June 2, 2016

Orchestra Wellington, 2016 Wellington Gold Awards finalist, presents "ODES TO JOY"

Two of Wellington's best in a joyous symphony for midwinter

Orchestra Wellington presents "ODES TO JOY"

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Symphony No 9, Op. 125

Saturday 11 June, 7:30 pm

Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

Marc Taddei Conductor

Jenny Wollerman Soprano

Elisabeth Harris Alto

Henry Choo Tenor

Warwick Fyfe Bass

Orpheus Choir of Wellington

Orchestra Wellington, finalist in the creative category of the 2016 Wellington Gold Awards, opens its season with Beethoven’s "Song of Joy".

The concert on June 11th will feature two of Wellington's vocal stars in Beethoven's Symphony No.9, op.125 (The Choral) on June 11th at the Michael Fowler Centre.

The Wellingtonians are soprano Jenny Wollerman and mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Harris, while the male soloists are outstanding Australian singers well known to local audiences, Henry Choo and Warwick Fyfe.

Wollerman has performed and recorded with New Zealand’s leading orchestras, and is regarded as a musician of exquisite style and taste. Harris is a vibrant young mezzo-soprano who has performed in oratorios and with opera companies throughout New Zealand.

Though the Ninth is not Beethoven’s final work, it is his last symphony, and a monument that casts a shadow over an entire century, according to Orchestra Wellington Music Director Marc Taddei.

“The history of music is impossible to consider without acknowledging this sublime symphony’s genius and the influence it had on all that followed, “ Taddei says.

The full forces of the Orpheus Choir join Orchestra Wellington on stage to lend its powerful sound to the jubilant choral finale “Ode to Joy”.

Australian tenor Choo delighted audiences in Orchestra Wellington’s 2014 Carmina Burana, while bass Fyfe, has been hailed for outstanding performances including the title roles in Rigoletto and Falstaff, and as Alberich in Wagner’s Ring cycle with Opera Australia.

Russian-born cellist, Rustem Khamidullin, is the soloist for Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 to open the concert. In 2014 Khamidullin won the Gisborne International Music Competition. In the same year he also won the Russian National Music Competition in Moscow, and the International Beethoven Festival and Competition in the Czech Republic.

This concert launches Orchestra Wellington's Last Words! Season '16 which will see the orchestra perform the last creations of great composers.

ENDS

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