Press
Timothy Carpenter in the press - as a conductor, director and performer.
St John Passion
The Hamilton Civic Choir joined the St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra at St. Peter's Cathedral
"The baton moved and so did the orchestra, and an exquisitely balanced, sensitively tuned dynamically perfect sound emerged, lasted a few bars with a wee crescendo, the choir came in, and the world lit up...nearly two unbroken hours of some of the best choral singing with the most enriching orchestral interpretation to have been heard in this most appropriate venue"
"[...] conductor Timothy Carpenter … gave very polished direction from the podium."
St Matthew Passion
The Hamilton Civic Choir joined the St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra at St Matthew's in the City
"The choir sang with well-articulated phrases, moving apparently effortlessly between the contemplative chorales and the crowd scenes calling for Jesus’s execution ... The performance, evidence of great co-operation between forces in two cities, was wonderfully fulfilling for the audience and I hope the performers. A noteworthy milestone in the choir’s and orchestra’s histories."
"Conductor Timothy Carpenter directed soloists, choir, continuo players and orchestra with total authority and a compelling conducting style."
Faure Requiem
The Hamilton Civic Choir joined the choirs from St Paul’s Collegiate, Waikato Diocesan School, St Peter’s School and musicians from Civic Players to perform Gabriel Faure’s Requiem Mass
"This was a musical soiree with a difference. It had purpose, passion, a great deal of popular support, and real promise for the future of serious music in this country.
[...] the Sanctus particularly, produced stunning vocal dynamics which were supported by a most memorable and elegantly delivered duet of harp and violin. The choral range was huge. In addiiton to the Faure, arrangements of Maori waiata contrasted with Finzi and Kodaly, a collection of spirituals, and the oddball and utterly onomatopoeic experience which is Toto’s Africa."
Magical Mozart at Holy Trinity
The Devonport Chamber Orchestra performed at the Holy Trinity Church in Auckland, featuring clarinetist Julia Cornfield.
"Conducted with great verve and panache by Timothy Carpenter, the orchestra revelled in the all-Mozart programme... I find it really rewarding to see the orchestra playing such works with incredible technical skill and maturity."
ROGAN FALLA | THE DEVONPORT FLAGSTAFF | OCTOBER 2017
Cellist & Devonport Orchestra Thrill Audience
The Devonport Chamber Orchestra performed Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme and Haydn’s Symphony #104 at Holy Trinity Church in Auckland, featuring cellist Paul van Houtte
"The orchestra… conducted with sensitivity by Timothy Carpenter, was an equal partner in this charismatic and polished performance... Carpenter has conducted the DCO once previously and his leadership and strong musicality are a decided asset. He enjoys good rapport with the orchestra."
Popular Program Pleases Audience
The St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra performed a colourful program, including performances of David Farquhar’s ‘Ring round the Moon’, Weber’s Bassoon Concerto in F featuring soloist Ben Hoadley, and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.
"“The orchestra clearly enjoyed playing this music and conductor Timothy Carpenter drew the best out of them with minimal effort... The [Bassoon Concerto] got the thunderous reception that it rightfully deserved. A truly virtuoso performance by both soloist and conductor... Conductor Timothy Carpenter’s direction of the orchestra in this work seemed effortless but most impressive."
ROBERT O'HARA | ST MATTHEW'S CHAMBER ORCHESTRA | MAY 2017
Going for Baroque
The Hamilton Civic Choir and the Opus Chamber Orchestra came together for a performance at the St Peter’s Cathedral in Hamilton featuring Handel’s well known ‘Zadok the Priest’, Bach’s Lutheran Mass in G Minor, and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
"This concert, which displayed the choir performing at a remarkable level, was indeed something to cherish... Without the existence of [the Department of Music at the University of Waikato]…We would not have had Zadok performed with such dramatic zest and technical command. We would not have experienced the extraordinary soundscapes of Vivaldi’s Gloria with its superbly under-wrought sensitivity and passion."
Something Glorious
The Hamilton Civic Choir were joined on July 10th 2017 in the St Peter’s Cathedral in Hamilton by soloists Eliza Boom, Kayla Collingwood, Filipe Manu, Jarvis Dams for an evening of works by Mozart and Schubert.
"The first notes of Schubert’s much-sung Mass No.2 in G filled the cathedral and the hearts of the audience. The vocal dynamics were perfectly matched to the rewarding but intense acoustic of the cathedral, the tuning perfect, the balance a licence to offer up a mental ‘wow!’
Clearly the choir was in the best form it had been for two years or more, and under the passionate and informed baton of Mr Carpenter, beginning to produce a new timbre."
SAM EDWARDS | THE WAIKATO TIMES | JULY 2017