graham wardrop solo

• Concert performances
• Festival performances and workshops
• House Concerts: an intimate and informal recital in your own home. This is probably the best environment in which to experience Graham’s music. Typically Graham plays two sets of between 45 and 60 minutes. There is a break of about 20 minutes between sets, giving guests an opportunity to socialize. No PA system is used i.e. it is purely an acoustic performance. This, ultimately, is what playing ‘unplugged’ is all about. All that is required is a room capable of seating from 30 to 60 people and an appropriate amount of sofas, chairs and cushions. Guests are invited to bring their wine or preferred refreshments and two or three dollars of the suggested $20 ticket price can be used for tea, coffee etc. Alternatively, a set fee can be agreed upon.
  A house concert is a unique way to focus your social gathering while experiencing the true acoustic essence of Graham’s music.
• Sophisticated dining music - perfect for conferences, weddings and private functions
• Restaurant and ambience music - fills the gaps, creates atmosphere without being intrusive
• Weddings: perfectly suited for the social time between the wedding ceremony and the reception dance. Classical guitar can be perfect for the arrival of guests and Graham knows the right songs to play during the signing of the register
• Workshops in advanced fingerstyle techniques
• Workshops in guitar maintenance and general guitar building techniques
• Graham's repertoire is perfect for 50th and 60th birthday parties
• Recording sessions: obviously acoustic guitar is the specialist instrument, but all styles of guitars can be used. Because most of Graham's instruments are 'one-offs' that he has built himself, a unique sound is assured
• Composition: Graham has composed music for several video documentaries including 'Six of the Best', 'The Last Great Adventure' and 'Good Keen Men', various theatrical productions and he has had songs covered by John Farnham, Slim Dusty and Anne Kirkpatrick
  All the tracks on his CDs 'Graham Wardrop', 'Signature' and 'Vintage' are original compositions
  

duets

• Elizabeth Braggins and Graham Wardrop for concert, festival performances, restaurant, and sophisticated dining situations. Elizabeth is one of New Zealand's top piano playing singers. She and Graham have worked in countless venues around New Zealand and overseas. The music has a leaning towards jazz with lots of virtuoso improvisation and closely blended vocal harmonies.
• Martin Curtis and Graham Wardrop for a concert that's full of songs and stories about New Zealand. Martin performs some hilarious poems and together their music covers a huge range of styles. A perfect combination for any folk festival.
• Gray Bartlett and Graham Wardrop. New Zealand's two top acoustic guitarists in duet. This combination explores a myriad of guitar styles and they enthralled audiences when opening Michael Crawford's New Zealand concerts.
• Marg Layton and Graham Wardrop. Marg is the 'Mama of New Zealand Blues' and although she and Graham only work together on rare occasions, when they do, sparks fly! Another perfect combination for any folk or blues festival.

trio - lynch, larkins and wardrop music for any occasion from dining to dancing the night away!

• Suzanne Lynch - lead vocals. Sue is an absolute icon here in New Zealand. She is prominent in the New Zealand music scene and has worked in a huge range of situations, including being Cat Stevens’ main backing vocalist on two world tours. Sue sings a wide range of styles including a very full on dance mode, which works wonders on big nights like New Years Eve.
• Steve Larkins - keyboards, vocals and sequences. Steve, an entertainer in his own right, also covers a huge range of styles, from ballads through to full on rock numbers. He also performs a “Freddy Mercury Tribute” which is currently in great demand here in New Zealand.
• Graham Wardrop - guitars and vocals. Graham is also a solo entity for a large part of the year, concentrating on innovative guitar styles that fit beautifully into all kinds of situations - ambient and dining music through captivating concert performances. When people want to dance Graham’s special forte is the music of the Beatles and the 60s era which always goes over well.

band - graham wardrop and friends specialists in 60's & 70's music, be it in concert or just for the good times!

• Graham Wardrop: Band Leader, lead guitar and vocals. Graham has been acclaimed as one of New Zealand’s finest solo guitarists. As well as sophisticated solo appearances, Graham has the professional credibility to draw from a select group of the finest musicians in New Zealand and to perform with any combination. He instigated the highly successful Summertimes Concerts entitled “Strawberry Fields”. These shows attracted twelve to fifteen thousand people to Hagley Park (Christchurch Council's estimated attendance 1997 and 1998) for an afternoon of excellent music and good times recalling the sixties era.
• Pat Kearns: Vocals, guitar. Pat is a very popular Christchurch entertainer. He made many appearances in the television series “That’s Country”, has played Elvis Presley in theatrical productions and has been involved in the Summertimes Sixties music days in the Park from the beginning.
• Murray Wood: Keyboards and vocals. Murray is a “one man orchestra” - covering all string and horn parts, plus sound effects. Murray was the musical director of the TVNZ series “That’s Country”, has played on many recordings and produced records for Suzanne Prentice, Noel Parlane and others.
• Tom Rainey: Bass guitar. Tom teaches at the Polytech Jazz School, has backed international artists when they visit NZ and he arranges, produces, records and plays a variety of music for a wide range of artists.
• Wayne Allen: Drums and vocals. Christchurch’s most in demand freelance drummer, Wayne plays with all the top players in both live performance situations and recording sessions.
• Graham can add a variety of 'extras' to the band e.g. three piece female backing vocals or even a string quartet if you really want to hear how 'Yesterday' and 'Eleanor Rigby' should really sound!

recording studio

• Graham operates a small studio, set up specifically for recording acoustic music to a high quality. Most of his own recordings are one man efforts, but he has also engineered several CDs for other artists - Martin Curtis, Mark Apperley and Jo and Jude to name a few. The basic studio set up is a Roland VS880EX 8-track hard disk recorder and an Apple eMac computer. A variety of high quality microphones are used to faithfully capture the performers sounds. This studio is not a midi/sequencer type set up. The aim is to faithfully reproduce actual performances.
  One great advantage of the VS880EX is that it is extremely portable, so should the artist feel more comfortable recording at home than in an unfamiliar environment, then the studio can literally come to you.
  Of course, in addition to engineering the recording, Graham can enhance the sound with tasteful guitar lines and vocal harmonies - all part of the service!

guitar building and repair

• Although guitar building is mainly a hobby, occasional commissions have been accepted for 'one-off' custom instruments. Graham refuses to build to a deadline - "Guitar building is challenge enough without having to work under the pressure of a deadline - a sure way to make mistakes." This time consuming 'hobby' fills in the quiet times at home between tours and overseas appearances.
• "I do some small repair and set up jobs, but I prefer to spend the limited time available on creating new instruments."