Concerts
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This is a list of our past concerts and any reviews.
Larking About
Sunday 27 September 2026, 11:00am – Hanover Hall
Programme Symphony No. 1 ‘Boum’ Clair de Lune Night on Bald Mountain The Lark Ascending Slavonic Dance No. 8 A Question Symphony No. 9 Symphony No. 1 ‘Boum’, II allegro energico (1993) Composer: Anthony Ritchie The title ‘Boum’, comes from an ominous tam tam stroke that recurs frequently through the symphony. It represents a mysterious echo heard by two of E M Forster’s characters in the novel ‘A Passage to India’ when they investigate the Marabar Caves. This sound comes to symbolise the mysteries of life and death in the novel. We hear the ‘boum’ played loudly on tam tam in the middle of this second movement. It is lively and bright and also features the sounds of the Cook Islands log drum. The log drum and tom toms punctuate the movement’s textures and create a sense of propulsion. There is a folksy theme played on string quartet and flutes in the middle that offers contrast. A soaring melody on strings appears later, quoted from the first movement, before the music builds to an exciting climax.
Mix Tape
Saturday 23 May 2026, 3:00pm – Knox Church
Programme Zampa Overture Trombone Concerto Karelia Suite Op. 11 March to the Scaffold Coppelia Suite Zampa Overture Composer: Ferdinand Hérold Ferdinand Hérold was a French composer who lived from 1791 to 1833. He was an influential figure in his day, even inspiring the likes of Bizet and Wagner. The comic opera Zampa was composed near the end of Hérold’s life in 1831. It takes place in Southern Italy, starring the pirate Zampa. The opera is about Zampa trying to marry a woman called Camile, who is really in love with Zampa’s brother. Zampa also has to deal with a statue of his ex-lover that has come to life. The opera ends with Zampa being dragged down to hell by this statue.
War & Peace
Saturday 20 September 2025, 6:30pm – Castle Street Lecture Theatre
Come join us on Saturday, September 20th, at 6:30 pm in the Castle Street Lecture Theatre as we perform works of War & Peace under the batons of Emily Sterk and Maddy Parkins-Craig.
Rising Stars
Friday 16 May 2025, 7:30pm – Dunedin Town Hall
The Dunedin Youth Orchestra, conducted by David Burchell, takes centre stage in the first half with a vibrant and varied programme including Offenbach’s La belle Hélène Overture, Bizet’s L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2, Malcolm Arnold’s Little Suite No. 2, Prokofiev’s bold Montagues and Capulets, and Coates’ lively Knightsbridge March.
Home & Away
Saturday 14 September 2024, 6:30pm – Castle Street Lecture Theatre
Join us for an exciting musical voyage through Aotearoa and beyond. Playing music from composers close to home: Anthony Ritchie, Clara Satherley, and Leonie Holmes as well as composers from far away: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Edward Elgar, Charles Auguste de Bériot, and Gabriel Fauré.
Panorama
Saturday 25 May 2024, 7:00pm – Castle Street Lecture Theatre
The time has come for another Dunedin Youth Orchestra Semester 1 concert! New to the DYO, conductor Natasha Manowitz will lead the orchestra and audience through a panoramic vista of the romantic landscapes presented in music composed in the 1800s. Repertoire includes favourites such as Grieg’s Symphonic Dances, Bizet’s Carmen Suites and Weber’s first clarinet concerto, superbly performed by Young Musicians’ Award soloist Ayla Biner-McGrath.
Force of Destiny
Friday 15 September 2023, 7:30pm – Knox Church
Please join us on Friday September 15th 7:30pm at Knox Church for our Semester 2 Concert, “Force of Destiny”. City Choir Dunedin will be accompanying us for a rich and varied programme of music. Featuring is our soloist and young musician award winner, Skyla Murray, performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major.