Taking Off: A Celebration of Brian Turner
Sunday, 29th March 2026 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Lake Wānaka Centre, 89 Ardmore street, Wānaka
Poet, environmentalist, sportsman, journalist, biographer and playwright Brian Turner ONZM died on the 5th of February 2025 at the age of 80. In 2021, Atoll Records released Voices of Men, an album of NZ composer Janet Jennings' music; it includes the song cycle ‘Taking Off’, based on a poem of the same name by Turner. In this session, Turner's partner Jillian Sullivan, an accomplished writer, poet and environmentalist, shares some of the diverse aspects of Brian's full and celebrated life.
We also explore with composer Janet Jennings her reasons for choosing to set ‘Taking Off' to music, and her process to create a sound world that celebrates the chosen text. The session finishes with a performance of ‘Taking Off’ with Robert Tucker, recently described as “NZ's hardest working baritone”, and Auckland-based international pianist David Kelly.
Do take the opportunity to grab a drink and a bite to eat from the friendly staff at our in-house caterers, Federal Diner. They will have a pop up café open in the Armstrong Room for the duration of the festival weekend.
Chris and the team from Paper Plus Wānaka will also have a book stall in the Armstrong Room featuring books by several of our speakers. Chris will kindly donate a percentage of sales back to the festival, so buying a book not only supports a great local business, but also supports our festival events!