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Our Auckland Town Hall concert on 26 June was recorded - watch it here!
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER - OUR NEXT CONCERT SERIES

The Programme
The concert opens with seven minutes of enjoyable, mischievous and melodic music composed in 1959 by NZ composer David Farquhar.
The work is not generally familiar to NZ audiences, but the RNZ Concert recording of a performance by the NZSO can be heard here.
Ravel composed this light-hearted and brilliant 20-minute concerto in 1929-1931. It begins with a percussionist releasing the wound‑up spring of the slapstick and the impact of Ravel’s 1928 tour to America is evident with blues flavours included throughout the first movement in particular.
The Soloist: PIANIST Madeleine Xiao
Seventeen-year-old Madeleine Xiao is a first-year student at the University of Auckland. She is currently under the tutelage of Rae de Lisle, Bryan Sayer and Katherine Austin. Madeleine has achieved numerous top awards and scholarships regionally and nationally. This year, she was a joint winner of the AYO Piano Competition and is one of three finalists in the University of Auckland Concerto Competition, where she will be playing Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E Minor in September.
Apart from being a soloist, Madeleine is a passionate chamber musician and collaborative pianist. Her current chamber group, Kaha Trio, has been selected as an APO Aspiring Musicians Ensemble and performs regularly across Auckland and its wider regions. Madeleine also plays for several choirs and accompanies for events, such as the Big Sing and the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Auckland Museum this year.
This symphony was written in 1945 when Russia was on the winning side of World War II. Everyone was expecting a triumphant, victorious composition to glorify Stalin’s regime but Shostakovich, who had been terrorised by that regime, risked everything by producing something quite different. One critic wrote, “What was Shostakovich counting on when, instead of creating in the Ninth Symphony the image of the victorious man, he created one of a carefree Yankee recklessly whistling a cheerful little tune?” Shostakovich managed to weather this storm politically, but he would not compose another symphony until after Stalin died!
The Concerts
Tickets (and EFTPOS) will be available on the Door. Secure your seat in advance by booking online via Eventfinda (booking fees apply).
Adults - $25
Seniors - $20
Students & Children - $10
Orewa Arts & Events Centre
Orewa College
80 Riverside Rd
Orewa
Tickets available only through Eventfinda - either in advance online or on the day at the Eventfinda Ticket Office at the Hawkins Theatre (open from 1 hour before the performance).
Adults - $25 + booking fee
Seniors - $20 + booking fee
Students & Children - $10 + booking fee
Hawkins Theatre
13 Ray Small Dr
Papakura
Park on the road for level access to theatre.
Large car park also available behind the theatre.
This is a free concert but it is essential to register for your free ticket at moshtix.co.nz, as entry is by ticket only.
We are pleased to present the annual Lodge of the Liberal Arts No.500 concert.
We gratefully acknowledge their support and that of Creative Communities NZ.
Donations will be gratefully received at the conclusion of the concert.
CONCERTS ALREADY PERFORMED IN 2022
June Concert Series
Programme:
Gigout - Grand Choeur Dialogué
Mozart - Andantino from Concerto for Flute & Harp
Mozart - The Magic Flute: Selected arias
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No.3 "Organ Symphony"
Soloists:
Nicholas Forbes (organ)
Christina Ellison (soprano), Sid Chand (tenor)
Anna Kexin Zhang (flute) and Harrison Chau (harp)
Watch the entire concert here
Concerts:
Sat 18 June, 2.30pm Whangarei Anglican Church
Sun 19 June, 4.30pm Warkworth Town Hall
Sat 25 June, 4.30pm Hamilton – St Peter’s Cathedral
Sun 26 June, 2.30pm Auckland Town Hall
Listen to the concert here
April Concert Series
WAGNER: The Mastersingers Overture
KABALEVSKY: Cello Concerto No.1 in G minor (soloist: Damon Herlihy-O'Brien)
DVORAK: Symphony No.8
Sun. 3 April, 2.30pm AUCKLAND TOWN HALL
Sadly, we had to cancel the three other concerts in this series: Howick and Helensville due to Covid restrictions and Orewa due to flooding damage at the concert venue.