Double Shot – Yoshiko Tsuruta and Jeremy Fitzsimons
The Cambridge Town Hall has partnered again with Chamber Music New Zealand to present the talented Double Shot percussion duo in Waikato later this month.
Yoshiko Tsuruta and Jeremy Fitzsimons, who make up Double Shot, will perform an energetic programme at Cambridge Town Hall on 26 May 2023 at 7:30 pm. Yoshiko will play the marimba and percussion, while Jeremy will play the vibraphone and percussion.
Formed in 2015, Double Shot’s performances are characterised by diverse subtle nuances and a rich, mellow sound.
The concert will include lively pieces by contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and John Psathas in the first half. The concert’s second half is dedicated to Debussy’s ballet score, La boîte à joujoux (The Toy Box), arranged for Double Shot by Yoshiko Tsuruta, which tells a beautiful story.
Simon Brew – Town Hall general manager
Cambridge Town Hall general manager Simon Brew says the Cambridge Town Hall provides an exceptional venue to host Double Shot as part of their national tour.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with the New Zealand Chamber once more to showcase exceptional musicians like Yoshiko and Jeremy in our beautiful Town Hall,” says Brew.
“This is the second of two Chamber Music New Zealand concerts to take at the Town Hall this season, with a fantastic turnout at Les Voisins last month.”
Double Shot’s bright repertoire is filled with upbeat crowd-pleasers by contemporary composers such as New Zealander John Psathas’ Muisca, brilliantly arranged by Omar Carmenates, and Steve Reich’s Nagoya Marimbas. Whilst Alyssa Weinberg’s refreshing Table Talk enables the pair to bring household objects into the percussive mix, Michael Taylor’s Rhapsody allows them to playfully move through an eclectic combination of styles and moods, blending influences from classical, tango, heavy metal, and funk music.
The latter half of the duo’s programme is dedicated to Claude Debussy’s whimsical ballet score La boîte à joujoux(The Toy Box). Based on André Hellé‘s children’s tale and arranged for Double Shot by Yoshiko Tsuruta, the enchanting piece tells its story through the characteristic leitmotivs of a toy soldier, a pretty doll, and a foolish polichinelle. It will feature projections — images and text – from the original Toy Box ballet.
The performers have a wonderfully subtle variety, and their instruments have a rich and mellow resonance.
Tickets are on sale now at www.cth.co.nz.
About the artists:
Yoshiko Tsurutais
Japanese-born percussionist Yoshiko Tsurutais one of the very few dedicated marimbists in New Zealand and performs and tours with various artists throughout the country. Her repertoire includes her arrangements, with which she explores the expressive possibilities of the marimba beyond the stereotypical limit of percussion.
As a soloist, Yoshiko has performed several marimba concertos. She world-premiered Gareth Farr’s concerto, and in 2021, she recorded John Psathas’ Djinn with Orchestra Wellington. She also appears in orchestras, including the NZSO, APO and OW.
Yoshiko won several competitions, including the Australian marimba competition, Gisborne International Music Competition and the 1st prize at NZ National Concerto Competition. She graduated from the NZSM in Wellington and the Anton Bruckner Privat Universität in Austria, where she completed her Master’s Degree (1st Class) in percussion performance.
Jeremy Fitzsimons
Jeremy Fitzsimons was the principal percussionist of Orchestra Wellington until 2023. He regularly plays with the NZSO, is a percussionist with the Pink Floyd Experience, and has freelanced in Wellington since 1993. He has recorded CDs of marimba and percussion music by Gareth Farr and John Psathas, toured as a marimbist with many groups for Chamber Music New Zealand, and was a founding member of Strike Percussion and Gareth Farr’s Drumdrag. Prominent projects include being a soloist with Orchestra Wellington for the Psathas concerto View From Olympus in 2020, a guest soloist at a marimba festival in Portugal, an ensemble soloist with the APO, and a member of Double Shot since 2015. He has been performing in Silent Movies Live (Old silent movies with original music with pianist David Selfe.
A 1996 Fulbright Scholar, Jeremy has a Bachelor of Music with first-class honours from Victoria University of Wellington and a Master’s and a Post Graduate Performance Certificate from Northwestern University in Chicago, where he studied with Michael Burritt, James Ross and Paul Wertico. He graduated from the Leigh Howard Stevens International Marimba Seminar in New Jersey, the Music Academy of the West in California, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan and the World Peace Orchestra in Korea.
