It’s been a busy winter for our Learn & Participate team, delivering events across Tāmaki Makaurau that brought together thousands of Aucklanders to connect, learn, and warm their hearts, through music. Read on to find out more about the wonderful community music-making that took place at three of our recent Learn & Participate events: Pese! Fasi! Puoro!, Link Up: The Orchestra Sings! and Community Bash.
Music from Mozart through to Mark Ronson rocked the Due Drop Events Centre on 17 August when 159 talented ākonga instrumentalists from Sistema Aotearoa performed alongside Auckland Philharmonia’s professional musicians at Pese! Fasi! Pūoro! This community music-making workshop and free public concert aimed to foster confidence and teamwork and celebrated Sistema Aotearoa’s ongoing work in the South Auckland community.
Pese! Fasi! Pūoro! kicked off with a workshop led by Auckland Philharmonia musicians for tamariki and rangatahi from Sistema Aotearoa, an Ōtara-based music and social development programme. Together they rehearsed a diverse selection of music that ranged from well-known classical composers Mendelssohn and Mozart, through to an orchestral arrangement of London producer and DJ Mark Ronson’s Up Town Funk.
The workshop culminated in a free concert, where friends, whānau and the wider community enjoyed the finale performance of the orchestral pieces rehearsed during the workshop.
Pese! Fasi! Pūoro! was delivered thanks to the support of the orchestra’s core funders Auckland Council, Creative NZ and Foundation North.
This year, 304 students from eight schools across Tāmaki Makaurau took part in Link Up: The Orchestra Sings! The Link Up music education programme was developed by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in collaboration with Auckland Philharmonia’s Learn & Participate department. Auckland Philharmonia is one of 120 international organisations chosen for this programme, and the only organisation in Australasia.
Link Up gives students the opportunity to explore orchestral repertoire and fundamental musical skills, and provides teachers with free, high-quality music curriculum, along with classroom materials, online video and audio resources.
In preparation for this year’s event, Link Up: The Orchestra Sings!, the eight participating schools learnt a set of five songs on recorder, violin, voice, or another instrument. Our Learn & Participate Programme Manager, Miriam McCombe, also visited each school to help them prepare for the concert.
Then on 27 August, all the schools came together in the Due Drop Events Centre to perform the music alongside Auckland Phil musicians. Presented by Suzy Cato, this interactive and fun concert was a great showcase of how the orchestra can sing!
This year’s Link Up was delivered thanks to the support of Four Winds Foundation, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute and the orchestra’s core funders Auckland Council, Creative NZ and Foundation North.
On 8 September, 304 community musicians performed together as the city’s biggest band at Auckland Philharmonia’s Community Bash in the Auckland Town Hall. This was a chance to have-a-go, join the fun, and connect with other Aucklanders in this free afternoon of spectacular music-making.
Under the baton of conductor, David Kay, 227 instrumentalists of all ages and abilities, alongside Auckland Philharmonia’s professional musicians, rehearsed two pieces from Holst’s famous work, The Planets. They were then joined by 77 community singers, led by choral conductor, Vanessa Kay, to rehearse two stirring pieces from Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man.
After two hours of rehearsals, the doors were opened to the public and an audience of over 450 people watched the epic final combined performance.
Community Bash 2024 was delivered thanks to the support of Four Winds Foundation, Auckland Live, the Maurice Paykel Charitable Trust, New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) and the orchestra’s core funders Auckland Council, Creative NZ and Foundation North.
These initiatives are just three of the many free or low-cost events that we offer through our Learn & Participate programme, which provides concerts and experiences that bring together our professional musicians with communities, schools, and individuals across Tāmaki Makaurau. Find out more about upcoming Learn & Participate events and programmes right here on our website.
