money for art’s sake . . . .
ARTS
Kristine Walsh: Gisborne Herald
WHEN award-winning soprano Madeleine Pierard last year performed at a house concert in Gisborne, she got more than she bargained for — some friends, a fee, and some fabulous frocks.
Certainly, she was well cared for at Tiromoana, the Wainui hilltop home of hosts Professor Jack Richards and Moon Won Gyu. And she was well paid for performing at the event to raise money for the Gisborne Choral Society’s harpsichord fund.
But by the time she left she also had the friendship and patronage of Richards, from Gisborne, and Korea-born Moon.
She is now booked to sing at another fundraiser at Tiromoana. When she recently went to Australia she stayed at their Sydney apartment. And when she returned home she came clutching the designer opera costumes Richards commissioned especially for her.
“You don’t have to do a lot to make a great deal of difference in the career of a young artist,” Richards said. “It might be costumes, it might be opportunities to study. And they in turn reward us with their wonderful work.”
Sitting in their art-filled home atop a hill overlooking Wainui Beach, Richards and Moon are clearly in a better position than many to assume the mantle of arts patrons.
But they believe that supporting the arts is within the means of most.
Though they spend most of their year over-seas, the pair every summer return to Richards’ boyhood town of Gisborne, during which time they import classical musicians for fundraising concerts at their home.
“Every time somebody buys a ticket to something like that they are supporting the arts,” Richards said. “We get a lot of people who are on limited incomes. It is a way in which they can make a meaningful contribution.”
Richards’ own income is derived from his work in education — he is an internationally-known specialist in English language teaching and the author of textbooks used all over the world. He recently retired from full-time university teaching, but maintains a packed programme of lecturing assignments. This year, for example, he has commitments in countries from Singapore, Mexico and Ecuador to Taiwan and Japan.
But he didn’t get there on his own. While working towards his Master of Arts at Wellington’s University of Victoria in the 1960s, he was awarded numerous funding boosts.
That, he says, is one reason why he is so committed to patronage today: “I was lucky enough to be awarded a number of scholarships when I was starting my own career,” he said, “so it seems only right.”
His sponsorship stretches over the arenas of both arts and education.
Among his Gisborne projects are the $100,000 he has gifted to students at Tairawhiti Polytechnic’s School of Maori Art and Design (Toihoukura); his annual purchase of a Toihoukura artwork for the Tairawhiti Museum collection; the $25,000 donated for the restoration of Manutuke’s Toko Toru Tapu church; scholarships for music students; and sponsorship of the Artfest 2006 and Woman’s Work art exhibition projects.
Then there are the at-home concerts he and Moon organise. So far the concerts — plus a $9000 top-up from the hosts — have helped purchase Gisborne Choral Society’s new harpsichord. That accomplished, they are now raising funds for the ever-cash strapped Gisborne Music Competition.
That’s just in Gisborne. In Wellington, Richards has offered three years worth of sponsorship for the New Zealand School of Music’s composer-in-residence scheme.
And overseas projects range from multiple scholarships for language teachers and arts students, to the construction of a new school in one of the poorest regions of Argentina.
Typically, Richards and Moon aim to sponsor groups they identify as being underfunded.
That helps explain why they tend to focus their generosity on Gisborne projects rather than those in Sydney, where they now spend much of their year.
“The reality is that there is not a lot of spare cash lying around in Gisborne so, in areas like the arts, there are plenty of areas of need,” Richards said. “Which is not to say that artists in Sydney would not be grateful for a bit of help. But we feel that there are fewer funding opportunities here so we can make a tangible difference.”
Gisborne businesswoman Bronwen Holdsworth is another known for her support of the arts, contributions from her family having propped up projects mainly in the disciplines of the visual arts and music.
Though a big supporter of opera she, also focuses on supporting emerging artists, a recent initiative being the sponsoring of Gisborne Music Competition’s $1000 prize for best performance of a New Zealand composition.
In the lead-up to the 2005 competition, she reiterated her belief that grassroots support helped young artists gain the experience and recognition they needed. Her family was not only committed to supporting the evolution of New Zealand music, she said, “but also to supporting young composers and musicians to develop their skills and expand their horizons”.
Music is a passion, too, for both Jack Richards and Moon Won Gyu, who recently purchased a gleaming, black Kawai grand piano for their fundraising concerts.
It has already been used by Australian pianist Ambre Hammond. It will early next month be played by Chinese pianist Dr Gao Ping. And a couple of weeks later Wellington musician Bruce Greenfield will use it to accompany visiting soprano Madeleine Pierard.
The house concerts are becoming a tradition at Tiromoana and Richards says he has been thrilled at their success.
“Some of the artists we invite you think ‘oh, they would be far too grand to perform in a house’, but when you think about it, intimate concerts in a private setting have a strong precedent in musical tradition.”
He admits that, for what it costs, it would be less time consuming to just hand over the cash.
“But the concerts are more than just a way of raising money. They are an experience that anybody can take part in.”
- Pianist Dr Gao Ping plays at Tiromoana on February 4, and on February 18 there will be a performance from soprano Madeleine Pierard, with accompanist Bruce Greenfield.
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