APO as Busy as Santa this Christmas!

***Photo of the APO performing last year’s Celebrate Christmas concert available on request***

MEDIA RELEASE
November 29, 2007

APO AS BUSY AS santa this christmas!

Lion Foundation Celebrate Christmas
Friday 14 December – 7.30pm; Sunday 16 December – 3pm
Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, Cnr Parnell Rd &St Stephen’s Ave

Not the Messiah (He’s A Very Naughty Boy)
Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 – 7.30pm, The Civic, THE EDGE

The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra will be switching from the holy to the hilarious in December, performing an impressive four concerts over three days.

The festive season starts for the APO with its own Lion Foundation Celebrate Christmas concerts at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell on Friday 14 December at 7.30pm. This concert will see the APO perform a collection of classical works by composers including Britten, Vaughan Williams, Rodrigo and Mendelssohn. The 55-piece orchestra will be joined by soprano Deborah Wai Kapohe, baritone Nicholas Dinopoulos and The Graduate Choir under the baton of Ken Young for this grand celebration of inspiring symphonic sound.

The following night, Saturday 15 December, 59 players will join Monty Python’s Eric Idle and his musical collaborator, conductor John Du Prez, to present Not The Messiah (He’s A Very Naughty Boy) at The Civic, THE EDGE. A comic oratorio inspired by Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Not the Messiah is described by Idle as: “Shorter than Handel, funnier than Handel, but obviously not as good theologically.”

On Sunday 16 December the APO will perform both concerts! The second Lion Foundation Celebrate Christmas concert will be held at 3pm at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the second and final Not the Messiah concert at 7.30pm at The Civic.

Performing two large-scale events in the same week – and on the same day! –provides some logistical challenges, with a gruelling schedule of rehearsals and performances for the players and the demanding physical challenge of transferring the orchestra’s instruments, seats and music stands between the two venues.

APO Chief Executive, Barbara Glaser, says such challenges are part of being a professional symphony orchestra, and the APO is pleased to offer Auckland audiences two very different seasonal offerings.

“Being able to move musically between the holy and the hilarious is something I am proud to say our exceptional musicians are more than capable of doing. Our services are frequently requested for international shows and we are thrilled that Auckland audiences have the opportunity to see Eric Idle and John Du Prez in Not the Messiah.

“Our own traditional Lion Foundation Celebrate Christmas concerts are also an extremely popular classical music event and this year these concerts will be the APO’s only performances in the beautiful and much-loved Holy Trinity Cathedral.”

Tickets to Lion Foundation Celebrate Christmas ($15 to $55) are available now from the APO Ticket Office Ph 09 623 1052 or you can purchase tickets online at www.apo.co.nz.

Tickets to Not the Messiah ($79 to $139) are available from Ticketek Ph 0800 TICKETEK or online at www.ticketek.co.nz.

ENDS

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