NZSO takes audiences on an intrepid adventure in 2024

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra brings a star-studded line-up of international artists and more to Wellington in 2024.

“We’ve called our 2024 season Mātātoa Intrepid Adventures because it celebrates the intrinsically adventurous, open-hearted and all-embracing Kiwi spirit,” says NZSO Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor Gemma New, who leads the Orchestra in a thrilling selection of concerts in 2024.

New and the NZSO continue their exploration of Mahler in 2024 with the composer’s epic Fifth Symphony in a concert opening with New Zealand composer Salina Fisher's recent work Kintsugi and Emmy Award-winning American composer Adam Schoenberg’s Losing Earth with the percussionist for whom it was written, acclaimed San Francisco Symphony Principal Percussionist Jacob Nissly.

Schoenberg, twice named among the top 10 most-performed living composers by American orchestras, will be in Wellington for the performances, and Nissly will collaborate with the New Zealand percussion community during his visit.

New returns for main stage concerts in September, performing revered New Zealand composer Lyell Cresswell's final major work Piano Concerto No. 3, alongside Copland's Appalachian Spring and Mozart's Jupiter Symphony. New’s 2024 season finale with Christian Tetzlaff and Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir in a programme of Kaija Saariaho, Elgar and Holst's The Planets.

Other global music stars to perform with the NZSO in Wellington include violinists Maxim Vengerov, Augustin Hadelich and Christian Tetzlaff, pianists Andrea Lam and Alexander Gavrylyuk, and mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez.

Several of the world’s best conductors also join New, NZSO Music Director Emeritus James Judd and NZSO Principal Conductor-in-Residence Hamish McKeich in leading the Orchestra. The stars include Dima Slobodeniouk, Stéphane Denève, Vasily Petrenko, Han-Na Chang, André de Ridder, Tianyi Lu and Thomas Blunt.

André de Ridder, who captivated Wellington audiences in 2023, returns to conduct three distinct concerts with Maxim Vengerov, Andrea Lam and a whānau-friendly concert featuring John Williams’ music from the Harry Potter films.

Dima Slobodeniouk leads the Orchestra for Beethoven’s glorious Sixth Symphony and Debussy’s magnificent La mer.

Virtuoso Maxim Vengerov makes his New Zealand debut with the NZSO in August. The 49-year-old Grammy Award winner has been hailed as “one of the greatest violinists in the world” by Classic FM.

Also in August, Grammy Award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich returns to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.

Thomas Blunt leads the NZSO for Handel’s Messiah, featuring soprano Madison Nonoa, mezzo-soprano Bianca Andrew, tenor Filipe Manu and baritone Benson Wilson, along with renowned choir The Tudor Consort.

Celebrated pianist Stephen De Pledge, NZSO Section Principal Cello Andrew Joyce and NZSO Section Principal Cello Julia Joyce and NZSO Associate Principal Cello Ken Ichinose, are among the New Zealand artists to perform in 2024. Thirteen-year-old pianist Shan Liu will play with the NZSO National Youth Orchestra, conducted by Tianyi Lu.

NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen directs an ensemble of NZSO string players for a programme of spiritual intensity, featuring works by Lilburn, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner and more. 

James Judd conducts Shostakovich's witty Ninth Symphony, and an equally humorous work Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, alongside two works by young Kiwi composers Henry Meng and Sai Natarajan, 2023 NZSO Todd Corporation Young Composer Awards winners.

For more information and tickets go to Events & Tickets.