Commissioned for Auckland Philharmonia’s Community Classics: Beyond the Stars, 'when you and I collide' is a bold orchestral mash-up of three iconic Kiwi pop songs — ‘Sway’ by Bic Runga, ‘April Sun in Cuba’ by Dragon, and ‘Wandering Eye’ by Fat Freddy’s Drop. Composer Lucy Mulgan brings a fresh, unexpected twist to these classics, blending them into one continuous narrative full of shifting perspectives, emotional turns, and surprising orchestral textures. We spoke with the composer about what audiences can expect from this love letter to Aotearoa’s pop heritage.

What was your starting point for this piece — the songs themselves, or the idea of telling a new story through them?

Lucy Mulgan I started with the songs - taking time to listen and explore the lyrics. From there I thought about how I could add a new narrative to this awesome combination.

These are big, beloved Kiwi tunes. Was it daunting to pull them apart and rework them in such a bold way?

LM Oh yes - very daunting and also super exciting. With any arranging it is such fun to deconstruct and think about the essence of the storytelling and to ask yourself what new ideas can I bring to this? And when working with such classic material - you have to honour the craft of the original too.

You’ve created a full narrative arc across three separate songs — how did you decide on the emotional journey for the characters?

LM I wanted to ensure when you and I collide feels like one piece that travels through the songs, rather than a stop/start bit-of-this, bit-of-that collage. So, I spent some time just with the words, thinking about how I could create a cohesive narrative.

What’s your favourite part about arranging a pop song with just a few instruments into a piece for a 75-piece orchestra?

LM Orchestrating is the really fun bit! Getting to play with different colours and sounds of the orchestra to enhance the changing moods of the piece is very exciting. I am also aware of the players’ experience and I always aim to create something fun for the orchestra. Plus, for this piece it means I get a 75-piece backing choir built in to the performance!

Will there be the opportunity for audience interaction in this piece? How do you feel about audience members joining in with a concert performance?

LM YES! There is definitely a moment for the audience to sing along. A lot of my work encompasses audience and community participation often through collaboration.

What do you hope audiences will feel walking out of this performance — especially those who know and love these songs already?

LM There are such strong earworms in these classics, so everyone will probably be humming and singing the melodies. I hope the audience get to enjoy these songs all over again in a new way.

It was a joy to welcome a hall full of rangatahi to our Discovery schools concert. Led by conductor Ingrid Martin, students experienced music by R. Strauss and Bizet, a full performance of Compose Yourself! by James Stephenson, and the world premiere of The pendulum swings until he can’t no more by Auckland Philharmonia Young Composer-in-Residence Grace Wellik.

Huge tautoko to the Four Winds Foundation and The Trusts Community Foundation for making this event possible.

Opportunities like this are made possible through the Future Fund, which supports our Learn & Participate programme. With your support, we reach over 30,000 people annually, mentoring and inspiring the next generation. Learn more about supporting the Future Fund here.

Photo Credits: Thomas Hamill Photography

What do you get when you mix a wildly imaginative picture book with a full symphony orchestra? The Fantabulous Animal Orchestra! Written and illustrated by Donovan Bixley ONZM, and set to music composer Camryn Nel, this new project invites kids (and their grown-ups) into a colourful world where each animal brings a different instrument to the mix. With themes of teamwork, biodiversity and a whole lot of musical mayhem, this unique collaboration between Penguin Random House and the Auckland Philharmonia promises to be as educational as it is entertaining — and totally fantabulous. Auckland Philharmonia caught up with Donovan and Camryn to discover more about this exciting new collaboration.

What can you tell us about this upcoming collaboration with Auckland Philharmonia?

Donovan Bixley I’m a member of several bands in Taupō playing tenor saxophone and singing in a 13-piece funk band, as well as being involved in the Great Lake Big Band and I’m also president of the Taupō Concert Band … so music is a really big part of my life. The Fantabulous Animal Orchestra was inspired by my dual passions of music and the environment. When I first started working on the idea of the orchestra as a metaphor for biodiversity about 6 years ago, I remember thinking that it would make a great orchestral piece with all the animals playing the different sections, like Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals or Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. I can’t wait to hear the full glorious resonance of the Auckland Philharmonia playing Camryn’s score – it’s like something from my wildest dreams!

Camryn Nel I am deeply thankful to be a part of this i incredibly exciting collaboration . Besides being a composer, I am a full-time teacher, so the opportunity to write music that also has an educational aspect is very exciting. I have known Donovan for a long time, both of us having played in various ensembles together in Taupо̄. It is really cool having both our artistic paths come together in a somewhat coincidental way. This has been a really rewarding project to be a part of, and hopefully not the last.

Donovan, how has it felt seeing someone else interpret your story and illustrations through music?

DB As both author, illustrator as well as book designer my day-to-day work is really all-consumingly creative – from envisaging a project, to delivering the final product. So, this collaboration with the Auckland Philharmonia has been a real thrill. Being able to let go of that creative burden and just sit back and enjoy seeing how another artist interprets your work into a new art form. Aside from that, it’s also been amazing to be on the sidelines watching Camryn’s career over the last decade or more. We’re both from Taupō, and I can remember being the guitar tutor to Camryn and dozens of other beginner guitar pupils at a big orchestral music day. Young Camryn quickly surpassed my meagre guitar skills, and it’s just fantastic to see his development as a composer and to be part of this fantastic collaboration.

The book carries an environmental message about biodiversity — how did you approach balancing that with a playful and engaging tone for children?

DB I’ve always wanted to make work that is first and foremost entertaining. I try to create worlds that readers will fall in love with, which they’ll want to return to again and again. I hope children and adults will engage with all the expressive animal characters and the bubbling rhythm of the words. There’s also the fun look-and-find game of trying to spot who’s gone missing as each part of the orchestra drops out of the story. The addition of Camryn’s score just adds another layer of immersion that brings the whole piece to life. I like to think that children’s books are similar to getting kids to eat their veggies. After a dozen times, they’ll fall in love with it and that’s when they’ll discover the underlying message I’ve woven into the story … when they are ready … instead of having it shoved down their throat like a nagging lecture. But they’ll only discover the good stuff within if they fall in love with the book first.

Camryn, what has been the biggest creative challenge in composing music to match an existing narrative and illustrations?

CN The biggest creative challenge for this work has been writing for a gradually shrinking orchestra. In Donovan’s story, the sections of the orchestra gradually leave, eventually only leaving the brass. Often orchestral writing is built using the strings as the foundation, but this project has forced me to rethink that approach.

Make your mid-week evening dazzle with sensational live music at Auckland Phil’s new Six-thirty Session event on Wednesday 25 June in the Auckland Town Hall.  With a 6.30pm start time and a more compact format, this concert offers just the right timing for you to grab a pre-concert drink after work, experience an incredible performance by Auckland’s professional orchestra, and make it to an 8pm dinner reservation.

Auckland Phil’s CEO, Diana Weir, is delighted to see this new early evening concert experience come to fruition and says, “We're excited to offer this new concert format for Aucklanders to experience the orchestra. Whether you're a busy CBD professional looking to avoid the rush hour with an event straight after work or have an evening dinner reservation in one of city's fantastic restaurants, this 75-minute concert in the beautiful Auckland Town Hall is the perfect mid-week plan."

This additional concert is in response to high demand for tickets for the orchestra’s Classic Series: Beethoven 5 concert the following night, giving more music-lovers an alternative, earlier evening option.  Aptly named the Six-thirty Session, the programme opens with Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.5, followed by Beethoven’s mighty Symphony No.5 — the perfect midwinter tonic to give Aucklanders a special mid-week music boost.

Exhilarating is the best word to describe Beethoven’s hugely popular Fifth Symphony. In the orchestral music world, this is one of the biggest ‘bangers’. And for good reason – whether it’s your first time hearing it, or it’s a contender for your Spotify Wrapped, seeing Auckland’s 70-piece professional orchestra perform this music will be an unforgettable experience.

Experience a soul-stirring evening of music fusion at Auckland Phil’s Matariki with Ria Hall concert, presented by The Trusts Community Foundation, in the Auckland Town Hall on 19 June. Bringing together the striking vocals of Ria Hall with the powerful sound of Auckland’s professional orchestra, this will be an unforgettable performance.

At this Matariki celebration, Hall’s compelling songs will be recreated with an epic orchestral soundscape, including such revered anthems as ‘They Come Marching’ and ‘Black Light’. Her song ‘Te Ahi Kai Pō’ won the Maioha Award prize in 2018 and seeing her perform this masterpiece live with the Auckland Phil will be a beautiful experience that’s not to be missed.

This concert also features the first performance of Tom Rainey’s orchestration of Hall’s moving ballad, ‘Chant’, which is sure to be a highlight of the evening.

Hall is excited to perform with the Auckland Philharmonia for the first time.

“I can't wait join the people of Tāmaki Makaurau to celebrate Matariki through music. Performing alongside over 60 professional musicians from the Auckland Phil will be such a special experience, and the energy as these diverse musical genres join forces is sure to be electric. Join us to celebrate Matariki 2025 together,” she says.

A powerful live performer and speaker, Hall found her calling as a vocalist through kapa haka, becoming a singer dedicated to the preservation and recognition of te reo Māori. Winning critical acclaim for her self-titled EP released in 2011, her sound fused furious hip hop beats and richly layered vocals in English and te reo Māori. Her subsequent albums Rules of Engagement and Manawa Wera established Hall as one of the most thoughtful voices in New Zealand music.

Start your Matariki public holiday with this night of exceptional music. Auckland Phil’s Matariki concerts have become one of the ‘go-to’ events of the season, selling out every year. Get your tickets now for Matariki with Ria Hall from aucklandphil.nz/matariki25 or Ticketmaster.

Matariki with Ria Hall is presented by The Trusts Community Foundation, in association with Kapiti Ice Cream and Auckland Live. This event is part of Auckland Council’s Matariki Festival 2025.

This winter, Auckland Phil’s Community Classics: Beyond the Stars concert series will travel to South, North and Central Auckland venues, taking audiences on a journey through stellar music by superstar composers and performers.

The glittering music programme for these concerts features sparkling pieces by Mozart, Strauss, Debussy and Aotearoa’s own contemporary talent, including an exciting new work that reimagines three legendary Kiwi pop songs. Performed by Auckland’s professional orchestra, plus some special guests, the Community Classics: Beyond the Stars concerts are an opportunity for people to connect and experience incredible live orchestral music together.

The 2025 Community Classics series blasts off with the first concert on 7 June in Manukau’s Due Drop Events Centre. It then rockets across the Harbour Bridge to the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna for a performance on 19 July, before making its final landing with a concert in the Auckland Town Hall on 3 August.

Hauora is a Māori concept of health unique to Aotearoa, which recognises that physical,mental, spiritual and social dimensions are all interconnected and part of our overall well-being. This is commonly represented by Sir Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā model, which likens each dimension to the four walls of a whare (house). Each dimension is essential — if one wall is weakened, the entire structure is affected.

Drawing on this holistic view of wellbeing, this year we have launched a new initiative, the Hauora Music Ensemble, which aims to share the power of music with people who face physical or mental health challenges. A string quartet of the orchestra’s musicians will visit partner organisations who focus on supporting people living with chronic health conditions. The musicians will play familiar works to small groups before encouraging their participation in music-making workshops.

“We want attendees to be immersed in music-making, then take that shared experience away with them,” explains Claudia Ruff, Auckland Phil’s Learn & Participate Community Projects Executive.

Attendee participation is encouraged — but not compulsory — be it through singing or playing along. A recent workshop with Peke Waihanga Artificial Limb Service included percussion.

“It’s about exposing people to making music individually and in a group,” Claudia says. “Some might just think it’s fun and interesting, others might discover something they didn’t realise they could do. One person said they used to play French horn and never thought they’d be able to make music again.”

Experience your favourite movie soundtracks performed live by a full-strength Auckland Phil at the Art of the Score: The Music of Hans Zimmer concert on 4 April in the Aotea Centre. Alongside the impressive sound of a 70-piece orchestra performing a selection of Hans Zimmer’s greatest movie music, hosts from the popular Art of the Score podcast will take the audience on guided journey through Zimmer’s career and his sublime scores.

The Art of the Score: The Music of Hans Zimmer concert will be a unique opportunity to experience the epic music of modern cinema; from the worlds of Interstellar, Inception and The Dark Knight Trilogy, to animated classics The Lion King and Kung Fu Panda, alongside unforgettable themes from Pirates of the Caribbean and Gladiator. Conducted by award-winning composer, conductor, and arranger Nicholas Buc, the audience will feel the full power of these incredible scores when they are performed by Auckland’s professional orchestra.

Buc will be joined by his fellow Art of the Score podcast hosts, Professor Dan Golding and Andrew Pogson, for a banter-filled journey through the soundtracks’ main themes and what makes the scores tick. Bringing with them a feature-length resumé in movie music, Professor Golding is the Chair of Media and Communication at Swinburne University, the host of Screen Sounds on ABC Classic, and an award-winning composer and writer, whilst Pogson, is a producer, director and jazz musician with 20 years’ experience in the music industry.

The Art of the Score podcast itself is a fascinating listen for both lovers of movies and music alike, with each episode debating, exploring, demystifying and celebrating some of the greatest soundtracks of all time from the world of film, TV and video games. The Melbourne-based podcast has enjoyed time in the iTunes Top 10, What’s Hot and New & Noteworthy lists, and is listened to across the globe. Seeing these podcasters live on the Auckland stage is not to be missed.

Art of the Score co-host, Andrew Pogson, says “We’re excited to be heading to Auckland to take audiences behind the music of Hans Zimmer, arguably the most influential film composer of the 21st Century. We can’t wait to explore the sometimes-hidden themes and techniques he’s used across a fantastic programme of his music, performed by a full-strength professional orchestra.”

Go behind the brilliance of Hans Zimmer’s music at this unique event that brings together the Auckland Phil and Art of the Score for the ultimate live movie music experience.

The story of a brave little glowworm who embarks on a musical forest adventure will be told through the Auckland Philharmonia’s Tunes 4 Tamariki children’s concert entitled, Hana the Glowworm. This glittering new production weaves together talent from across Aotearoa songwriting, composition, youth theatre, and the Auckland Phil, into a fun-filled show in the Aotea Centre and Bruce Mason Theatre this April.

Tunes 4 Tamariki: Hana the Glowworm is Aotearoa’s newest semi-staged children’s musical, an interactive live music experience for under eights that invites the audience to join Hana, a curious little glowworm, on her adventure to find the Auckland Phil. Performed by a fabulous company of 14 young theatre stars and Auckland’s professional orchestra, the concert features the original ‘Hana the Glowworm’ songs that were written by award-winning local songwriter, Chris Sanders and scored by New Zealand-based arrangers Adrian Hollay, Linda Dallimore, Joshua Clark, Anna Reyes and Camryn Nel. This will be accompanied by children’s singalong favourite ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and more.

Over the course of the family-friendly 45-minute performance, tamariki will learn about native Aotearoa fauna and the instruments of the orchestra, can dance and sing along with the music, and join a walk through the orchestra while the musicians are playing to see the instruments up close. Ahead of the concert, free activities include face painting, Aspiring Musician performances and colouring in competition.

The touching tale of Hana the Glowworm follows Hana, a glowworm who is drawn out into the world for the first time by beautiful music. In her search for the music’s source, she makes new friends, including a cave eel, and discovers musical instruments that have been lost by their owners. Hana the Glowworm explores themes of friendship and teamwork, going beyond our comfort zone to find our own light, and introduces children to the different instruments and sections of an orchestra.

Beethoven String Quartet No.6
Beethoven String Quartet No.10
 
IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD: TUBA TONES

6.30pm, Monday 18 August
Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre

6.30pm, Tuesday 19 August
Holy Trinity, Devonport

6.30pm, Thursday 21 August
St Luke’s Church, Remuera

Featuring Alexander Jeantou, Principal Tuba, and fellow Brass Section players

Danielsson Capriccio da camera
Danielsson Concertante Suite
Calvert Suite from the Monteregian Hills
Previn Four Outings for Brass
Böhme Sextet

Exciting Kiwi conductor, Reuben Brown, has been selected for the coveted role of 2025 New Zealand Assistant Conductor-in-Residence. During his year-long tenure, Brown will work with some of the world’s most esteemed conductors and lead rehearsals and performances for the Auckland Philharmonia, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and Dunedin Symphony Orchestra.

Auckland Philharmonia’s Chief Executive, Diana Weir, says, “We are delighted to announce Reuben for this prestigious position of national scope. This residency programme offers a fantastic opportunity for emerging Australasian conductors to build greater depth of podium experience to launch a professional career, and we’re proud to see one of Aotearoa’s own take up this role.”

Originally from Invercargill/Waihōpai, the southernmost city of the South Island/Te Wai Pounamu, Brown recently graduated from the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara. He has served as the Associate Conductor for Wellington Brass and as a Fellow with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Brown says he is “looking forward to starting in the role next month and learning remarkable music with these brilliant orchestras and world-class artists. Leading these three Aotearoa professional orchestras for rehearsals and performances is an incredible opportunity and it’s exciting to think about the future career pathways that this experience will open for me on a local and global scale.”

During the residency, Reuben will be mentored by the Auckland Philharmonia’s Music Director, Giordano Bellincampi, through a structured development and performance programme, and supported by the music directors and guest conductors from the other New Zealand orchestras.

The role will provide Reuben with invaluable professional development opportunities, such as conducting rehearsals and concerts across the orchestral 2025 seasons. He will also learn about the inner workings of season planning and other managerial elements as a member of the Auckland Philharmonia’s Artistic team over the course of the season.

The rigorous selection process for the residency involved shortlisted applicants completing a live audition with the Auckland Philharmonia. The selection panel included representatives from all three participating orchestras, as well as conductor Hamish McKeich who contributed his expertise as an independent assessor.

Reuben Brown is the fifth holder of the position and takes over from 2024 incumbent, Ingrid Martin.

The 2025 New Zealand Assistant Conductor-in-Residence position is funded by Creative New Zealand and managed by the Auckland Philharmonia, but the role is collaboration between the Auckland Philharmonia, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and Dunedin Symphony Orchestra.

Initiated by the Auckland Philharmonia, the programme came to fruition in 2020 in collaboration with professional orchestral colleagues around the country. It has grown to be regarded as the most consequential assistantship in Australasia.

The NZ Assistant Conductor-in-Residence position is supported by Warren and Sandra Cant.