Our 2023 Festival

What distinguished this Festival from previous offerings was that wind instruments — the bassoon and the oboe — featured prominently, with New Zealand-born, Sydney-resident, Todd Gibson-Cornish playing in all 4 concerts and NZSO Principal Oboe, Robert Orr playing in 2.

Here’s what our Artistic Directors, Wilma Smith and newly appointed Donald Armstrong, said about the 2023 Festival: ‘We are very excited about this year’s programme which, in addition to the luscious line-up of strings and piano you’ve come to expect, features two amazing double-reed superstars. One is probably well-known to most of you, NZSO’s magnificent Principal Oboe, Robert Orr, and the other is Todd Gibson-Cornish, a young Kiwi making his mark across the ditch as Principal Bassoon of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a hotly-contested position he won in 2016 at the ripe old age of 21.’

The 2023 Festival was, by every measure, another resounding success. Fabulous music, nearly full houses, record fundraising support from the community and generous donors, and we came out of it all with a prudent surplus so that we could do it all again in 2024.

We had a gentler take on the celebratory logo with a blush of sage, nectarine, apricot and rose and a hint of wispy wind to reflect the year’s programme focus on the oboe and the bassoon.

In a first for the Festival, our 2023 concerts were recorded by RNZ Concert for subsequent national broadcast. They are still available via the RNZ website.

Martinborough Music Festival 2023  — RNZ Concert

The work commissioned for our fifth anniversary 2022 Festival from Wellington composer, Tabea Squire was released in December 2023 to cap off our multi-media year! RNZ Concert and SOUNZ recorded and filmed the work as part of their Resound project.

Tabea Squire: Behind the stars, a dark sky — SOUNZ Youtube

In 2023 we also farewelled our former Artistic Director, VIcki Jones, our Festival Director Brendan Smyth and Chair of the Trust Board, Ed Allen. They left the Festival in good heart and capable hands. Sharon Cuzens took over as Festival Director, and Rosie Brown and Scilla Askew ONZM joined the Trust.