Upcoming Events

After last years sold out success at Auckland Museum, join AOTANGO quintet for an evening celebrating the tango. Presented in two parts, the evening will open with a concert programme of tango and world music and conclude with a milonga, open for dancers to dance tandas (sets) of tangos, milongas & waltzes.

AOTANGO features violinist Andrew Beer (APO Concertmaster), pianist Somi Kim (NZTrio), double bassist Gordon Hill (APO Section Principal), jazz guitarist Sam Swindells and award-winning accordionist Grayson Masefield.

CHILDREN FREE (18 & Under) with purchased Adult or Concession Tickets.

The performance will feature David Mason's 'Tales from the Iron Rig' from the award-winning NZ video game DREDGE.

Additional performances:

After last years sold out success at Auckland Museum, join AOTANGO quintet for an evening celebrating tango and world music.

AOTANGO features violinist Andrew Beer (APO Concertmaster), pianist Somi Kim (NZTrio), double bassist Gordon Hill (APO Section Principal), jazz guitarist Sam Swindells and award-winning accordionist Grayson Masefield.

The performance will feature David Mason's 'Tales from the Iron Rig' from the award-winning NZ video game DREDGE.

Additional performances:

After last year's sold-out success at Auckland Museum, join AOTANGO quintet for an evening celebrating the tango. Presented in two parts, the evening will open with a concert programme of tango and world music and conclude with a milonga, open for dancers to dance tandas (sets) of tangos, milongas & waltzes.

AOTANGO features violinist Andrew Beer (APO Concertmaster), pianist Somi Kim (NZTrio), double bassist Gordon Hill (APO Section Principal), jazz guitarist Sam Swindells and award-winning accordionist Grayson Masefield.

The performance will feature David Mason's 'Tales from the Iron Rig' from the award-winning NZ video game DREDGE.

Additional performances:

Gareth Farr | From the Depts Sound the Great Sea Gongs:
Part 1 - The Invocation of the Sea.
Guillaume Connesson | Concerto No. 2 for Flute and Orchestra.
Mussorgsky | orch. Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition depicts paintings by Viktor Hartmann, with each movement musically describing each painting in piquant detail.

Similarly, Gareth Farr’s The Invocation of the Sea paints a vivid picture of many of the sounds and instruments of the Pacific.

We also welcome Emily Beynon to our shores. Currently Principal Flute of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and considered one of the top five flautists in the world by ClassicFM, Beynon premieres a new work by French composer Guillaume Connesson, and is sure to dazzle with her “virtuosity and rich

feeling” (Gramophone).

Additional performances:

Gareth Farr | From the Depts Sound the Great Sea Gongs:
Part 1 - The Invocation of the Sea.
Guillaume Connesson | Concerto No. 2 for Flute and Orchestra.
Mussorgsky | orch. Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition depicts paintings by Viktor Hartmann, with each movement musically describing each painting in piquant detail.

Similarly, Gareth Farr’s The Invocation of the Sea paints a vivid picture of many of the sounds and instruments of the Pacific.

We also welcome Emily Beynon to our shores. Currently Principal Flute of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and considered one of the top five flautists in the world by ClassicFM, Beynon premieres a new work by French composer Guillaume Connesson, and is sure to dazzle with her “virtuosity and rich

feeling” (Gramophone).

Additional performances:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / (arr. Robert Wiremu) | Requiem in D minor K. 626

Robert Wiremu (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Porou) commemorates the tragedy of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 by reimagining Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem, which was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1791. Wiremu has imagined that one of the passengers may have had a state-of-the-art Walkman containing a recording of the Requiem. At the moment of impact, the notes are carried into the Antarctic air by the winds around Ross Island, up Mt Erebus, across from the continental mainland, over the icebergs of the surrounding seas. Fragmented, scattered, broken, the notes are often recognisable as Mozart, but not always.

Reimagining Mozart is presented in partnership with the Dunedin Arts Festival and Wānaka Festival of Colour.

Additional performances:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / (arr. Robert Wiremu) | Requiem in D minor K. 626

Robert Wiremu (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Porou) commemorates the tragedy of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 by reimagining Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem, which was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1791. Wiremu has imagined that one of the passengers may have had a state-of-the-art Walkman containing a recording of the Requiem. At the moment of impact, the notes are carried into the Antarctic air by the winds around Ross Island, up Mt Erebus, across from the continental mainland, over the icebergs of the surrounding seas. Fragmented, scattered, broken, the notes are often recognisable as Mozart, but not always.

Reimagining Mozart is presented in partnership with the Dunedin Arts Festival and Wānaka Festival of Colour.

Additional performances:

Lilburn | Aotearoa Overture
Bartók | Violin Concerto No. 2
Dvořák | Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70

Béla Bartók’s Violin Concerto, written in 1937 at a time of increasing unease regarding his homeland’s future, overflows with the unique, folk-inspired soundworld of Bartók’s Hungary. To bring this world to life, we welcome Hungarian conductor Gábor Káli and NZ violinist Amalia Hall. Káli’s work with the Budapest Festival Orchestra launched him as a fast-rising interpreter of Bartók’s repertoire, while Hall has been praised for her “blazing insight and dazzling virtuosity” (The Strad).

We pair this work with Lilburn’s Aotearoa Overture and Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony – both expressions of love and care for the places these composers called home.

Additional performances:

Lilburn | Aotearoa Overture
Bartók | Violin Concerto No. 2
Dvořák | Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70

Béla Bartók’s Violin Concerto, written in 1937 at a time of increasing unease regarding his homeland’s future, overflows with the unique, folk-inspired soundworld of Bartók’s Hungary. To bring this world to life, we welcome Hungarian conductor Gábor Káli and NZ violinist Amalia Hall. Káli’s work with the Budapest Festival Orchestra launched him as a fast-rising interpreter of Bartók’s repertoire, while Hall has been praised for her “blazing insight and dazzling virtuosity” (The Strad).

We pair this work with Lilburn’s Aotearoa Overture and Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony – both expressions of love and care for the places these composers called home.

Additional performances:

Grieg | Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
Mozart | Violin Concerto No.5
SOUNZ Commission
Beethoven | Symphony No.6

Additional performances:

Grieg | Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
Mozart | Violin Concerto No.5
SOUNZ Commission
Beethoven | Symphony No.6

Additional performances:

Join Auckland’s orchestra for our popular Community Classics concerts across Tāmaki Makaurau!

In 2025 we’ll be celebrating superstar composers and their most sparkling pieces, from Mozart and Strauss to Kiwi contemporary talent Salina Fisher, plus some special guest artists.

Gather the whānau together for an uplifting afternoon of music for everyone.

Additional performances:

Haydn | Symphony No.100 Military
Greig | Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
SOUNZ Commission
Beethoven | Symphony No.6

Additional performances:

Haydn | Symphony No.100 Military
Greig | Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
SOUNZ Commission
Beethoven | Symphony No.6.

Additional performances:

R Strauss | Don Juan
R Strauss | Lieder
Luka Venter | glacier (World Premiere NZSO NYO 2025 Composer-in-Residence)
Rachmaninov | Symphony No. 2

The NZSO National Youth Orchestra presents an adventurous programme of works by pillars of the Romantic era alongside a new work by this year's NYO Composer-in-Residence.

Additional performances:

R Strauss | Don Juan
R Strauss | Lieder
Luka Venter | glacier (World Premiere NZSO NYO 2025 Composer-in-Residence)
Rachmaninov | Symphony No. 2

The NZSO National Youth Orchestra presents an adventurous programme of works by pillars of the Romantic era alongside a new work by this year's NYO Composer-in-Residence.

Additional performances:

J Ritchie | Papanui Road Concert Overture
de Falla | Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Ravel | Piano Concerto in G major
Stravinsky | Suite from The Firebird (1945 version)

Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, able to “make the piano sing and glitter with alert, polished brilliance” (Sydney Morning Herald), joins us for two virtuoso masterworks. Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G explores both Ravel’s Spanish Basque roots and the enlivening rhythms of jazz, while de Falla’s portrait of Andalusian Spain is darker, dramatic, and seductive. Meanwhile, Stravinsky’s Firebird conjures images of the magical glowing bird of Russian myth, but John Ritchie brings us back to earth with the clanging tramcar bell and 1950s hustle of Christchurch’s Papanui Road.

Leading our tour of these pictorial works is Joana Carneiro, described by the Edinburgh Music Review as “a giant of musicality.”

Additional performances:

Join Auckland’s orchestra for our popular Community Classics concerts across Tāmaki Makaurau!

In 2025 we’ll be celebrating superstar composers and their most sparkling pieces, from Mozart and Strauss to Kiwi contemporary talent Salina Fisher, plus some special guest artists.

Gather the whānau together for an uplifting afternoon of music for everyone.

Additional performances:

J Ritchie | Papanui Road Concert Overture
de Falla | Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Ravel | Piano Concerto in G major
Stravinsky | Suite from The Firebird (1945 version)

Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, able to “make the piano sing and glitter with alert, polished brilliance” (Sydney Morning Herald), joins us for two virtuoso masterworks. Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G explores both Ravel’s Spanish Basque roots and the enlivening rhythms of jazz, while de Falla’s portrait of Andalusian Spain is darker, dramatic, and seductive. Meanwhile, Stravinsky’s Firebird conjures images of the magical glowing bird of Russian myth, but John Ritchie brings us back to earth with the clanging tramcar bell and 1950s hustle of Christchurch’s Papanui Road.

Leading our tour of these pictorial works is Joana Carneiro, described by the Edinburgh Music Review as “a giant of musicality.”

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

Join Auckland’s orchestra for our popular Community Classics concerts across Tāmaki Makaurau!

In 2025 we’ll be celebrating superstar composers and their most sparkling pieces, from Mozart and Strauss to Kiwi contemporary talent Salina Fisher, plus some special guest artists.

Gather the whānau together for an uplifting afternoon of music for everyone.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

Salina Fisher/Jerome Kavanagh Poutama | Papatūānuku
Vaughan Williams | The Lark Ascending
Schumann | Symphony No.1 Spring

According to Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother, from which all living things are created. In this concert we celebrate nature with Papatūānuku, a work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh.

We then soar through the sky with Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, one of the most popular and loved classical works of all time before returning to earth for the blossoming Spring in Schumann’s First Symphony.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premier of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

Salina Fisher/Jerome Kavanagh Poutama | Papatūānuku
Vaughan Williams | The Lark Ascending
Schumann | Symphony No.1 Spring

According to Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother, from which all living things are created. In this concert we celebrate nature with Papatūānuku, a work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh.

We then soar through the sky with Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, one of the most popular and loved classical works of all time before returning to earth for the blossoming Spring in Schumann’s First Symphony.

Additional performances:

The Ghost Trio explore the cultural diversity of the piano trio canon, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tōru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel, and the premiere of a new work by Aotearoa composer Glen Downie.

Additional performances:

New Zealand’s oldest and most avant-garde chamber music ensemble, From Scratch, has been performing nationally and internationally since 1974, principally under the leadership of sound and intermedia artist Phil Dadson.

From Scratch have developed an original and innovative sound/performance style that includes large sculptural invented instruments (primarily percussion), and innovative hocket-style rhythms – where the performers’ individual parts interlock to create complex rhythmic and melodic structures.

Additional performances:

New Zealand’s oldest and most avant-garde chamber music ensemble, From Scratch, has been performing nationally and internationally since 1974, principally under the leadership of sound and intermedia artist Phil Dadson.

From Scratch have developed an original and innovative sound/performance style that includes large sculptural invented instruments (primarily percussion), and innovative hocket-style rhythms – where the performers’ individual parts interlock to create complex rhythmic and melodic structures.

Additional performances:

New Zealand’s oldest and most avant-garde chamber music ensemble, From Scratch, has been performing nationally and internationally since 1974, principally under the leadership of sound and intermedia artist Phil Dadson. From Scratch have developed an original and innovative sound/performance style that includes large sculptural invented instruments (primarily percussion), and innovative hocket-style rhythms – where the performers’ individual parts interlock to create complex rhythmic and melodic structures.

Additional performances:

New Zealand’s oldest and most avant-garde chamber music ensemble, From Scratch, has been performing nationally and internationally since 1974, principally under the leadership of sound and intermedia artist Phil Dadson.

From Scratch have developed an original and innovative sound/performance style that includes large sculptural invented instruments (primarily percussion), and innovative hocket-style rhythms – where the performers’ individual parts interlock to create complex rhythmic and melodic structures.

Additional performances:

New Zealand’s oldest and most avant-garde chamber music ensemble, From Scratch, has been performing nationally and internationally since 1974, principally under the leadership of sound and intermedia artist Phil Dadson. From Scratch have developed an original and innovative sound/performance style that includes large sculptural invented instruments (primarily percussion), and innovative hocket-style rhythms – where the performers’ individual parts interlock to create complex rhythmic and melodic structures.

Additional performances:

New Zealand’s oldest and most avant-garde chamber music ensemble, From Scratch, has been performing nationally and internationally since 1974, principally under the leadership of sound and intermedia artist Phil Dadson.

From Scratch have developed an original and innovative sound/performance style that includes large sculptural invented instruments (primarily percussion), and innovative hocket-style rhythms – where the performers’ individual parts interlock to create complex rhythmic and melodic structures.

Additional performances:

Victoria Kelly | Stabat Mater (World Premiere NZSO Commission)
Rossini | Stabat Mater

Rossini’s majestic Stabat Mater is based on the thirteenth-century liturgy describing the Virgin Mary’s suffering at the crucifixion of her son, Jesus. This text, written by a priest and influencing the perceived role of women throughout Western history, stands in dialogue with Kelly’s, a contemporary appraisal of Mary, motherhood, and women.

Joining us is acclaimed Italian conductor Valentina Peleggi, increasingly sought after as an inspired conductor of opera. Concerto.com declaimed that Peleggi “has Rossini in her blood […and displays] radiant leadership.”

Additional performances:

Victoria Kelly | Stabat Mater (World Premiere NZSO Commission)
Rossini | Stabat Mater

Rossini’s majestic Stabat Mater is based on the thirteenth-century liturgy describing the Virgin Mary’s suffering at the crucifixion of her son, Jesus. This text, written by a priest and influencing the perceived role of women throughout Western history, stands in dialogue with Kelly’s, a contemporary appraisal of Mary, motherhood, and women.

Joining us is acclaimed Italian conductor Valentina Peleggi, increasingly sought after as an inspired conductor of opera. Concerto.com declaimed that Peleggi “has Rossini in her blood […and displays] radiant leadership.”

Additional performances:

Tabea Squire | NZSO Commission (World Premiere)
Glazunov | Saxophone Concerto
Milhaud | Scaramouche
Rachmaninov | Symphonic Dances

UK saxophonist Jess Gillam partners with the NZSO to show off the vast expressive range of the saxophone. Associated more nowadays with jazz, the instrument also has wide-ranging classical repertoire. Gillam, the first saxophonist ever to reach the finals of BBC Young Musician of the Year and acclaimed for her “effortless virtuosity and limitless expressiveness” (ArtsDesk), is equally at home in the late Romantic style of Glazunov’s concerto, or Milhaud’s Brazilian-influenced Scaramouche.

In case you needed more energy, Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances is guaranteed to make your toe tap and your heart pound.

Additional performances:

Tabea Squire | NZSO Commission (World Premiere)
Glazunov | Saxophone Concerto
Milhaud | Scaramouche
Rachmaninov | Symphonic Dances

UK saxophonist Jess Gillam partners with the NZSO to show off the vast expressive range of the saxophone. Associated more nowadays with jazz, the instrument also has wide-ranging classical repertoire. Gillam, the first saxophonist ever to reach the finals of BBC Young Musician of the Year and acclaimed for her “effortless virtuosity and limitless expressiveness” (ArtsDesk), is equally at home in the late Romantic style of Glazunov’s concerto, or Milhaud’s Brazilian-influenced Scaramouche.

In case you needed more energy, Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances is guaranteed to make your toe tap and your heart pound.

Additional performances: