eNotes October 2026

The NZSO is turning 80—and you’re invited to the party of the year!

In a thrilling return to the orchestra’s iconic collaboration with Split Enz, conductor Gemma New brings Eddie Rayner’s dazzling ENZSO arrangements roaring back to the stage—reimagining beloved Kiwi classics in full orchestral colour.

Tickets are on sale now for NZSO Members. Don’t miss out—secure your seats today.

A stellar lineup of special guests—Reb Fountain, Lawrence Arabia, Hollie Fulbrook of Tiny Ruins, and more to be announced—will perform Split Enz favourites, including Message to My Girl, Six Months in a Leaky Boat and I See Red.

Join our 80^th birthday bash in the newly reopened Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall for a joyful night packed with nostalgia, surprises and unmistakably New Zealand music.

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It’s Four Last Songs tonight and tomorrow!

Sir Donald Runnicles, one of the world’s most renowned conductors, leads the NZSO tonight in Wellington and tomorrow in Auckland,  featuring award-winning Kiwi soprano Madeleine Pierard.

This not-to-missed programme brings together three extraordinary works: Richard Strauss’ dazzling Rosenkavalier Suite and his profound, deeply personal Four Last Songs, followed by Johannes Brahms’ masterful Symphony No. 3.

Madeleine will perform Four Last Songs, written near the end of Strauss’ life. The songs contemplate love, memory and mortality with glowing orchestral colours and a sense of serene farewell.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be performing them with the NZSO, and particularly excited to be working with Sir Donald Runnicles,” she says.

“Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder [Four Last Songs] hold such a special and revered place for so many people who know and love them—my own father has even asked to have them at his funeral.

“They seem to hold so much of life within them, even as they contemplate its end. There is a profound sense of farewell, but I find the journey through these songs to be one of release and transfiguration rather than simply of death.  

“The relationship between the voice and orchestra is a real conversation, and one that changes me every time.”

Sir Donald made his New Zealand premiere with the NZSO in 2023 to critical and audience acclaim. The New Zealand Herald hailed his debut as: “One expected the earth to move. And it did.”

The Scottish conductor is one of the world’s greatest interpreters of Strauss’ music, which he’s conducted with leading orchestras and opera companies.

Sir Donald Runnicles appears with generous support from Dame Bronwen Holdsworth DNZM.

Don’t miss UK star pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason with the NZSO

One of the UK’s most exciting pianists, who was sponsored by Sir Elton John to study music, makes her Aotearoa debut with the NZSO in just two weeks!

Isata Kanneh-Mason, the eldest of the extraordinary Kanneh-Mason musical dynasty, performs with the NZSO in Wellington and Christchurch on 16 and 18 October.  

In addition, on 17 October she performs a special solo recital at Auckland’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, which will include Beethoven’s ever-popular Moonlight Sonata.

For the NZSO Elegance concerts in Wellington and Christchurch led by acclaimed New Zealand conductor Tianyi Lu, Isata will play Mozart’s exquisite Piano Concerto No. 27.

“I don’t like to impose too much on people’s imagination because I really think a concert is such a unique experience for everyone,” she’s said. “But I like to think it creates the impression of doors opening … of hope.”

Her meteoric recording career began in 2019, with her debut album entering the UK classical charts at No. 1. This year her newest album, Prokofiev, reached No. 4.

Isata made her solo debut at the prestigious BBC Proms in 2023, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the Royal Albert Hall. She has also performed and recorded with other members of her talented family, including her cellist brother Sheku.

Elegance concerts open with Andante Recitative, a remarkable work by Swedish composer and pioneering women’s rights campaigner Elfrida Andrée, written in 1878 and only rediscovered in the 1980s.  

The evening concludes with Johannes Brahms’ magnificent Serenade No. 1, inspired by Mozart’s serenades. Full of character and lyrical charm, it’s a favourite of musicians and audiences and shows Brahms finding his own orchestral voice before composing his beloved symphonies.

Isata has crafted her Auckland recital programme as a journey from darkness to light. Following Moonlight Sonata, she performs French composer Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, a work renowned for its formidable technical demands. The programme then turns to two mesmerising pieces by Grammy Award-nominated Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova, Nocturne and Halo, before culminating with Beethoven’s radiant Waldstein Sonata.

“I want people’s perceptions of a piano recital to be expanded from the expected and conventional,” Isata said this year.

“I’d like people to leave the concert hall feeling curious about repertoire that was unfamiliar and more passionate and interested about the music they already knew. I think contrast in programming is vital for the survival of music old and new.”

Star conductor and brilliant cellist to tour Otago with the NZSO

One of New Zealand’s most internationally lauded conductors leads the NZSO for performances in Oamaru, Dunedin and Queenstown from 20 October.

Chinese-born New Zealander Tianyi Lu will conduct an evening of exhilarating music by classical giants Haydn and Brahms, and 19th-century Swedish composer and pioneering women’s rights campaigner Elfrida Andrée.

The NZSO’s acclaimed Section Principal Cello Andrew Joyce is guest soloist, performing Haydn’s groundbreaking Cello Concerto No. 1, one of the first concertos to treat the cello as a virtuoso instrument.  

“It’s always an absolute joy for me to return to Haydn’s C major concerto,” says Andrew.  

“The piece is full of charm, beauty and a sparkling energy that makes it so appealing both to play and to listen to.”

The concerto is one of two works on the NZSO’s Serenade tour that were rediscovered in the 20th century.

Haydn wrote his concerto between 1761 and 1765, and it was believed lost for two centuries until it was rediscovered in 1961. It has since become one of the most popular cello concertos ever written.

The other is Andante Recitative, a remarkable work by Andrée, written in 1878 and only rediscovered in the 1980s.

The evening concludes with Brahms’ magnificent Serenade No. 1, inspired by Mozart’s serenades. Full of character and lyrical charm, it’s a favourite of musicians and audiences and shows Brahms finding his own orchestral voice before composing his beloved symphonies.

Tianyi, a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the first female Conductor-in-Residence for the Welsh National Opera, made her debut at the prestigious BBC Proms in 2024 following her conducting the NZSO National Youth Orchestra.

Critics have praised her conducting of Andrée’s music and Brahms’ works, including a performance of his Third Symphony with the famed Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. “She gave the music space to breathe but without losing momentum and she gave it the depth that it deserves,” said online UK music magazine Bachtrack.

Tickets on sale now for 80th anniversary season

Tickets for our 80^th anniversary season are on sale now and already in high demand with NZSO Members. Book today to secure your seats for some of the most exciting musical experiences of 2027.

From Kerikeri to Invercargill, we bring together international stars, Aotearoa artists, landmark classics and adventurous new sounds.

We open in February with two performances of Mahler’s Second Symphony conducted by Gemma New at the newly reopened Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall.

Across the year, concerts and collaborations bring fresh energy to the stage. Already proving to be hot tickets are the New Zealand debut of celebrated UK organist Anna Lapwood and Verdi Requiem with legendary bass singer Nathan Berg.

André de Ridder begins his highly anticipated tenure as NZSO Music Director, leading highlights such as the mid-winter Cosmic Festival (featuring Anna), and Reverberate, a celebration of each city’s mighty town hall organ with British organist James McVinnie, who also performs a recital in Christchurch.

Other New Zealand debuts include conductor Dalia Stasevska, electric bassist Lauri Porra, Galician piper Carlos Núñez, violinist Akiko Suwanai and clarinettist Pierre Génisson. They join top homegrown artists Troy Kingi, Louis Baker, Bridget Douglas and the Signature Choir.

Centuries of music includes Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Debussy through to Max Richter and Joe Hisaishi, whose Studio Ghibli film scores are loved worldwide. We also mark the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death with a complete piano concerto cycle featuring Javier Perianes, and Kia Kotahi Beethoven, a te reo Māori interpretation of the Ninth Symphony with Troy Kingi and Mahuia Bridgeman-Cooper.

Younger audiences and communities get to enjoy whānau-friendly concerts, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, and a new National Youth Music Festival. (Tickets on sale from 30 April 2027.) The festival unites the NZSO National Youth Orchestra, New Zealand Youth Choir and New Zealand Youth Brass Band for Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast.

Kiwi to lead NZSO’s new recording studios

The NZSO has appointed New Zealander Claire Wackrow as Director of Te Ngākau Recording Studios, which opens at Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall next February.

Claire is currently the NZSO’s London-based consultant for recording and commercial ventures. Since joining the orchestra in 2019, she has helped develop recordings and live collaborations, including sold-out performances with TEEKS and soundtrack sessions for A Minecraft Movie, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie and Wish Dragon.

“This is an exciting and unique opportunity to meaningfully grow Aotearoa’s capacity in the scoring realm,” Claire says. “New music and collaboration will be at the very core of what we do.”

Her earlier UK career included roles and projects with Sinfonia Smith Square, the BBC Proms, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and the Heritage Orchestra.

Claire will work alongside Principal Audio Engineer Matt Jones, formerly a Senior Recordist at Abbey Road Studios. Together, they will welcome local and international artists to the new Wellington facility for screen, symphonic and contemporary music projects.

NZSO Annual Appeal: celebrate 80 resounding years

We look forward to exciting new horizons in 2027 when we welcome our new Music Director André de Ridder, return to Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall, celebrate our 80th birthday, and present a season that explores music in all its forms.  

From iconic masterworks that have inspired audiences for generations to bold contemporary voices shaping the future of orchestral experiences, we promise an unforgettable season.

Your gift to the 2026 Annual Appeal will help us deliver this milestone season throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, and expand our engagement with new initiatives including secondary school concerts and a week-long National Youth Music Festival!

Please donate by 30 November 2026! 100% of your donation supports the NZSO’s nationwide touring programme of concerts, education and community activities.

Last year, donations from generous individuals and community trusts funded a vital 27% of our concerts and touring and 76% of our education and community programmes.

Already this year, the NZSO Learn & Engage team have reached over 50,000 New Zealanders across the country - and we're committed to exceeding this number in 2027!   Your generosity helps us share the power of live music with people across the country.

Contact the NZSO Development team at: philanthropy@nzso.co.nz or 0800 479 674 ext. 2.

NZSO Stories Alive! reaches more than 800 students in Porirua

The NZSO had a wonderful week of engagements in schools across Porirua last month, bringing live orchestral experiences to communities where access to them can be limited.

Through NZSO Stories Alive!, our Music Education Animateur, Chris Lam Sam, together with five musicians, visited Postgate School, Rangikura School, Corinna School and Windley School, engaging more than 800 ākonga over four days.

The programme combined hands-on classroom composition workshops with live performances of The Tortoise and the Hare, bringing music, storytelling, and the experience of hearing NZSO musicians perform directly into local schools.

Corinna School Principal Trish Nash reflected on the impact of the visit:

It was truly a joyful experience. Our children were highly engaged throughout the performance, with students ranging in age from five to 12 years old. The performance was fun, entertaining and accessible to everyone. The live nature of the performance was particularly special. In a world where so much of children’s entertainment and learning happens online and through screens, there was something very powerful about sitting together and experiencing live music and storytelling. The joy on our students’ faces was a real highlight.

The programme was brought to life by NZSO musicians Johanna Gruskin (flute/piccolo), Megan Molina (violin), Eli Vincent (viola), Oleksandr Gunchenko (double bass) and Sam Rich (percussion), whose outstanding performances, energy and generosity inspired ākonga at each school.

Most importantly, this new initiative was made possible through the generous support of the Freemasons Lankhuyzen/Whetu-Kairangi Masonic Trust and the Music Futures Trust, enabling more than 800 ākonga to create, participate in and experience live performances by NZSO musicians in their own schools.

A symphonic feast with Palliser & the NZSO

This stunning biennial Martinborough event is back on 10 October.  

Experience an evening of unforgettable music performed by  NZSO, alongside an elegant four courses by Palliser chef Norka Melia Muñoz and Nick Arnold from Trestle & Mortar. All matched with beautifully crafted Palliser wines.

Only a few tickets remain! Book your spot now for an indulgent evening of fine food, wine and music.

Special ticket offer: UK music sensation Benjamin Clementine

If you’re drawn to extraordinary voices, expressive piano and artists who bring a theatrical sensibility to their music, you can’t miss UK artist Benjamin Clementine in the Wellington Jazz Festival.

The Mercury Prize-winning singer, pianist and composer has forged a sound that moves between contemporary classical music, experimental pop, jazz and spoken word. At the heart of it all is Clementine’s remarkable voice and distinctive piano playing, creating music that is as dramatic and emotionally charged as it is musically adventurous.

His performances have taken him to some of the world’s most celebrated stages and festivals, from Montreux and Montréal to the North Sea Jazz Festival. He has also collaborated with artists including David Byrne and appeared Dune and the latest season of TV action drama The Gentlemen.

Featuring at Wellington Jazz Festival on Saturday 17 October at the Opera House and thanks to our friends at the Festival, we have a special 20% offer for you!

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