NZSO packs up and leaves Wellington

The players of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) have packed up their beloved instruments and tucked away their music scores as they prepare to embark on their most prestigious international tour ever.

By invitation only, the NZSO will be touring five different countries, playing at the Shanghai expo and eleven concerts in the most renowned concert halls in Europe. These include the same concert halls where Mahler, Brahms, Bruckner and Richard Strauss once performed.

Peter Walls, NZSO CEO, says, “The NZSO is developing an enviable reputation in the symphonic world. Our commitment to artistic excellence is putting New Zealand on the world stage.”

To capture the excitement of the tour, the NZSO and television personality Jeremy Wells have teamed up for a unique fly-on-the-wall documentary, ‘The Grand Tour’.

Jeremy Wells, an unlikely classical music enthusiast, will be on the road with the NZSO from late October to mid November during the international tour that coincides with the 64th anniversary of the NZSO’s first rehearsals. The documentary will be a chronicle of the 90 players as they travel and perform, capturing all the hard work, tears and tension along the way.

“Having been an observer from the sidelines I thought it was time to align myself with something a little more cultured than birds or half-baked local celebrities. The NZSO was an obvious choice,” says Wells.

NZSO Chief Executive Peter Walls says, “The life of a musician in an orchestra is demanding, it requires extraordinary amounts of talent and dedication. New Zealand audiences will find it illuminating to have an inside look at life as a member of the touring NZSO.”

With a tightly packed tour the NZSO players will also be tested physically, which is why they will be travelling with their own physio.

“It is imperative that the players be in top condition both physically and mentally,” explains Peter Walls.

The logistics required to move the orchestra around the world is also no mean feat. Forty cubic metres of equipment with be transported in temperature-controlled conditions from New Zealand to Shanghai to Europe and home again. More than 70 instruments weighing 3,500kg will follow the 94 musicians across the globe.

All of this will be captured in ‘The Grand Tour’ which will take audiences on an entertaining journey, combining the architectural magnificence of Europe’s great halls with comic and satirical encounters. The documentary will provide a fresh look at classical music from an observer’s point of view.

‘The Grand Tour’ is being produced by Perendale Productions with Wells’ long time collaborator Paul Casserly directing. Together the duo has made shows including ‘Eating Media Lunch’ and ‘The Unauthorised History of New Zealand’.

The 90 minute documentary will screen on Prime television in mid 2011. To connect with the NZSO during the tour visit www.facebook.com/newzealandsymphonyorchestra and www.twitter.com/nzso



About the International Tour

The NZSO will be travelling to the following venues

29 October - Shanghai, China: World Expo Concert
3 November - Freiburg, Germany: Concert Hall
4 November - Maribor, Slovenia: Narodni Dom Maribor
6 November - Vienna, Austria: Musikverein
7 November - Lucerne, Switzerland: Concert Hall of the Culture and Convention Centre
8 November - Geneva, Switzerland: Victoria Hall
10 November - Stuttgart, Germany: Liederhalle
11 November - Mannheim, Germany: Rosengarten
13 November - Frankfurt, Germany: Alte Oper
14 November - Essen, Gerany: Philharmonie
15 November - Dusseldorf, Germany: Tonhalle
16 November - Hamburg, Germany: Laeiszhalle

On the International Tour the NZSO will perform many classical pieces and additionally New Zealand composer Douglas Lilbum’s ‘Aotearoa’.