Gem salutes Kaipara identity

The Gem of the Kaipara, a musical work written in honour of Dargaville's longtime accordion and arts supporter, the late Jenny Cocurullo, featured at two Auckland Symphony Orchestra concerts and will go to the US later in the year.
Held at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna yesterday, and the Auckland Town Hall the week before, the concerts were conducted by composer Gary Daverne and featured Dargaville-born and world-acclaimed Kevin Friedrich as the accordion soloist.
Following her death in 2001, Mr Daverne had been commissioned to write the music as a tribute to the lifetime of effort Mrs Cocurullo, a former district councillor, who had spent in promoting the Kaipara district. Jenny Maioho Cocurullo was a longtime friend and mentor of Mr Friedrich.
The piece was co-ordinated and funded by major grants from the Kaipara District Council, with additional donations coming from the local Kaipara community as well as national and international entities.
One year after her death, a concert in the Dargaville Town Hall on May 11, 2002 marked the "world premiere" of this new work. Performed by the Auckland Symphony Orchestra Strings and accordion soloist Mr Friedrich, the piece was conducted by its composer Mr Daverne.
Former Dargaville Mayor Graeme Ramsey said at the time: "Jenny always promoted the Kaipara as 'Gem of the North' while she in turn was considered the 'Gem of the Kaipara', thus the title of the composition."
As with the world premiere performance, beautiful images of the Kaipara region were projected on to giant screens behind the orchestra during the Auckland performances. These concerts coincided with World Accordion Day, a newly established global celebration of the accordion co-ordinated by the Conf?d?ration Internationale des Accord?onistes, for which Mr Friedrich currently serves as president.
Mr Friedrich will perform The Gem of the Kaipara at a concert by the University of Missouri - Kansas City Accordion Orchestra on May 31, in Kansas City, US.