News

4th March 2010 - Dunedin Concert - Tickets on sale now! ....

Tickets for Fiona's concert in Dunedin are on sale now. The concert is at the Mayfair Theatre in Dunedin on Friday 9th April at 7:30pm. Tickets: A Reserve $50; B Reserve $35, C Reserve $25. Available from Ticketdirect: 03 477 8597. 0800 224 224 or online by clicking here. You can download a hi-res poster for the concert by clicking on the image to the left.

6th January 2010 - Nelson Jazz Festival Review....

The Nelson Mail have just published an article about Fiona's recent open air performance which launched the 2010 Nelson Jazz and Blues Festival.
You can click here to read the story online.

24th February 2010 - New video uploaded...

We've edited together a clip of performances from the last few weeks. The video features tunes from the Waitangi day show in Akaroa, the Valentines day concert in the ChristChurch Cathedral, with the men of the choir and Jeremy Woodside on organ, and last Saturday's show at the Harbour Light Theatre in Lyttelton. Press the play button below to watch the video:-

20th February 2010 - Harbour Light Theatre photos...

Some photos below from last night's packed performance at the Harbour Light Theatre in Lyttelton. (Many thanks to Frank Green for these).

(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

16th February 2010 - ChristChurch Cathedral: Valentines Concert photos...

Some photos below from the Valentines concert at the ChristChurch Cathedral, (many thanks to Frank Green for these).

(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

7th February 2010 - Akaroa photos...

We have uploaded some photos below from yesterday's show at the Gaiety Hall in Akaroa, (many thanks to Frank Green for these). Fiona and band had a great night, thanks to all who came along!!

(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

3rd February 2010 - 'Fire and Light' review from classicalcrossover.co.uk....

'Fire and Light' has just recevied an excellent review from classicalcrossover.co.uk. It is the first album to receive a perfect score.
You can read the review here.

2nd February 2010 - Black Barn photos...

We have uploaded some photos below from Fiona and band's performance at the Black Barn winery last week. Many thanks to Frank Green and Pete Fleming for these... Fiona and the band are gearing up for this Saturday's Waitangi day show in Akaroa, it's set to be a great night so we look forward to seeing some of you there. (There are still some tickets available from the Akaroa Visitors' Centre). Fiona is also very much looking forward to her two Harbour Light concerts in Lyttelton on the 20th. The Harbour Light is one of Fiona's favourite venues in New Zealand, so she is very excited about previewing some of the new material from her next CD at these shows. (Tickets are available by emailing the Harbour Light here).

(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

19th January 2010 - Upcoming Christchurch concerts....

Several people have emailed us about the forthcoming ChristChurch Cathedral concert and have been enquiring as to whether it will be similar to Fiona's previous performances there. We thought we should clarify that Fiona will just be one part of an hour long fundraising concert for the Cathedral, which will also include performances from the men of the choir and Jeremy Woodside, the cathedral organist. Fiona's main full concerts this year in Christchurch will be at the Harbour Light in Lyttelton on the 20th of February. Fiona is also performing at the Gaiety Hall in Akaroa on February 6th. Booking details for these shows can be found on the gigs page.

19th January 2010 - Nelson Jazz Festival video...

We've uploaded a clip from Fiona's performance at this year's Woollaston Nelson Jazz and Blues festival. The concert was held at the Woollaston Winery on the 4th of January 2010. A huge thanks to Martin de Ruyter for filming this for us. Press the play button below to watch the video:-

18th January 2010 - Akaroa Mail article....

There's a very good article in this week's Akaroa Mail (NZ) about Fiona's upcoming concerts in the Banks Peninsula area, alongside a story about her recent wedding. You can click here to view the article.

16th January 2010 - Nelson photos...

We have uploaded some photos below from Fiona's performances at this year's Nelson Jazz and Blues Festival. Many thanks to Martin de Ruyter, Pete Fleming, Rowena Richards-Orange and Annie Ferrar for these...

(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

15th January 2010 - Next Magazine article....

Fiona is featured in the 'Next Woman' section of New Zealand's Next Magazine this month. You can read the article by clicking on the image to the left.

11th January 2010 - Tour Poster....

You can download a hi-res poster for Fiona's upcoming New Zealand shows by clicking on the image to the left. We have also added some more dates to the gig diary page, you can click here to check them out.

6th January 2010 - Nelson Jazz Festival Review....

The Nelson Mail have just published an article about Fiona's recent open air performance which launched the 2010 Nelson Jazz and Blues Festival.
You can click here to read the story online.

7th November 2009 - New message from Fiona....

Greetings to you all,

Gosh, it feels like life has been a bit of a wonderful whirlwind lately!  I flew back to NZ about seven weeks ago and the time has just been flying by.  It has been so fantastic to see family and friends again and I have also had some fun organising the final details for our upcoming wedding; it really is an exciting time!!!

Just over two weeks ago I flew to the Philippines to take part in a tour with Libera.  This was one of my favourite tours to date.  The Philippines is such a beautiful country and the people are so generous and friendly.  We were lucky to be so well looked after but when I saw some of the poverty that this country also struggles with I felt so sad.  We are incredibly lucky to be travelling around the world and seeing so many things but I can never stop thinking about the struggles that some people have in this world. I hope that one day I might be able to do just a little something to help some of the people that are in need in the Philippines.  We left the Philippines just before a typhoon hit so we were feeling rather apprehensive about this!  We were very grateful to hear that the people we met while on tour are all safe and well.

In a photo below I would like to introduce you to Barnaby Jackson. 



He is the new addition to the family and is so much fun!  He will be on tour with us some of the time so maybe a few of you will get to meet him over the next few years.  He is a good healthy pup with an amazing appetite for shoes, books and carpet... I find that puppy toys are a saving grace in the home at the moment!  I have already started on a new tune that is 100% inspired by Mr Barnaby and is rather quirky so should be fun to record on the next CD.

There are lots of shows being planned for the new year.  It all kicks off with the Nelson Jazz Festival at the start of January (first show as a married woman!) Then there is a winery concert at Black Barn in Havelock North.  February is going to be a busy month (please check out the diary for details) and in March I hope to start recording a new CD.  From now until Christmas the plan is to get ready for our wedding and finish writing some new tunes, get lots of practice done, finish painting some of the house, get more into the vegetable garden and also spend some wonderful time with both of our families as Ian's family are arriving from the UK in about a month to be at our wedding.

I hope that those of you reading this are having a wonderful end to 2009 and I would like to thank you all so much for visiting my website and staying in touch with what is going on.

May you all have a wonderful lead up to Christmas and New Year.

23rd September 2009 - New Facebook page....

We have set up a brand new fan page for Fiona on Facebook. The page can be found by clicking here. We will be adding exclusive content such as photos and messages from Fiona so be sure to add yourself as a fan to be kept up to date. We have just uploaded some images from Fiona's performance at the WOA Suffrage Day Celebrations on Monday. More news soon.....

13th September 2009 - WSPA - Romanian Mini-Diary

At the moment I'm sitting at Heathrow airport having just arrived back from Romania. I will be leaving for New Zealand in about six hours so really wanted to write down my thoughts from the last thirty six hours before I face the long flight home.

On the evening of Friday 11th September Ian and I, along with a UK TV crew, flew to Romania to film part of my documentary which started several weeks ago when I did a concert in Wales. This part of the documentary features my new involvement with the WSPA, (World Society for the Protection of Animals), and their work with bears. This trip was a chance to experience some of the work that WSPA does. Thirty minutes outside Brasov in the heart of Transylvania is where the Romanian Bear Sanctuary is situated.

On the morning of the 12th we travelled to the bear sanctuary. The first thing I noticed was the amount of healthy looking dogs that were around and seemed to be roaming free, (see pics below). There was also a donkey who popped over to see what we were up to! The filming started when I met Victor Watkins - what an amazing man! Victor is a wildlife adviser for WSPA who was key in getting the sanctuary set up. It was inspiring to hear him talk throughout the day. His hard work and love for the bears was just a joy to see.

One of the first stops was to see the six young cubs that were housed in a large enclosure, complete with friendly fox and swimming pool. This was all set within the forest. The cubs were so cute, they had been rescued from dire situations such as their mothers being shot or killed in road accidents. This is very sad but how wonderful that the people who find them can ring WSPA and have the sanctuary rescue them. If these cubs were not rescued there is a good chance that they could end up in cages and used as attractions outside restaurants. One of the cubs called Roddy, soon became one of my firm favourites. He was a little nervous when confronted with the more confident cubs and would shoot up a tree and hide.

We then walked past another enclosure where some of the older bears were housed. I met Max, the blind bear, and had a chance to play the violin to him. I was very curious to see how he would react to the music as we thought his hearing might be more sensitive. He sat there for a good five minutes and seemed to be listening. I was rather relieved he didn't run away! We also got a chance to feed the bears with Lotti and Emi, they are the sanctuary managers who work tirelessly. They need a huge amount of food to feed the bears twice a day; many kilos of fruit and vegetables along with the occasional chicken and loaves of bread.

There are currently forty six bears housed in the sanctuary. WSPA are in the process of raising funds to build a third enclosure to house thirty bears that are waiting to be rescued.

I could write all day about my time spent at the sanctuary. Just to experience and learn about the work that goes on was amazing. I arrived expecting to be upset at the state of the bears but instead was filled with joy at the sight of the healthy and happy animals. I can't wait to visit again in the future and hope that some of the proceeds from my documentary will help to fund the third enclosure.

If any of you reading this would like to help in some way please just visit their website wspa.org.uk

We are hoping to have the documentary ready for release towards the end of this year. I will make sure I have it at all the concerts I will be doing. All the proceeds from this will be going to the bear sanctuary so I feel so proud to be part of it!

I look forward to seeing some of you very soon in Kiwi-land. It will be lovely to get home and see my family and friends after these last six wonderful months in the UK.

Love



(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

22nd August 2009 - Aberglasney Gardens...

Greetings everyone,

I hope today finds you all fantastic and in good health!

It is a beautiful day in London town. I thought that it was about time I posted a little note on my website as there have been many wonderful things happening in the last while.

First of all I would like to thank everyone who came to my concert at Aberglasney Gardens last Saturday evening. It was a truly special night and the weather was beautiful in Wales. I was slightly worried about it raining (being an outdoor concert) as when I woke up in the morning it was a little wet but as the day progressed the sun came out and it was so wonderful to see so many people turn up. For those of you who do not know about Aberglasney Gardens, it is such a beautiful place. An old homestead with gardens which have been restored over the past ten or so years. I was lucky to wake up early on the Sunday morning and have a good 45 minute walk around all the beautiful pathways that have been created in the gardens. It has an amazing vegetable garden that would rival my Mother's. We have posted some photos below from our time there, a big thanks to Ben Rentoul for these...

Some other news is that I have started filming a documentary with a UK film crew here who are about to premier a movie that Ian and I took part in last year. This is very exciting as the proceeds from the documentary will go to WSPA, (World Society for the Protection of Animals). This is a charity very close to my heart; they have centres all around the world that work and care for endangered animals. I will be travelling to Romania for several days in three weeks to film at the Bear Sanctuary over there. I have always wanted to do something like this as everytime I see pictures of the beautiful bears that have been chained up or starved I feel my heart breaking. The people that do this work are just amazing and I feel so lucky and proud to be able to do anything at all to help. I will be taking a large box of tissues over there with me as I can see that it is going to be painful to see animals that have been badly treated. At least they are in a place where they will be nurtured back to health so I hope that will lift my heart.

Last but not least, I will be heading back to my homeland very soon to get ready for a wedding!! And also I am looking forward to performing some more shows and making a return to the Nelson Jazz festival at the start of 2010. I have been busy writing more tunes so feel quite excited to be back with the Kiwi band playing some new tunes along with a few old favourites.

Love



(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

3rd July 2009 - Piccadilly update...

Hello everyone,

Greetings on this very sunny morning in London town. Phew it's hot, time for a day at the beach...!
Here is a little update about our wonderful concert at St James's church in London that we had just over a week ago.

WOW! It was so much fun... To be honest I was very nervous and so was Ian. We had done a few short duo performances before but never a whole 50 minute concert so it was a great experience for us. Even though I was so nervous before the show, I felt very much at home as soon as I walked out on stage. We had a lovely audience and it was so cool to have the support of some friends and family also. Thanks to all those who came along to support us! I was rather excited to have an encore and as soon as it was over I wanted to do it all again straight away. We've uploaded some photos from the concert below, many thanks to Steve and Stuart Hayter for these great shots.

It has been such a beautiful week here in London with very, very hot days. Lucky for me we have an air con in my practice room now so I can still get those dreaded scales done.

I hope that you are all wonderful and I will do another update after my trip to Ireland and Scotland in a months' time.

Love



(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

18th June 2009 - Reminder about London performance next week....

A quick reminder about Fiona's performance at St. James's Church in Piccadilly next Monday 22nd. The concert is part of St. James's lunchtime series. Fiona will be performing a selection of pieces from her last two CDs alongside some brand new compositions. She will be accompanied by Ian Tilley on piano. Click here for a map and here for the church's events page.

21st May 2009 - New video uploaded....

We have just uploaded a video from TV NZ's Good Morning show from February of this year. It features a stunning performance of Fiona's piece 'House by the Harbour'. Click here to watch the video. We will also be uploading a clip from Fiona's recent sell-out performance at the ChristChurch Cathedral so be sure to check back soon...

12th May 2009 - Interview and feature for Christchurch City Library....

The Christchurch City Library (NZ) have just posted an interview with Fiona on their website. You can read the interview in full and listen to some audio clips taken from it by visiting the website here.

28th April 2009 - Update from Fiona...

Hello from London town.

As I am writing this the rain has just started to come down, it was bright sunshine this morning here in South London. It reminds me of our Kiwi home; four seasons in one day!

We have now been back in London for one week. I travelled to Japan at the start of April with Libera. Libera is a beautiful boys choir from South London who I perform solo violin with.

Japan was great fun. Ian and I along with another Kiwi who was doing sound, Ben, had a lovely tour around a few parts of Tokyo that I had never been to before. We went to the Meiji Shrine, which is the largest shrine in Tokyo. It was very beautiful and I love the traditions that they have. It really was a wonderful experience. Another highlight for me was the traditional tea ceremony which took place in one of Tokyo's largest hotels; it was absolutely stunning! We did three large shows in Japan, two in Tokyo and one in Sendai. It was my first time in Sendai, and amongst other things, I found it a wonderful place to go shopping!

We then flew to the US and arrived into LA on Easter Sunday, (we managed to get two Easter Sundays due to the international date line. Sad that I did not have any Easter eggs to scoff down on the plane! I have made up for it with cream eggs since being back in the UK though).
We did two main shows in Orange County, LA. The first one in Palm Desert. I had an interesting time on the bus travelling to Palm Desert as it was such a different world to what I am used to in NZ and the UK. Lots of barren roads and big shopping malls on the side of the highways, think I will have to write a tune about how I felt on that journey.

We also went to Disneyland... Now, I know that I am supposed to be a grown woman but for one day I just felt like a kid in a candy store. (More like a chocolate cookie store!) I LOVED seeing Winnie the Poo and Tigger and we went on some great rides like Space Mountain and Indiana Jones. Yes, I screamed my lungs out on them...!

We finished the trip to the US with a concert at the Crystal Cathedral. Libera sang at a Sunday morning service and we also did a concert there. It is an amazing sight with the whole building made out of glass and metal pipes; really something else. I loved playing my violin in there as it was such an amazing sound, I wanted to do all my practice in there!!

I am very glad to be back in London and getting some home time. I am looking forward to writing some more music over the next few months and of course doing my lovely scale practice. I am also planning on doing a 'Tribute to Stephane Grappelli' show when I get back to NZ so it will be fun to get all the music together for that.

I hope that wherever you are in the world you are happy and healthy.

Thanks for visiting my website, I will write again soon.

Love



(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

2nd April 2009 - Photos from Omarino Wine and Food Festival...

What a lovely day!

Here we are playing at the first ever Omarino Food and Wine Festival. It was a wonderful day and the weather could not have been more beautiful. The festival was held in Harewood in Christchurch and was a stunning setting for a lazy day in the sun eating and drinking and listening to music.
We had a lovely time performing there and it was a nice big area on stage for me to run around in! After our performance I hit the dance floor while an Irish band played. What a wonderful end to my time in NZ. I am sad to be leaving now for 6 months but time will fly and there are lots of exciting things planned for the year. (Please see the events page for more info.)

Love



(Click on the images below to zoom in...)

23rd March 2009 - 'Fire and Light' CD review....

We have just received this excellent review of the album from Patrick Shepherd at the Christchurch Press:-

Fiona Pears. Fire & Light
Fruitsalada Records FS006
Rating: ****
Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd

This is one disc that will be gobbled up eagerly by Fiona Pears fans and will delight not only the party faithful but also those coming to her music for the first time. It is an aptly named album, with plenty of fizz but also some beautifully lyrical melodic playing and writing, too.

This CD marks a milestone in Pears' oeuvre as well as realizing one of her childhood dreams namely that of producing a disc with full orchestral backing, which is provided by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

While production meant that the solo part and backing were recorded separately the overall result is not only convincing but rich and varied. It isn't all big orchestral numbers though; there are still the familiar small band numbers at which Pears with tracks like the Djangoish I Found A New Baby and quirky Harbour Light Magic, retaining that close-knit feel her fans adore. As we've come to expect, her writing talents are fully on show with all tracks Pears originals save for Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, although she did the arranging for this fiery number also.

That Pears' playing is outstanding throughout goes without saying, outrageously brilliant and dazzling in her technique, Pears' love of what she is doing shines through every note. Her writing style, however, is also developing significantly with the larger orchestral canvas at her disposal.

I particularly enjoyed the constant shift from baroque to Irish in The Piper's Son and the passion in the opening Tangissimo. Exploring a more consistently plangent mood The Willow Tree would feel perfectly at home in a Hollywood soundtrack, House by the Harbour captures a truly serene mood and Fiesta Sun is Pears at her acrobatic best.

The album gets better with every listen and if ever you need a musical tonic, this is it. It is sheer delight from the first note to the last.