to represent Aotearoa at the CHOGM Commonwealth Song Relay, lead workshops, perform alongside local musicians and build a deeper understanding of music education for Samoan communities.
This was Auckland Phil’s first visit to the Pacific Islands and is the start of a new ongoing collaboration between the orchestra and Sol Fa Music, a Samoa-based music education service. During the first two days of their Samoa visit, Auckland Phil’s Gill Ripley (violin), Ben Harrison (viola), Karen French (cello), and Tim Shacklock (double bass) met with musicians from Sol Fa Music and representatives from Commonwealth Resounds.
The professional musicians led instrumental workshops and rehearsals of specially arranged music, which were performed with the Sol Fa musicians at the Closing Ceremony for the Commonwealth Youth Forum during CHOGM, attended by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Dame Patricia Scotland.
