Scottish percussion star to tour with NZSO

3 August 2010 - NZSO Media Release for immediate release

Explosive Scottish percussion star to tour with NZSO

Turbo-charged Scottish percussion star Colin Currie will rocket around the stage playing as many as 20 instruments in the hotly-awaited Soundscapes national tour with the NZSO in September.

The critically-acclaimed 33-year-old virtuoso requires so much equipment that the NZSO needs an extra truck for its tour of Auckland, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Currie is famous for his athletic energy and electric stage presence. In his debut with the NZSO, he will perform charismatic concert hall bestsellers by two of the most successful living composers in Britain and America.

In Auckland and Wellington he’ll perform the Grammy Award-winning Percussion Concerto, written for him by American composer Jennifer Higdon. Featuring two marimbas, two vibraphones, bongos, tom-toms and many other instruments, the concerto more than doubles the Orchestra’s usual percussion requirements.

In a second programme in Auckland, Wellington, Napier, Christchurch and Dunedin, Currie performs James Macmillan’s thrilling Veni, Veni, Emmanuel – described as a “whip dance showpiece” of gongs, bells, drums and woodblocks, played with white-hot dexterity.

Thirty-year-old British guest conductor Alexander Shelley makes a welcome return to the NZSO for Soundscapes. Known for his precocious musical instincts and crystal clear technique, he will lead the Orchestra in some of the most emotional pieces ever written - including Death and Transfiguration by Richard Strauss.

Soundscapes, sponsored by The Radio Network, also features Beethoven’s popular Symphony No.6 (Pastoral) and the world premiere of New Zealand composer Lyell Cresswell’s work for strings, Landscapes of the Soul.
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