Christmas concerts comin' to Tāmaki Makaurau

It’s hard to spot anyone without a smile at Auckland Phil’s Tunes 4 Tamariki: Christmas concerts; and for good reason — these children’s concerts are the ultimate in interactive Christmas fun for little ones. Taking place at Takapuna’s Bruce Mason Theatre on 15 December, they are a great way to share the magic and music of Christmas with the youngest members of your family.

Sprinkling this magical performance with her infectious energy will be Rainbow Rosalind the Fairy, an award-winning children’s singer and songwriter who is a regular performer with The Wiggles. She will be taking the audience on a musical adventure with the orchestra, performing kids’ festive favourites ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’, ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’.

Families return year after year for these lively concerts that are specially designed for preschoolers and early primary aged tamariki. Kid-friendly elements over the one-hour performances include opportunities to have a go at conducting, sing and dance 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 performances, free pre-concert activities include face painting, a colouring-in competition and a musical instrument show & tell.

There will also be a special performance by 10-year-old Lydia Clark, the 2024 Kōkako Award Winner, who will sing her song ‘Of Love we are Made’ alongside the Auckland Philharmonia. Presented for the first time at the 2024 NZ Children’s Music Awards, the Kōkako Award nurtures young performers in their endeavours.

These events are a wonderful way to join in the fun and get into the spirit of the season with the youngest members of your family. Tunes 4 Tamariki: Christmas is delivered by Auckland Philharmonia’s music education programme, Learn & Participate, thanks to the support of Auckland Live, North & South Trust and the Margaret Neutze Legacy Fund, and the orchestra’s core funders, Auckland Council, Creative NZ and Foundation North.

Tickets are $15 each, or $50 for a Family Pass.

If you love the traditions of Christmas, then head along to a Celebrate Christmas concert, presented by Stanley St, in the majestic setting of the Holy Trinity Cathedral on 13 and 14 December.

Globally acclaimed English choral conductor, Stephen Layton, will be leading the Auckland Phil from the podium for these concerts. Heralded by Classic FM Magazine as "...one of the world's finest interpreters of choral music...", when Layton directs Auckland’s professional orchestra as they perform excerpts from J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus alongside Leroy Anderson’s ‘Sleigh Ride’ and traditional Christmas carols, it is sure to be a moving and unforgettable experience.

For this concert, the orchestra will be joined by the marvellous Graduate Choir New Zealand, directed by Terence Maskell, and outstanding Samoan tenor Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono. A rising star on the global operatic stage, in 2023, Fonoti-Fuimaono won the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Award Scholarship, and was the inaugural winner of the Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition.

This year, the Holy Trinity Cathedral’s organ will also add to the powerful sound of the orchestra and vocalists.