Carson Taare (pictured) and Saem Millward will be joined by renown piano player Guy Donaldson in concert next weekend.
Carson Taare (pictured) and Saem Millward will be joined by renown piano player Guy Donaldson in concert next weekend.
A tribute concert to a “larger than life” Palmerston North music teacher has been planned to mark the anniversary of her death, such was the impression she made throughout a teaching career that spanned decades.
Mary Edith Ayres died on August 24, 2022, aged 95. In her honour, singers and former students Carson Taare and Saem Millward will be joined by renown piano player Guy Donaldson in concert next weekend.
It’s expected to be a tearjerker - the final song with be a duet between the two singers of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the musical Carousel.
Donaldson said Ayres lived “a long, rich and a giving musical life”, had a larger than life personality and left a huge impression on all she taught.
He said she had a love for stage music - musicals and opera. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was a favourite of Ayres and became the school song during her time at Palmerston North Girls’ High School, where she was Head of Music between 1971 and 1987.
Ayres began teaching music at Dannevirke High School in 1968, prior to that performing and producing shows for the Dannevirke Choral & Operatic Society.
From 1989 she was a part-time teacher of voice and piano at Awatapu College, and from 2000-2013 a vocal teacher at Palmerston North Boys’ High.
“Her enthusiasm was always palpable in her work with students,” he said.
Choirs in the region continue to benefit from her work with local secondary school teachers and successful music directors, such as Graeme Young, who gained his ATCL diploma in 2006, and Kirsten Clark who gained her ATCL diploma in 2008, he said.
“Mary was admired and respected by the teaching community in Palmerston North.”
Donaldson said it was great to have Taare and Millward return to perform next weekend.
Carson Taare.
Taare will be known by many country and western fans. While still at secondary school he was an accomplished and multi-talented vocalist, pianist and guitarist.
On graduating from PNBHS in 2019 he was awarded runner up, Dux Artium, and that same year was invited to the annual Country Music Association (CMA) Festival in Nashville, Tennessee.
Later that year he was also billed as special guest for the New York-based Glenn Miller Orchestra and band, whose members have played with the industry’s best, including Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra.
He was also awarded the Pat McMinn Rising Star Award at the prestigious Variety Artists Club awards.
In 2021 Carson fulfilled an ambition to broaden his musical palette even further and took classical singing lessons, jointly with Ayres and Donaldson, and graduated with an ATCL diploma with distinction.
Millward found his passion for singing while attending PNBHS, inspired by the choirs and stage shows. He continued to grow under the guidance of singing teacher Kirsten Clark who had been a student of Ayres.
He recently toured internationally with the New Zealand Secondary Schools Choir and last year completed his Grade 7 Trinity Exams in Classical and Musical Theatre Singing, earning distinction in both.
This year he intends to complete his ATCL Diploma in singing and wishes to continue his vocal studies at tertiary level.
Donaldson received his formative piano instruction from Maurice Collier, and then at Canterbury University with Maurice Till. In 1984 he studied in London with Paul Hamburger and Roger Vignoles.
He was a senior lecturer in music education at Massey until 2004, when he took leave to pursue his passion for performance and music teaching.
Pianist Guy Donaldson runs the Sunday Matinee Globe concert series.
He remains active in the Manawatū as a teacher, adjudicator, piano soloist, accompanist, chamber music player and music coach, and was for 30 years music director of the Renaissance Singers.
The concert, to be held at The Globe Theatre on Sunday, August 25 at 2.30pm, is part of The Globe Sunday Matinee series.
