Music inspired by Wanganui

Raewyne Johnson from the Sarjeant Gallery and musicians Patrick Richardson and Sam Baker. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO

When English musician and composer Sam Baker leaves Wanganui, a part of him will stay behind.

That part is music he has composed while living in Wanganui, inspired by the environment around him.

Baker arrived in Wanganui more than a year ago to work as a music tutor at Wanganui Collegiate and he has taken part in a variety of concerts and performances in the city during his time here.

And at his final concert in Wanganui at the Sarjeant Gallery on December 8, Baker will present some of his Wanganui-inspired music.

These include Three New Zealand Songs - settings of James K Baxter poems - sung by Wanganui opera singer, Deborah Kapohe, and a suite of piano music called The Sarjeant Suite.

"There's a piece about the Waimarie, the Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui Collegiate, Virginia Lake, and so on, and the Whanganui River is the theme running through them all," Baker said.

Three New Zealand Songs were first performed at a concert at Te Papa, in Wellington, this year.

Baker will also accompany clarinetist Patrick Richardson on December 1 for a concert that includes works by Brahms, Debussy and Finzi.

Originally from England, Richardson spent five years in Wanganui and is currently studying classical performance at the New Zealand School of Music. He's also a clarinetist in the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band.

"It will be my first time playing at the Sarjeant Gallery, and I'm looking forward to it," Richardson said.

The concerts are the last two of the Musicians For The Sarjeant series for 2013 - a series of concerts that has been held as a fundraiser for the Sarjeant Gallery's upgrade.

Raewyne Johnson from the Sarjeant Gallery said the series had been a wonderful addition to gallery's usual programme. "We're very grateful to all the musicians who have taken part in the series over the year."

She hoped the series would continue next year.