New Zealand Symphony Orchestra & Bramwell Tovey
Biography New Zealand Symphony Orchestra & Bramwell Tovey
Bramwell Tovey
is an acclaimed British composer and conductor in demand as a guest artist by major ensembles around the world, including the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics. He made his break as a conductor as a last-minute stand-in for the legendary Leonard Bernstein in 1986. He is Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and is known for his passionate advocacy of music education in schools. This will be his New Zealand debut.
Christopher Blake
was born in Christchurch in 1949. He studied engineering and music at the University of Canterbury and composition at the University of Southampton School of Music. His compositions encompass a wide variety of music. Major works include Till Human Voices Wake Us for orchestra and tenor soloist; a piano concerto, The Coming of Tane Mahuta; Clairmont Triptych for piano and wind quintet; Bitter Calm, an opera in 2 Acts, premiered at the 1994 New Zealand International Festival of the Arts; Symphony – The Islands; and, a violin concerto Concerto Aoraki premiered in 2006. A CD of his large work for string orchestra Angel at Ahipara recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra on the Atoll label won the Tui Award for Best Classical Album in 2012. His Symphony – Voices was premiered by the NZSO in its 2016 season. Christopher Blake has been the Chief Executive of a number of performing arts organisations and government departments in New Zealand. He has been Chief Executive of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra since 2012.
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
is your national orchestra.
One of the world’s oldest national symphony orchestras, we have charmed audiences with memorable concerts and recordings since 1947.
Today, the NZSO is recognised as an outstanding orchestra of international stature and our reputation for artistic excellence attracts many of the world’s leading conductors and soloists each year. In 2016 the NZSO was nominated for Best Orchestral Performance at the prestigious Grammy Awards.
In our touring programmes each year the NZSO can perform more than 100 concerts in more than 30 different communities across New Zealand to audiences in excess of 100,000 people. Many more enjoy the Orchestra’s performances through Radio New Zealand Concert broadcasts, film soundtracks and CD recordings.
We also nurture New Zealand’s best young musical talent through our Learning & Connecting programmes and the NZSO National Youth Orchestra.
