Strike Percussion Brings Vibrant Beats to Auckland

Fire, water and flashy backflips feature in Strike Percussion’s acclaimed work Elemental which has its first Auckland performances in May.

Well-known for their ground-breaking education programmes, and regularly performing in Wellington and at festivals in New Zealand and internationally, Strike performs Elemental at Q Theatre on Thursday 30 and Friday 31 May.

Artistic director and Strike Percussion founding member Murray Hickman says the ensemble is “very excited” about the first Auckland season. “It’s a chance to connect with new audiences who might not have experienced our work before. Elemental is a show which is quite intimate in nature, but with some huge, rich sounds.”

Created in 2008, Elemental  has been performed in seasons throughout the country and at the highly prestigious Taipei International Percussion Convention in Taiwan, and takes audiences on an enthralling exploration of New Zealand’s natural rhythms and environment, with a key focus on the sonic aspects of earth, air, fire and water.

Elemental fuses driving beats with dramatic choreography and staging, using both commonplace and unconventional percussion instruments. Some of the more unorthodox instruments played include hydrophones (microphones detecting underwater sound waves), pyrophones (instruments where fire is shot through pyrex piping), dippophones (instruments where metal plates are dipped in and out of water) and classic Bedford truck panels.

Founded in 1993, Strike isNew Zealand’s premiere classical percussion ensemble, and one of the country’s most successful cultural exports. They regularly tour throughout the world, presenting their unique and exhilarating percussion stage shows, and have performed with groups as diverse as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Royal New Zealand Ballet, and Kora. 

Elemental is part of the Q presents programme- a joint venture between Strike and Q Theatre, playing on Thursday 30 and Friday 31 May at 7.30pm. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.qtheatre.co.nz

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For more information and to arrange interviews and high-res image transmission, please contact: Sally Woodfield | SWPR | M: 021 868 020 | E: sally@swpr.co.nz