by Tiana Miocevich
When Ashley Brown finally stopped “dating” the Auckland Phil as a guest musician and committed to the Principal Cello chair permanently, he thought he had a good idea of what to expect.
Ashley says he had enjoyed guesting for the Auckland Phil in the position he had held more than two decades earlier, prior to forming the NZTrio ensemble. “But after a while, whenever someone else was a guest, it started to feel a bit like I was seeing someone date my girlfriend.” The feeling nudged him toward auditioning, and by 2025, into the role full-time. “I would have thought I knew what to expect,” he says, “but it was such a departure from what had become my wheelhouse, playing chamber music. Just having such massive forces on the stage every week — it’s hard to describe.”
He reflects on a recent performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony as a good example of that force. “It was almost earplug material, but I didn’t want earplugs. I wanted to grab it all, hear it and experience the power. It’s exhilarating.”
But for all the big soundscapes, Ashley still chases the smaller, more human-scale moments within the music. “There is such a range of different sounds you can get from an orchestra,” he says. “Sometimes only half the orchestra is playing, other times, you might have a solo or a little group of front string players, or maybe I’m duetting with the oboe… there are definitely intimate moments."
The In Your Neighbourhood series has also been an opportunity to lean into intimate music. “Last year the string principals performed Beethoven and it went down really well with audiences.” More than that, Ashley says the series benefited their overall musicianship. “To have that front circle of the orchestra working really tightly together as an ensemble… we’re now taking some of that chamber music approach wherever we play, even if we have the full team behind us.”
Ashley is now leading the first 2026 In Your Neighbourhood programme, which will include Beethoven, Ravel, and New Zealand composer John Psathas, an inclusion Ashley advocates for strongly. “I’m keen to see more New Zealand music being performed in orchestras. I understand that there can sometimes be a bit of pushback because it’s new and scary… we’re going to introduce something you haven’t seen, and it’s asking you to feel something. Some people might be familiar with the Beethoven, but then they might raise an eyebrow at the New Zealand piece. And raising an eyebrow is a bloody good result, I think, if it means you felt something.”
That same spirit carries into Best of Brahms, where he performs the Double Concerto with Concertmaster Andrew Beer. Their musical rapport stretches back years, with Andrew also previously guesting for NZTrio. “If any two players are eyeballing each other in the orchestra it’s the Principal Cello and the Concertmaster, they’ve got to be very tight. I fully respect Andrew’s musicianship, not to mention his technical chops.” Brahms itself promises a full-body experience, Ashley adds.
“Brahms is generally really intense, and in this double concerto we end up not being just chamber musicians, but soloists for a time each. Then there are massive, thrilling orchestral tuttis as well.”
That intensity sums up Ashley’s 2026. Big repertoire, big stages, and big sound.
Book tickets for Best of Brahms
7.30pm, Thursday 19 February
Auckland Town Hall
Book tickets for In Your Neighbourhood: String Quartets
6.30pm, 16, 17 & 19 March
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