Thursday 4 August

The wildly popular Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra will play a one night only concert at Christchurch Arts Festival 2011.

The ‘orchestra’ will perform on Sunday 18 September at the TelstraClear Club in the Events Village, Hagley Park. Tickets for the concert are already on sale and selling fast.

Festival director Philip Tremewan says he’s thrilled to be able to add an extra act to the festival and says as well as performing the one night only concert, the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra will be heading to Christchurch schools on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 September to run workshops for students.

“The ukes are a fantastic heart-warming act and have delighted crowds throughout the country,” Philip says. “We’re very pleased to also be able to take the orchestra into schools for a series of fun workshops.”
The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra was formed five years ago at a tiny cafe by respected Wellington musicians Age Pryor and Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords (who won’t be performing at the Festival). The orchestra’s signature sound features up to 11 ukuleles, a double bass and a choir of gorgeous voices They perform with a saucy swagger in a charmingly modern take on the old show-band tradition of the 1940s and 50s and their unpredictable live show includes madcap antics and spontaneous audience merriment.
Christchurch Arts Festival 2011 gets underway next week with music, theatre, dance and visual arts taking place across eight consecutive weekends. Ticket prices have been kept low, thanks to funding from Creative New Zealand, with tickets to most shows available for $20 or less and Philip says tickets are selling well with a number of shows already sold out.
International acts in the Festival include MacHomer – an astonishing one-man show melding Macbeth with The Simpsons, the hilarious award-winning show Spontaneous Broadway, Brazil’s Ná Ozzetti, Australian musicians Jeff Lang and Linsey Pollak with his family show Passing Wind and, exclusive to Christchurch Arts Festival, Scottish Opera’s Baby O.
Christchurch Arts Festival runs from 12 August to 2 October at a variety of venues in Christchurch. Tickets and the full programme are available at www.artsfestival.co.nz

CHRISTCHURCH ARTS FESTIVAL: 12 AUGUST TO 2 OCTOBER 2011
MUSIC
Thursday Sessions featuring Christchurch musicians |TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | every Thursday from 18 August
Liam Finn | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 12 & 13 August 8pm
Jeff Lang| TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 14 August 8pm
Ná Ozzetti | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 19 August 8pm
Silencio Ensemble| St Andrew’s at Rangi Ruru | 19 & 20 August 7.30pm
CSO presents Kiwi Soul | CBS Canterbury Arena | 20 August 7.30pm
Soundtrack to the Daily Grind | buses around the city | 26 August at any time!
Lawrence Arabia| TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 26 August 8pm
CSO presents Dave Dobbyn | CBS Canterbury Arena | 1 September 7.30pm
Songs from Kurt Weill | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 2 September 8pm
Jubilation Choir | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 3 September 8pm
Christchurch Sings | CBS Canterbury Arena | 4 September 7pm
Electric Wire Hustle | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 9 September 6.30pm & 10 September 10pm
Island Summer| TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 11 September 1pm
The Phoenix Foundation | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 16 September & 17 September 10pm
Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 18 September 6pm
Fathers and Sons | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 23 September 6.30pm, 24 September 10pm
Richard Nunns| TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 24 September 1pm
Mike Nock Trio | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 25 September 1pm
Christchurch Memorial | Airforce Museum, Wigram | 25 September 3pm
The Bellbirds| TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 30 September 6.30pm
Songs to Leave Behind – Don McGlashan, Julia Deans and Anna Coddington| TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 1 & 2 October 10pm

CLASSICAL MUSIC
Saguaro Trio | Middleton Grange Performing Arts Centre | 10 August 6.30pm (in association with Chamber Music New Zealand)
NZSO – Leningrad | CBS Canterbury Arena | 11 August 8pm
Jubilate Singers| St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church | 14 August 2pm
Latitude 37| Middleton Grange Performing Arts Centre | 18 August 6.30pm
Houstoun Plays Schubert | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 26 August 11am
Maurice Till Memorial Concert | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 28 August 11am
NZSO – Odes to Joy | CBS Canterbury Arena | 27 September 6pm

FAMILY MUSIC
Baby O | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 1-5 September 10am, 12pm & 1.30pm
Passing Wind | Geo Dome, Events Village, Hagley Park | 4 September 11am & 1pm

THEATRE
Raising The Titanics | Fletcher Building Dome, Events Village, Hagley Park | 11-13 August 6.30pm
Rita and Douglas | Rudolf Steiner School Hall | 18-20 August 6.30pm, 21 August 3pm
He Reo Aroha | Old Boy’s Theatre, Christ’s College | 19 & 20 August 6.30pm, 21 August 2pm
Spontaneous Broadway | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 20 & 21 August 7.30pm
Macbeth | The Loons, Lyttelton | 23 August to 10 September 8pm
MacHomer | Fletcher Building Dome, Events Village, Hagley Park | 25-28 August 6.30pm
SALON | Ginger Meggs Salon, Avonhead | 20 September to 1 October Mon & Tues 8pm, Wed to Sat 6.30pm & 8pm
C’Mon Black | Akaroa Gaiety Hall – 22 September 6.30pm | Aranui High School Theatre – 23 September 6.30pm | Elmwood Community Auditorium – 24 September 6.30pm | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 25 September 6.30pm

DANCE
Tilt | Fletcher Building Dome, Events Village, Hagley Park | 19-21 August 6.30pm
Random Acts of God and Other Stories | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 27 & 28 August 8pm
The Body Festival of Dance and Physical Theatre – Garden Variety | Events Village, Hagley Park | 10 September 6-8pm; 16 September 5.30-7.30pm; 24 September 6-8pm; 2 October 1-3pm; 9 October 1-3pm; 16 October 3-5pm; 23 October 3-5pm
Royal New Zealand Ballet – Tower Tutus on Tour | Villa Maria College Auditorium| 17 & 18 September 7.30pm, 18 September 2.30pm
Footnote: Made in New Zealand | Geo Dome, Events Village, Hagley Park | 24 & 25 September 7.30pm
The Body Festival of Dance and Physical Theatre – Lily | Geo Dome, Events Village, Hagley Park | 26 & 27 September 7.30pm
The Body Festival of Dance and Physical Theatre – 2011 | Geo Dome, Events Village, Hagley Park | 30 September & 1 October 7pm

VISUAL ARTS
Earth From Above | Hagley Park (from Armagh St gates) | 12 August to 2 October
Pouwhenua | Hagley Park (from Armagh St gates) | 24 August to 23 October

IDEAS
Setting the Stage for Murder | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 21 August 11am
The Press Festival of Ideas: What should the new Christchurch a-spire to? Sir Lloyd Geering | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 3 September 3pm
The Press Festival of Ideas: The Human Ache – Glenn Colquhoun | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 4 September 3pm
The Press Festival of Ideas: SCAPE Panel Discussion: The City as Memory | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 10 September 11am-12.30pm
The Press Festival of Ideas: SCAPE Panel Discussion: Imagined Futures| TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 11 September 11am-12.30pm
The Press Festival of Ideas: The Dog and Data Show – Rod Oram and Joe Bennett | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 18 September 11am
The Press Festival of Ideas: Putting Words To Feelings | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 18 September 1pm

FOOD
Filling the Tins | TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park | 16 September 11am
Kiwi Kitchen Table Banquets | Nga Hau e Wha Marae | 30 September to 2 October 6.30pm

ENDS

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