Zephyr Wills & The Handsome Giants

Zephyr Wills and The Handsome Giants are in your town this winter! Come and be a part of their genre bending winter road show!! From original to traditional and contemporary folk and blues to solo viola and stonking electric blues this amazing Variety show literally has something for everyone!

Zephyr Wills is a classical violist and folk musician from New Zealand. Under the tutelage of Gillian Ansell and Dr. Martin Riseley, Zephyr studied classical viola at the New Zealand School of Music from 2018-2021, where he attained a Bachelor of Music with first-class Honours, supported by numerous performance and academic awards. Zephyr has worked with professional orchestras, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, through professional freelancing and fellowship programmes. He has performed chamber music at the internationally recognized Martinborough and Wakatipu music festivals, and his classical recordings continue to feature on New Zealand’s national classical concert radio programme: RNZ Concert. In 2022, Zephyr was offered a full-time Graduate Assistantship at Penn State University in the USA to complete a Master of Music under the tutelage of Professor Timothy Deighton. While in the USA, Zephyr has freelanced with further professional orchestras, including the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, and attended the 2024 Chamber Music America Conference in Times Square, New York City. As a soloist, Zephyr has received the 2023 Graduate Solo Recital Recognition Award, performed the F. A. Hoffmeister Viola Concerto with the Penn State Chamber Orchestra, and the Béla Bartók Viola Concerto with the Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a folk musician, Zephyr has travelled across New Zealand, the USA, and Europe collecting and performing local folksongs. In New Zealand, he has performed at the Wellington Folk Festival, and in 2021 received the Joan Prior award for excellence in songwriting. In 2022, he recorded an original album of folksongs, which featured across numerous New Zealand radio stations, and was described by NZ Music Magazine as, ‘special, ageless, and wonderful.’ [Kev Rowland]. As a folk performer, Zephyr has caught much media attention, with the Gulf News describing his 2022 concert at Morra Hall as, ‘artistry of the highest order… A highpoint in Aotearoa’s cultural history… [a] sacred celebration of astonishing creativity.’ [Alex Stone]. Since moving to the USA, Zephyr has continued his folk music endeavours, performing at the Maple Harvest Festival (2023-2024), and winning the PSU Political Song-a-Palooza competition in 2023 and 2024. He performs folk music across Pennsylvania as a solo artist, alongside collaborating with local folk musicians at venues including the Gamble Mill, Websters Bookstore, the Antifragile Brewing Company, and the Music Inn in New York City. Additionally, he was among the top ten of 600 applicants for the prestigious Bob Dylan Centre Songwriter Fellowship in March, 2024.
Zephyr was recently offered postgraduate positions at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music in London, where he hopes to continue his studies in 2024 and beyond.

The Handsome Giants aka Hurricane Shayn Wills and Freddy Limbert are two of the most experienced players in the country. Between them they have played support for; John Hammond Jnr, BB King, Albert King, Canned Heat, Robert Cray, Junior Wells, Duke Robillard, and The Amazing Rhythm Aces.
Wanting a rawer and more real sound, they’ve developed their own musical style, based on Blues, R&B and Rock’n’roll, and put together a dynamite show to go with it. Because they draw from several traditional musical genres, the Handsome Giants have something for all lovers of music, of all ages. Fans of the sixties will recognize the power and energy; Blues enthusiasts will love the intricacy, yet simplicity of the musicianship. Beyond genres, this music is about good times – and having fun!