On Jun 25th 2020, The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Wellington City Council presented “Ngū Kīoro… Harikoa Ake – Celebrating Togetherness”, a celebration of the enormous effort New Zealanders made to protect the vulnerable and eliminate COVID-19.

Internationally renowned tenor Simon O’Neill and rising star soprano Eliza Boom joined the Orchestra for an evening of classics from Bizet’s Carmen, Puccini’s La Bohème and Verdi’s Otello.

A celebration of New Zealand wouldn’t be complete without our own music. Gareth Farr’s From the Depths Sound the Great Sea Gongs and John Psathas’ ecstatic Tarantismo feature, while vocalist Maisey Rika and Taonga Pūoro specialist Horomona Horo perform music from the NZSO’s successful 2019 An Instrumental Voyage Pae Tawhiti, Pae Tata concert.

The full power of the Orchestra will be on show for Richard Strauss’ inspirational Suite from Der Rosenkavalier before all our guest soloists and singers from Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir join the Orchestra for a special finale, the beloved waiata Pōkarekare Ana.

Watch the live stream here.

NZTrio will be joined by musician and composer Horomona Horo playing taonga pūoro in a programme reflecting on our past, while celebrating new horizons and possibilities.

It includes three newly commissioned pieces, from Dame Gillian Karawe Whitehead (Ngāi Te Rangi), Martin Lodge and Jeremy Mayall, alongside works composed by Victoria Kelly, Richard Nunns and Gareth Farr.

Full details on the Chamber Music New Zealand site:

Gareth grew up with the photos of three young men in army uniform on the wall in his parents’ home. He didn’t know much about them until his mother recounted their history.

The Byrne brothers, Frank, Vince and Charlie, all volunteered for the First World War. All three died in the last 18 months of the war, leaving their New Zealand family devastated.

Gareth was so moved that he wrote a cello concerto in their memory.

AC Productions went to France and filmed Sebastien Hurtaud performing the concerto in Laon Cathedral. Picardy, a region where thousands of French and Germans died during the First World War.

See the video featured on Newshub:

Gareth’s cello concerto was recently performed in Paris as part of the French Armistice Day celebrations. The orchestra of the Garde Répulicaine performed the concerto with cellist Sébastien Hurtaud in the Cathedrale St. Louis des Invalides.

If your French is très bien, you can listen to an interview with Sébastien here.

Sébastien Hurtaud

Gareth Farr’s Cello Concerto ‘Chemin des Dames’ is having its world premiere as part of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra concert Aotearoa-Plus.

It pays tribute to the soldiers who fell on the First World War battlefields of France and Belgium and reminds us of the profound grief and trauma felt by their families and wider communities. Performed by Adam International Cello Competition winner Sébastien Hurtaud, Gareth’s concerto will be performed in both Aotearoa and France, bringing musicians and audiences together to remember our shared history. This world premiere is funded by the First World War Centenary (WW100) Co-commissioning Fund.

The cello concerto is on the 5th and 6th of May in Wellington and Auckland, and then in France in September.

You can read the full description on the NZSO’s website