Style: August 05, 2022
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70 <strong>Style</strong> | Promotion<br />
Cello virtuoso<br />
Christchurch welcomes back classical music star Catherine Kwak next<br />
month for an unmissable solo performance at the much-anticipated Corpus Medicorum<br />
concert supporting the Canterbury Charity Hospital.<br />
Interview Josie Steenhart<br />
Having first picked up a cello at age seven, Catherine Kwak<br />
studied part-time at the University of Canterbury from<br />
the age of 12 before completing a Bachelor of Music at 18,<br />
and recently added a further string to her bow after graduating<br />
medical school.<br />
This September, she returns to Christchurch as guest cellist<br />
on the Corpus Medicorum orchestra’s South Island tour.<br />
An Australian medical orchestra founded in 2002 by violist<br />
and cardiothoracic surgeon Phillip Antippa, Corpus Medicorum<br />
has played to critical acclaim around the world, and has raised<br />
more than $1m for charities all over the world.<br />
The recipient of the Christchurch Corpus Medicorum concert<br />
is the Canterbury Charity Hospital, which provides free medical,<br />
surgical, dental and counselling services to Cantabrians in need.<br />
The Christchurch symphony concert will feature works by<br />
Weber, Elger and Brahms, with a solo performance by Catherine.<br />
<strong>Style</strong> caught up with the talented 24-year-old, who also works<br />
as a first-year doctor at Middlemore Hospital, to find out more.<br />
When did you first pick up a cello, and what do you love<br />
about it?<br />
I started learning when I was seven years old. I was drawn to the<br />
deep, rich sound that the cello has, and I love the ability it gives<br />
me to express myself, share music and connect with my audience.<br />
At the age of just 12 you became a part-time student at the<br />
University of Canterbury…<br />
At the time, I wanted cello to become my career pathway and<br />
to achieve that, I knew I had to invest more time into practising,<br />
learning, going overseas to festivals/competitions and more.<br />
My teacher at the time was a senior lecturer at the University<br />
of Canterbury so when I was given the opportunity to take some<br />
papers there I took on the challenge!<br />
And then at 15 you studied for a Bachelor of Music, before<br />
going on to study medicine and become a doctor…<br />
I made the decision to leave high school at the end of year 10<br />
and pursue full-time university studies.<br />
After completing my BMus, I made the decision to keep music<br />
as something I did purely out of passion and not for a living.<br />
I decided to go into medicine because I wanted to find a<br />
different way to help others, and I was intrigued by the science<br />
and humanistic art of medicine.<br />
How do you find time for both music at this level and a career<br />
in medicine?<br />
Cello to me is not a hobby or a job, but something I turn to at all<br />
times – it’s a form of stress relief, expression and joy, and lets me<br />
experience emotion to a different level.<br />
I feel fulfilled when playing the cello, especially when performing,<br />
and so I’m always able to make time for something I love.<br />
Congratulations on your New Zealand National Concerto<br />
Competition win, what does it mean to you to win such<br />
a prestigious accolade?<br />
Thank you. Winning this competition means a lot to me as it<br />
signifies years of hard work and my continued endeavours to<br />
keep music as a big part of my life.<br />
What can audiences expect from you at this concert?<br />
Audiences can expect to be taken on a sensational musical<br />
journey full of emotion.<br />
Elgar Concerto is a work that is dear to my heart; it is one of<br />
the most heart-wrenching yet beautiful concertos that showcases<br />
the cello to its full potential. This will be followed by the Brahms<br />
Symphony No.2, which is very well known to be an expressive<br />
masterpiece, and these two works will be preluded with the<br />
exquisite Weber Der Freischütz Overture.<br />
Corpus Medicorum Symphony Concert, Christchurch Town Hall, September 21. Tickets at ticketek.co.nz