Retirement Village / over 60s concerts 2024 and 2025
- See dates, format, program details below
pic by Ally Broad at Summerfield in the Vines Havelock North.
The SUMMER HOLIDAY program 215.
2024 you can book NOW.
Canterbury available except when I am touring
TOURS 2024
WELLINGTON and Wairarapa, Manawatu. APRIL 18 - 26
AUCKLAND and upper N, Is
Waikato etc JULY 14 - 23
OTAGO and Southland
OCTOBER 23 - 27
SEASONAL programmes by the months...
MARCH AND APRIL Romance, St Pat's day (17th)
and after that if needed IRISH SHENANIGANS
MAY Kiwi Music NZ NZ history, May is NZ music month
JUN JUL That’s Country Country Calendar theme, Johnny Cash, John Denver, etc
JUL can be Passionate Latin to warm us up in winter (Light my Fire, La Bamba) Maori Language week is f
AUG SEPT and OCT ALL THAT JAZZ
NOV and DEC new CLASSY CLASSICAL
At any time you can choose something else:
a sing along session
background music (can be all instrumentals)
or one of my other themed shows
AROUND THE WORLD
AT THE MOVIES
SUMMER HOLIDAY
ANZAC
BASTILLE DAY (all French)
ROADWORKS ( all my own compositions)
ISLAND PARADISE
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Current show to end of March
Romance
It focuses on music expressing love and romance.
That of course is a very popular theme in music. I included:
Everybody Loves Somebody
E Ipo (Prince Tui Teka)
Save The Last Dance
Let It Be (Paul McCartney wrote it with his mother in mind. I will perform this on a piano if you have one handy)
Remember when by Country start Alan Jackson
I have a humorous poem by Pam Ayres about her know-it-all husband.
Passionate Latin program program no 4 V2.3 May 2023
Openers 4x
Guantanamera (CUBA) with ritmo hand claps holding my PICK (slap wrist)
MALAGUEÑA (ESP)
O SOLE MIO (IT) with English Elvis chorus
Mi AMIGO YO Capo IV - improvise but kept TIGHT!
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PASSIONATE LATIN
ANIMO - de la corazón
Moliendo Café Venezuela involvement! Clap clap
Cuando Estas Argentinian Tangos involvement! C ,C, C, S Slap
Tu serás mi Cumbia Colombia
Solo Le Pido a Dios Argentinian featuring blues harp
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CAMBIO
El Condor Pasa Peru Drum “Boom cha Boom chitty”
Sons de Carhilhoes Tambourine or Cajón
Chan Chan Cuba (piano)
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TRANQUILO
RECUERDOS DE LA ALHAMBRA … Francisco T C Malaga 1899 dedicated to a Sra. Da. Conchita G. de Jacoby “poetic impression…of the marvel” (Tarr)
ORIENTALE Piano – Enrique Granados the first theme
Or ERES TU
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FINALE
MOORISH DANCE short punchy extract
Guantanamera
Linda Señorita Kantuta a no 1 NZ song
La Bamba
Muchas Gracias not too long! V, Ch V Ch coda
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Program Format
the format
I always play plenty of lively songs everybody knows. I include some participation and one or two concert pieces of great guitar music. I use my classical and folk guitar technique to include guitar solo sections and bass lines, so I don’t just strum the guitar. I have also begun performing my short classical concert piece on the piano, the beautiful Traumerei by Robert Schuman. This looks like being a favorite! My presentations include brief tidbits of information and some humor. I hand out a song-sheet for the last three songs.
You can see me playing one of my solo guitar original compositions at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk60qip5ros
Retirement and Lifestyle Village/ and Rest Home performances:
There are over 24 local Retirement Villages/Homes who book me regularly now in Wellington. In Auckland I am building up with half a dozen so far. I have also set up tours to Villages in Christchurch, New Plymouth, Auckland and many other places. I have covered everything from self-managing independent residents to dementia and hospital wings. I have just returned a few days ago from a very successful tour of Tauranga that included: Althorpe, The Avenues and Ocean Shores retirement villages.
Cost $75 for my one-hour show. This is negotiable.
Critical acclaim: (NZ Herald, Evening Post, Christchurch Press)
“Guitarist casts spell on crowd”……………………………………Anthony Mullany
“The guitar pours out his soul”…………………………………….John Gillies
“Immediate and telling performance”…………………………John Reid
“A fine entertainer. carried his audience all the way”…John Button
“a warm response (to the classical music) …good interaction…excellent sing-along, thanks for a great show” ………Mt Victoria Lifecare 2010
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AT THE MOVIES
JAMES BOND Monty Norman (surf guitar) arr. John Barry
SMILE Charles Chaplin
RECUERDOS DE LA ALHAMBRA Francisco Tarrega 1896
Forbidden Games 1952 French played by Narcisso Yepes
Killing Fields 1984 Cambodia titled “Etude” (most soundtrack Mike Oldfield)
Sideways 2004
THE ENTERTAINER
CAVATINA from The Deerhunter
ARTHUR’S THEME
ROMANCE from René Clément's film
Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games) 1952
PINK PANTHER Henri Mancini
The Pink Panther 1964 Peter Sellers Steve Martin
Jokes: dead ant, Pink Panther Hotel
MOON RIVER Henri Mancini again lyrics Johnny Mercer Oscar song
Breakfast at Tiffanys 1961 Audrey Hepburn (as Holly Golightly)…Mickey Rooney
BLUE MOON Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
Manhattan Melodrama 1934 crime melodrama Clark Gable Myrna Loy
Orig wrote song for another 1934 film…Hollywood Party not used then. It was rejected as the title song for BM, but Shirley Ross sings it as “The Bad in Every Man” (dark song) which was not a hit. Studio boss asked for fourth rewrite romantic with a punchy title. Went in 7 more MGM films:
SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW
GEORGY GIRL
SINGING IN THE RAIN
ALWAYS LOOK BRIGHT SIDE (all things dull and ugly) Eric Idle
Life of Brian 1979 Monty Python send up of Disney e.g. “give a little whistle” Pinocchio…Brian is sentenced to death by crucifixion after failed rescue attempts. A nearby victim tries to cheer him up, joined in by another 20 on crucifixes…
When the destroyer HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet cruise missile on 4 May 1982 in the Falklands War, her crew sang it while waiting to be rescued from their sinking ship, as did the crew of HMS Coventry.
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AROUND THE WORLD presented in OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2023
LEAVING NZ
1 BLUE SMOKE Ruru Karaitiana 1940 NZ
2 SEE SEE RIDER Trad Ma Rainey 1924 USA
3 BAI MIR 1932 words Jacob Jacobs Yiddish USA
QUIETER-INTERLUDE
4 PRELUDE IN G J S Bach GER
(or piano Traumerei)
5 DE TROUBADOUR Lenny Kuhr (G) 1969 NETHERLANDS
6 ERES TU Juan Calderon 1973 EV winner SPAIN
7 HEY SOKOLY! E POLAND
ITALIA
Finuculi Funicula
O Sole Mio 1898. lyrics Giovanni Capurro melody Eduardo di Capua
WALTZING MATILDA AUSTRALIA
WHISKY IN THE JAR E IRELAND
BANANA BOAT SONG JAMAICA
JAMAICAN FAREWELL
SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO HOME “Irving King” 1925 (James Campbell Reg Connelly)
(HOME AGAIN)
NOW IS THE HOUR
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IRISH SHENANIGANS
(St Pat’s Day) program
Triple rollickin’ opening ST PAT’S DAY is 17th March.
WILD ROVER trad.
✪ this is the most widely performed Irish Song…
✪ origins unknown - seems to be about 5 hundred years old!
✪ it is a drinkin’ song or a temperance song?
THE BLACK RIBBON BAND very old…
✪ Van Diemen’s Land = Tasmania
✪ seven years provided free labour for the colonies.…
WHISKY IN THE JAR prob mid 1600s
quieter interlude (3x) - summer songs
FAERIE QUEEN NEW O’ Carolan
POEM The Lake Isle of Innesfree W B Yeats
DANNY BOY trad air wds Eng lawyer Weatherley 1913
✪ air is from county L. in Northern Ireland…back to at least 1855
✪ victory Anthem of N Ireland at Commonwealth games…
SPANCIL HILL (or HILLS ANTRIM)by Michael Considine, c.1872.
✪ Spancil Hill is on West coast above Shanon river and C Limerick
✪ sweetheart Mary MacNamara…never got enough money.
✪ Ill health and wrote poem to send to Mary. She never married...
THE IRISH WASHER WOMAN NEW Tin Whistle
✪ renaissance so 500 years old…(trad gradually gets faster)
✪ original lyrics When I was at home I was merry and frisky,
My dad kept a pig and my mother sold whisky,
MOLLY MALONE
Change of pace to brighten it up a little…so…
Quick JOKEs #3 limerick and Mr O’Flaherty diag..must be drink
JOKE #4 – The way to tipperary?…JOKE #5 raffle for widow and 13 kids.
sing along with song sheets for the residents
TIPPERARY
WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILIN
WHISKEY IN THE JAR
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All That Jazz Program
AINT MISBEHAVING Razaf and Fats Waller 1929
Fats from New York. Performed song in 1943 film Stormy Weather
a lively start ...
SIDE BY SIDE Kahn and Woods 1927
BLUE SKIES
quieter interlude
TEARS
LAZY SWING JAZZ
THIS MASQUERADE
SOMETHING ON MY MIND
sing along
BLUE MOON
ALL OF ME
GEORGIA
FLY ME TO THE MOON
SUMMERTIME
EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY
WALKING ALONG SONG (an original composition)
WE’LL MEET AGAIN
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PASSIONATE LATIN
SPAIN
Moorish Dance
Tangos (flamenco)
Leyenda - classical guitar
Trista Pena (Gypsy Kings)
Orientale (Granados) the first theme played on the piano
FRANCE
Gympnopedie (Eric Satie)
Tears (Django Reinhardt)
ITALIA
Tarantella
Roma Capoccia
LATIN AMERICA
Chan Chan (Buena Vista Social Club)
Sons de Carhilhoes (Brazil)
Cuando Estas (Tango)
Moliendo Cafe (Venezuela) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5SVNVDIkNE
SING ALONG
Guantanamera
La Bamba
CLASSICAL
This is a brand new program presenting some of the best classical guitar music, some well known Operatic sing alongs and two good concert piano pieces.
ROMANZA is the opening romantic guitar prelude followed by
J S BACH's well known prelude (used in an Ave Maria by Gounod)
This is followed by two popular guitar pieces by Spanish composer Tarrega
A little participation comes next with a drum accompaniment from a resident (or staff) for the Brazilian Maxixe dance rhythm of SONS de Carilhoes.
VIVALDI provides a lively interlude followed by some
CHOPIN arranged for guitar.
Two Piano solos next are:
SCHUMAN's Traumerei and
ORIENTALE (Spanish Dance no 1) by Granados
finally the audience can hum along to the
HABANERA from Carmen and
SCHUBERT's Lady of the Lake setting and the theme from
CATS
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KIWI MUSIC show presented during NZ music month of May
This one starts with the Maori koauau bone flute
Includes:
BLUE SMOKE
FRIENDLY ROAD
PO KARE KARE ANA
TAUMARUNUI (on the main trunk line)
NATURE
DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER
SWAY (Bic Runga)
THE GUMBOOT SONG (Fred Dagg)
and a poem by BUB BRIDGER
Playlist detail below...
These are polished and have all been presented and received excellent feedback from residents and staff.
Your Favorites Program
From the various recent shows including: Movie Themes, Country, Jazz and the Summer Holiday program.
Summer Holiday
This includes favorites like OH I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE, some sea shanties, Calypso songs from Harry Belafonte and YELLOW SUBMARINE. The complete playlist is below.
That's Country
Some Johnny Cash, John Denver...a little NZ (Country Calendar Theme, Taumarunui on the main Trunk Line..)
Includes this popular original country song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lYD2sP99-M&feature=youtu.be
detailed playlists for these programs are below...All are for an hour but can me made longer or shorter on request.
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SUMMER HOLIDAY
RECUERDOS DE LA ALHAMBRA beautiful Spanish classical guitar
SUMMERTIME George Gershwin. Great Jazz arrangement
SUMMER HOLIDAY Cliff Richards and The Shadows
HERE COMES THE SUN
OH I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE Glover - Kind 1907
YELLOW SUBMARINE - Beatles
quieter interlude
WAZZOCK'S THEME an original from the Kiwi-Pacific albub PICTURES
BLUE ROMANCE an original instrumental from AMIGOS
ALBATROSS Fleetwood Mac instrumental
participation...
MICHAEL ROW THE BOAT ASHORE
WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE DRUNKEN SAILOR
BANANA BOAT SONG Lord Burgess as sung by Harry Belafonte
ISLAND IN THE SUN " "
JAMAICA FAREWELL " "
ISUMU and RHYTHM FOR THE PEOPLE Samoan Sasa! Let's dance!
sing along with my song sheets
SUMMER HOLIDAY
OH I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE
WE ARE SAILING
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THAT's COUNTRY
WALK RIGHT IN Gus Canon 1929
(Joke Brown paper Pete)
COUNTRY ROADS John Denver
ME AND BOBBY MAGEE Chris Kristofferson 1969
✪ as sung by me to Mr Kristofferson at the Park Royal Hotel…
I WALK THE LINE NEW Johnny Cash 1956
✪ for his first wife Vivian “I keep a close watch on this heart of mine…”
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quieter interlude
A BIT HILLBILLY from FOLK MOODS FOR BRUCE ✓ Jonathon Harper 2008
✪ for Bruce Thomson, P North Folk club
ANNIE’S SONG John Denver 1973
✪ for Denver's wife. written in Aspen ski fields Colorado.
FIVE HUNDRED MILES Hedy West 1960s
my audience sing here by echoing the words at the end of each verse
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NZ section
Country calendar theme Shelby Grant
✪ composed by my neighbour
TAUMARUNUI Peter Cape 1959
✪ the old limited express steam train that travelled our main trunk line
THE WAGON ✓ Jonathon Harper 1973
FRIENDLY ROAD Anon 1930s?
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Comedy section
MY GRANNIE Billy Connolly 1981
sing along
GUMBOOT SONG John Clarke1970s
KING OF THE ROAD Roger Miller
GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY
COUNTRY ROADS (R) John Denver
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MEXICAN MADNESS
La Cucaracha
Ballada del Pistolero
Maria Elena
Gracias a la Vida slow romantic song this show needs one!
Bésame Mucho
Trista Pena (Gypsy Kings)
Chan Chan (Buena Vista Social Club)
Cuando Estas (Tango)
Tu Serás Mi Cumbia
El Muerto Vivo
Moliendo Cafe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5SVNVDIkNE
SING ALONG
Ghost Riders in The Sky (in English)
Guantanamera
La Bamba
Jonathon Harper
Phone 027 413 6299
Email [email protected]
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