Latest news with #NZSO
NZ Herald
a day ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Letters: Why don't we have a Question Time for the public to press our politicians?
Concert radio The RNZ Concert programme is an oasis in a desert of negative news in the world dominated by bigotry and prejudice. The interviews with musical guests performing often with the NZSO and other talented musicians such as the superb recently crowned New Zealand youth choir contact are a joy to hear – the interviewees are not verbose and egocentric but are appreciative, informed music lovers like myself. Margaret Ward, New Zealand Waikato medical school The short course opening to graduates at the new Waikato medical school, concentrating on training for general practice and rural medicine, raises two questions. Will the new doctors have a different form of medical registration to those who undergo the longer training at Otago and Auckland Universities, thereby restricting their work to areas in which they are specialised? Secondly, will their qualification be recognised worldwide as a complete or limited medical training? Stewart Hawkins, St Heliers. Building costs The cost of building construction throughout New Zealand – already in crisis – is worsening as more and more building projects fold almost on a daily basis. Has anyone noticed? Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay. Property buy-outs It is understandable that the Government cannot continue to fully compensate home owners when properties are damaged and destroyed through natural events. However, when the authorities encourage and permit housing to be built on flood plains and unstable land, then they should be made responsible to fully compensate those affected by random natural events. Insurance companies will not insure property that is deemed high risk, and no doubt banks will be reluctant to lend to buyers of dodgy housing. If we want to maintain confidence in the housing industry, support should be provided when common sense is not followed. Kay Agar, Onehunga. Homelessness Homelessness is becoming a major problem worldwide and appears to be driven mainly by drug and alcohol addiction. I watched an interesting news item from America that showed the extreme lengths they are going to in order to help their homeless. They provide financial support, meals, drug rehab programmes and shelter. In exchange, they require participants to participate in drug rehab and submit to regular drug tests. Unfortunately, people would rather live on the streets and use their welfare payments on drugs and alcohol. Where do we go to from here? If they won't help themselves, what can be done? Jock MacVicar, Hauraki. Naked little man I understand there have been a number of complaints about the nude skier in Lotto's recent TV advertisement. However, the little man who advertises Pak'nSave has been cavorting naked across the screen for years without any complaint. In today's politically correct society, couldn't that be interpreted as some form of discrimination? David Trower, Auckland Central.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Mana Moana Wellington Shows With Signature Choir And NZSO Now Sold Out
Press Release – NZSO Mana Moana celebrates two worlds of music, with the NZSO led by acclaimed conductor Brent Stewart, and each performance hosted by talented actor and comedian Tofiga Fepuleai. Wellington has again embraced the hit show Mana Moana and its spectacular fusion of symphony and songs of the Pacific. Both performances by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the 50-strong Wellington-based Signature Choir this Thursday and Friday at the Michael Fowler Centre are sold out. Mana Moana celebrates two worlds of music, with the NZSO led by acclaimed conductor Brent Stewart, and each performance hosted by talented actor and comedian Tofiga Fepulea'i. 'We are incredibly humbled and grateful to return home to two sold-out shows,' says Signature Choir Founder and Music Director Helen Tupai. 'After selling out back-to-back performances at the iconic Sydney Opera House in June, coming back to where our Mana Moana journey began and reuniting with the world-class NZSO is the perfect way to close our 2025 Mana Moana season. These sold-out shows are a testament to our communities' unwavering support, and we cannot wait to put on an unforgettable homecoming show!' Following 2022's sensational debut in Wellington and a hit performance with the NZSO in Auckland in 2023, Mana Moana reached new heights this year with a second show at Auckland's Spark Arena in May. Sydney audiences loved every minute of the choir's historic performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra last month. 'What an incredible performance! The energy in the room was electric. So privileged to experience this iconic moment,' an audience member told ABC Pacific. Wellington audiences on 24 and 25 July will again experience an energetic, unique, and emotional celebration, bringing traditional and contemporary songs from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau. The exciting music selection blends beloved favourites from the previous shows with fresh new arrangements, offering an even richer experience for audiences. The stunning mix of traditional and contemporary songs includes the Samoan classic Manu o le Vaveao, Nepituno —written by Queen Salote Tupou III to commemorate the 1953 Royal Tour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's visit to Tonga—and an exhilarating medley featuring some of the most iconic Fijian songs, and much more. In 2022 a collaborative journey between the NZSO and Signature Choir to celebrate and promote the languages and stories of Pasifika. Their aim was to create high-quality audio recordings and videos of Pasifika songs in partnership with RNZ. This was then followed by a live performance at the Michael Fowler Centre where audience-recorded videos from the show have accumulated in over 1 million views on social media, highlighting the massive impact Mana Moana had and resulted in an incredible musical experience in 2023 and 2025 at Spark Arena.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Mana Moana Wellington Shows With Signature Choir And NZSO Now Sold Out
Wellington has again embraced the hit show Mana Moana and its spectacular fusion of symphony and songs of the Pacific. Both performances by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the 50-strong Wellington-based Signature Choir this Thursday and Friday at the Michael Fowler Centre are sold out. Mana Moana celebrates two worlds of music, with the NZSO led by acclaimed conductor Brent Stewart, and each performance hosted by talented actor and comedian Tofiga Fepulea'i. 'We are incredibly humbled and grateful to return home to two sold-out shows,' says Signature Choir Founder and Music Director Helen Tupai. 'After selling out back-to-back performances at the iconic Sydney Opera House in June, coming back to where our Mana Moana journey began and reuniting with the world-class NZSO is the perfect way to close our 2025 Mana Moana season. These sold-out shows are a testament to our communities' unwavering support, and we cannot wait to put on an unforgettable homecoming show!' Following 2022's sensational debut in Wellington and a hit performance with the NZSO in Auckland in 2023, Mana Moana reached new heights this year with a second show at Auckland's Spark Arena in May. Sydney audiences loved every minute of the choir's historic performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra last month. 'What an incredible performance! The energy in the room was electric. So privileged to experience this iconic moment,' an audience member told ABC Pacific. Wellington audiences on 24 and 25 July will again experience an energetic, unique, and emotional celebration, bringing traditional and contemporary songs from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau. The exciting music selection blends beloved favourites from the previous shows with fresh new arrangements, offering an even richer experience for audiences. The stunning mix of traditional and contemporary songs includes the Samoan classic Manu o le Vaveao, Nepituno —written by Queen Salote Tupou III to commemorate the 1953 Royal Tour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's visit to Tonga—and an exhilarating medley featuring some of the most iconic Fijian songs, and much more. In 2022 a collaborative journey between the NZSO and Signature Choir to celebrate and promote the languages and stories of Pasifika. Their aim was to create high-quality audio recordings and videos of Pasifika songs in partnership with RNZ. This was then followed by a live performance at the Michael Fowler Centre where audience-recorded videos from the show have accumulated in over 1 million views on social media, highlighting the massive impact Mana Moana had and resulted in an incredible musical experience in 2023 and 2025 at Spark Arena.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Transported to idyllic world
NZSO principal oboe Robert Orr. PHOTO: SUPPLIED An excited audience packed the King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre on Saturday evening to hear an exceptionally polished performance by the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra under the inspirational conductor Benjamin Bayl with guest oboist Robert Orr. Three works from the Western classical repertoire transported the audience to an idyllic world of stability, exuberance and wealth as portrayed by three prodigious composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. The highlight of the event was the Mozart Oboe Concerto given a stunningly beautiful performance by Robert Orr. Orr's exceptional breath control over long lyric phrases held true over increasingly technically demanding solo obligatii. Orr richly deserved the prolonged applause. The reduced orchestration of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749) befits the concert chamber. Composed for extraordinarily large forces as incidental music in the days before loudspeakers were a thing, it invites its audience to celebrate peace by right, royally dancing the night away despite the fizzled fireworks display. Its catchy rhythms, rousing grandeur and the strength of the DSO's wind section created a successful performance. Schubert's 4th Symphony, ''The Tragic'', has a Bryon-esque opening. It wallows in poetic gloom before the following movements emerge grandly frenetic. Reprieve comes in the briefly sweeping menuetto. Schubert is better remembered for his chamber works. The Tragic is built on standard classic composition techniques in which a small amount of thematic material is, to put it simply, echoed down and up the melodic scale through the various timbres of instrumental groups before upping the tempo with inverted thematic material. All credit to all sections of the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and to the conductor for keeping the delivery crisp, energetic and tight while testing stamina. The whole event was a sublime escape, leaving the audience feeling all the richer for the experience.
Scoop
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
NZSO Conjures Sorcerers, Spiders & Bret McKenzie
Press Release – NZSO Andre de Ridder with NZSO (c – Phoebe Tuxford) Bret McKenzie (Photo/Supplied) From The Sorcerer's Apprentice and The Lark Ascending to Carnival of the Animals and an assortment of creepy-crawlies, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra presents a spellbinding three-concert winter festival in August. Led by the NZSO's Music Director Designate, acclaimed German conductor André de Ridder, the Rumakina Immerse Festival features Oscar-winner Bret McKenzie, NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen and Grammy Award-winning taonga pūroro player and composer Jerome Kavanagh Poutama in Wellington (8-10 Aug) and Auckland (15-17 Aug). The festival promises an unforgettable musical journey through enchantment, aspiration, and the natural world. Maestro de Ridder, NZSO Music Director from 2027, brings his visionary artistry to all three performances. For Enchanted: Stravinsky, Dukas & Mussorgsky audiences will experience the magic of music with Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain and Paul Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice, both immortalised in Disney's Fantasia. The concert culminates with Igor Stravinsky's dazzling ballet score Petrushka, a tale of puppets brought to life through vibrant orchestration and irresistible rhythms. Ascension: Schumann & Vaughan Williams celebrates the natural world with Papatūānuku, a powerful collaboration between Aotearoa New Zealand composer Salina Fisher and Kavanagh Poutama. The concert continues with Ralph Vaughan Williams' beloved The Lark Ascending, featuring Leppänen as solo violinist. Vaughan Williams' masterpiece regularly makes the top five listener favourites, including RNZ Concert (No.3 in 2024) and the UK's Classic FM (No.3 in 2025). Ascension concludes with the joyful renewal of spring in Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1. Perfect for whānau, the Sunday matinee concert Creepy-Crawly Carnival: Saint-Saëns & Roussel opens with Albert Roussel's The Spider's Feast, a musical exploration of garden insects and native Aotearoa creatures, including giant wētā and huhu grubs. The musical menagerie continues with Camille Saint-Saëns' timeless Carnival of the Animals, narrated by songwriter and comedian McKenzie, returning to the stage with the NZSO after his hit 2018 Muppets collaboration The Jim Henson Retrospectacle. Known for bringing humour and heart to every performance, McKenzie will guide audiences through a symphonic safari filled with hopping kangaroos, stately swans, and bumbling elephants. The suite, a cornerstone of children's classical repertoire, becomes a laugh-out-loud journey with McKenzie's storytelling magic at the helm. During the concert, acclaimed illustrator Stephen Templer will draw live, using the music as his muse to craft a series of whimsical and captivating artworks—each created from scratch and projected in real time on a giant screen. The Rumakina Immerse Festival offers something for everyone—from classical aficionados to curious newcomers and young listeners. Join the NZSO over two weekends for this extraordinary celebration of music, nature, and imagination. Maestro de Ridder appears with support from The Diessl Family. COMING UP Firebird: Ravel & Stravinsky – conductor Emilia Hoving, piano Javier Perianes. Wellington (17 July), Christchurch (19 July). Mana Moana – conductor Brent Stewart, Signature Choir. Wellington (24-25 July) Content Sourced from Original url
