First There Was J.I.M. In Future, M.I.M.

J.I.M. or Jazz in Martinborough is the brainchild of Ian Cresswell.

Ian floated the idea for a Jazz festival several years ago. It caught the imaginations of Ted Preston, Lee Quayle and Bruce McMichael who took the idea and ran with it. J.I.M is now established as an annual event on the Martinborough social calendar. It has a high profile patron, Rodger Fox, and attracts increasing audiences locally and from outside the Wairarapa. 2016 was the sixth anniversary of the Festival.

M.I.M. or Music in Martinborough is another idea of Ian’s that is about to take flight. Ian thought that a classical music festival covering a broad spectrum of the repertoire would be successful. However the idea stayed dormant because of two significant difficulties. One was the potential lack of a venue to hold orchestral concerts. The other was not having a quality grand piano to attract soloists such as Michael Houstoun.

The first difficulty was overcome with the SWDC decision to upgrade the Martinborough Town Hall. All that remained for the idea to gain further momentum was the acquisition of a grand piano.

Cherry van Kranen was a music teacher who died a few weeks after her 90th birthday last year. Cherry lived in Martinborough in a villa at Wharekaka for about 15 years. One of her pride and joys was a Schimmel Grand Piano. When Cherry was playing the various makes to select her piano there was an instant rapport with the Schimmel’s tone. So in the 1980s, she became the proud owner of this brand new lesser known make of piano. Cherry cherished her piano and played it well into her late eighties. Local musician, Vicki Jones, played many a duet with Cherry on the Schimmel; she recalls that it dwarfed the living room of Cherry’s villa.

It was Cherry’s wish that, after her death, the piano was to be used by the Martinborough Community. Her Executor’s agree that a classical music festival fulfils Cherry’s wishes and are hopeful the refurbished Town Hall will become the future home for this wonderful gift.

A small steering committee led by local clarinet player, Euan Huggett, has been set up to bring Music in Martinborough to fruition. Even the though the Town Hall is unavailable, an inaugural festival is planned for late this coming Spring. Watch this space.

Winifred Bull