The Torbay Suite

Locked down together by chance, Robert Zielinski from Western Australia and Golden Bay’s own Rennie Pearson have had a lot of time for music. On Saturday the 27th of June they will perform Roberts Zielinski’s Torbay Suite at Knox Church in Dunedin.

The suite is a fifty-minute original composition inspired by the pristine Torbay inlet near where Robert lives in Western Australia’s remote South Coast and has been described as one of the most moving and evocative pieces in recent times. The piece comes from Torbay itself but is framed on the Celtic styles that formed Robert's upbringing.

It was recorded in the Perth Concert Hall on December 19th 2019 and it is due for release in July. This is a rare opportunity to hear the suite in its entirety.

“The Torbay Suite was a sublime music journey, the highlight of the 2019 Brave New Works Festival in Denmark, inspiring the biggest standing ovation I have ever seen at the festival.” Peter Keelan - festival director

“To me, Torbay is a very special place, where the natural world and its rhythms remain largely intact. At the time I was making my fiddle and visiting the inlet every day. When I finished the fiddle I had the suite, so it feels a bit like each was made for the other. The Torbay Suite comes from the country of the Minang people, who have lived there for thousands of generations. The suite is divided into day and night, and maps Torbay through these phases. The fiddle is the main storyteller, and represents a character that goes on a journey into the unknown. The Day piece travels from dawn to dusk at the inlet and the Nighttime piece was inspired by the realisation that although we think we can see during the day, we are blinded by the sun and the day's activities, whereas nighttime is when we really see as the day distils. I've heard it said that night time is the only time you can see out through the holes in the blanket (the stars).” Robert Zielinski - composer.

Robert Zielinski has spent 14 years living on the west coast of Ireland and in the year 2000 he won Ireland's Michael Coleman Traditional Fiddler of the Year award.

Rennie Pearson was born in Wellington and specialises in Traditional music on wooden flute, whistle and guitar. In 2016 he won Boxwood Festivals rising young performer award and subsequently studied on the East coast of Canada for one year with Flute virtuoso Chris Norman.

Robert and Rennie are planning to tour Australia and New Zealand once restrictions are lifted.

Knox Church will be hosting this performance on Saturday the 27th of June at 7.30pm. Tickets are $30 and $25 for concession. Available on Eventfinda and on the door.