AOTANGO Quintet - A Century of Tango

Name: AOTANGO Quintet - A Century of Tango
Start: 2026-05-05T19:30:00+13:00
End: 2026-05-05T19:30:00+13:00
Location: Church of St George & St John

About

AOTANGO Quintet

Andrew Beer, Violin
Lorelle McNaughton, Piano
Gordon Hill, Double bass
Sam Swindells, Guitar
Grayson Masefield, Accordion

Performing in Piazzolla’s original quintet formation, A Century of Tango traverses the evolution of tango from beloved classics such as Ángel Villoldo’s El Choclo, Carlos Gardel’s Por una Cabeza, and Gerardo Matos Rodríguez’s La Cumparsita to the revolutionary nuevo tango compositions of Argentinian maestro Ástor Piazzolla. ‘Ao’, meaning ‘world’ in te reo Māori, is at the heart of AOTANGO. Enjoy their seamless fusion of world music and tango, in an eclectic mix of styles presented by musicians who call Aotearoa their home.

Programme
The concert will include selections from the following repertoire:

Tangos: El Choclo (Villodo), En Pampa y la Via (Jaurena & Torres), Por Una Cabeza (Gardel), A Evaristo Carriego (Rovira), La Cumparsita (Rodriguez), Milonga Triste (Piana), La Bordona (Leopoldo Federico)
Piazzolla Repertoire: Escualo, Kicho, Series del Ángel (Milonga, Muerte & Resureccion), Oblivion, Michelangelo 70, Soledad, Adios Nonino, Primavera (Spring) & Invierno (Winter) Porteño, Chiquilin de Bachin.
Waltzes: Que nadie sepa mi sufrir / La Foule (Cabral), Fou Rire (Galliano)
World Music: Balkan Dance (Trad.), Gnossiene No. 3 (Satie)

This concert is approximately 90 minutes of music, plus interval.

Artist Biographies
Awarded Best Classical Artist at the 2020 NZ Music Awards, violinist Andrew Beer has been described as a "musical gift" (New York Times), a "virtuoso soloist" (San Francisco Classical Voice) with a “glorious string tone” (Strad magazine). He has performed as a soloist throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia, and as a chamber musician at the Music@Menlo, IMS Prussia Cove, Aspen, Tanglewood, Banff and Orford Festivals, with leading artists including Midori, the Parker String Quartet and Emerson String Quartet. Andrew has served as Concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia since 2014, and has performed as guest Concertmaster with the CBSO (Birmingham), Hallé (Manchester), MSO (Melbourne), ASO (Adelaide), VSO (Vancouver) and NZSO (Wellington). His previous job was Assistant Principal 2nd Violin with the OSM (Montreal), a frequent winner of Grammy and Gramophone awards.

Lorelle McNaughton is a graduate of the University of Auckland (BMus), Sydney Conservatorium of Music (MMus), and the Liceu Conservatori and Academia Marshall in Spain, where she obtained Masters degrees specialising in the performance of Spanish music. Through her growing reputation as a Spanish music specialist, Lorelle has been invited to give presentations at some of Australasia's leading music conservatoriums. She has performed throughout Aotearoa, Australia, and Europe, including performances of Isaac Albéniz's Iberia suite, one of the most complex and challenging works of the piano literature. Recent appearances include performances of a new work 'HĪKOI' at the Auckland Art Gallery, a solo tour as part of Chamber Music New Zealand's In Partnership Series, performing as special guest at the 'Oceania' Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and as soloist with the Hawke’s Bay Orchestra. Lorelle was a founding member of piano quartet ‘Estrella’, whose debut album Tui, comprised of works by New Zealand composers for eight-hands, reached No.1 on the RadioNZ Classical Charts on its release.

Gordon Hill has held the role of Principal Bass of the Auckland Philharmonia since 1997. He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. He started playing the bass at age 14 and went to high school at Interlochen Arts Academy. After graduating high school he attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and finished at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he studied with Edwin Barker and Larry Wolfe. He spent two summers with the National Repertory Orchestra, participated in the Spoleto Festival in Italy, and performed a season with the New World Symphony. Gordon has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As a Principal player, he has been Principal Bass of the New Hampshire Symphony, Principal Bass of the Boston Philharmonic, and performed two seasons as Principal Bass with the Sarasota Opera Festival.

Sam Swindells is a jazz guitarist who is involved in many projects spanning from 70’s Funk, to Rockabilly, to Jazz. Of note, Sam is the musical director and bandleader for Big Ticket, an 8-piece swing band with a long standing residency at Auckland Viaduct’s ‘The Lula Inn’. He plays guitar for the internationally renowned rockabilly band ‘Boom! Boom! Deluxe’ who have released two albums and have done multiple nationwide tours. Sam is also a respected member of Auckland’s jazz community and can often be spotted at venues around the city collaborating with some of Auckland’s top jazz musicians. He regularly performs with artists such as Caroline and Roger Manins, Mike Walker, Julie Mason, Mike Booth, Steve Sherriff, Paul Norman, Ron Samsom and many others. Sam is a member of staff at Kristin School where he teaches music and runs the school’s Jazz Combo program.

Grayson Masefield is a New Zealand born accordionist and the first person to win World Championships in Classical, Virtuoso and Digital accordion categories. He has a Master of Arts HES-SO in Specialised Music Performance from Lausanne and a Master of Studio Pedagogy from the University of Auckland, New Zealand where he is currently the Instrumental Music Teacher for Accordion. He is regularly invited to adjudicate and/or appear as Guest Artist at international competitions, and has been invited to perform in many countries including France, Spain, Germany, UK, Portugal, Slovakia, Italy, USA, Canada, Russia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Portugal, China, Switzerland, Chile, Czech Republic, Singapore, South Korea, Austria, Australia & Finland. Grayson’s extensive repertoire can be heard on his three albums as well as many live performances on YouTube. He has worked with several of the world's leading composers such as Frank Angelis (France), Gorka Hermosa (Spain), Petri Makkonen (Finland), Gary Daverne (New Zealand), Bete Ilin (Macedonia) & Ross Harris (New Zealand) to perform and record new original works for the accordion.

*Kathleen Tomacruz (guitarist for Warkworth, Whakatāne, and Rotorua)
Kathleen Tomacruz is a Philippine-born musician based in Auckland, New Zealand. Having played guitar since the age of twelve, Kathleen pursued her musical studies and refined her craft at the University of Auckland's Jazz School. She has since been actively involved in Auckland's vibrant music scene and has also toured locally and internationally. A versatile multi-instrumentalist, she also performs on bass guitar and cello.