Sun 26 May | 5 pm | Auckland Town Hall
May is NZ Music Month, and Bach Musica NZ is delighted to continue their season with a special concert reflecting on young people, Auckland’s diversity and the power of music with a very exciting programme introducing new NZ music. The ensemble is offering special discounts for secondary schools and youth organizations, as well as complimentary tickets for music students at low decile schools in Auckland.
Beethoven’s Piano Concert No 2 and the World Premiere of The Birds by NZ composer Andrew Perkins: a comic Singspiel based on Aristophanes' play, with libretto created by Rachel Le Rossignol.
With this concert Bach Musica NZ is highlighting the importance of music for young people and the ways in which music can raise awareness of key social issues, and help different groups come together to address pressing environmental, political, and cultural challenges. Bach Musica NZ invites Aucklanders, particularly young people, to attend this concert to celebrate the diversity and talent in this country and music as a universal language.
As a very active and gifted educator, music director and conductor Rita Paczian considers it every musician’s “[…] duty to share music with people of all backgrounds and ages.”
For decades, Bach Musica NZ has provided a platform for young, up-and-coming performers to showcase their talents as they enter the professional classical music scene. This year, Ashani Waidyatillake, 14-year-old winner of the 2018 Wallace National Junior Piano Competition, will open the evening with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a piece written before he was 20.
Continuing a longstanding tradition, the ensemble will then present a World Premiere: The Birds, a comic Singspiel based on a Greek anti-war play of the same name. This melodic piece by NZ composer Andrew Perkins and librettist Rachel Le Rossignol, shows with a light-hearted yet serious tone how ancient social problems continue to exist today.
Perkins’ work addresses current global issues through the voices of The Birds, aimed at young people, and calling for everyone to come together to shape the future. “The Birds, although satirical, outlines persistent problems but also offers solutions, encouraging and empowering the younger generations to change the world and save humanity through cooperation/kotahitanga”, says Perkins.
Bach Musica NZ is thrilled to announce a fabulous line-up of New Zealand’s finest next generation soloists for this refreshing work: mezzo sopranos Jessica Wells and Dilys Fong, tenor Harry Grigg and baritone Angus Simmons.
The audience will also have the unique opportunity to join the composer for a pre-concert talk at 5pm, where he will talk about how The Birds came to be.
PROGRAMME
5pm – 5.20 | Pre-concert talk with the composer Andrew Perkins
5.30 – 7.30 | Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No 2 & Andrew Perkins and Rachel Le Rossignol - The Birds (world premiere)
PRESENTED BY Bach Musica NZ orchestra and chorus
Rita Paczian | conductor
Ashani Waidyatillake | piano
Jessica Wells | mezzo
Dilys Fong | mezzo
Harry Grigg | tenor
Angus Simmons | baritone
Andrew Perkins | narrator
TICKETS
$30 - $70 | General admission
$15 - $55 | Under 16 and students with valid ID
Discounts and complimentary tickets for secondary schools, youth and environmental organizations. Please contact Zarine Rocha on [email protected] for further details.
www.ticketmaster.co.nz | 09 970 9700 | 0800 111 999 | Booking fees apply.
Tickets at the door from 3.30pm but booking is strongly recommended.
Further information
[email protected]
09 309 2224
www.bachmusica.com
Facebook/Instagram @bachmusicanz
Start time
May 26, 2019 5:00PM
End time
May 26, 2019 7:30PM
Location
Auckland Town Hall
301 – 317 Queen St, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
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