Grammy win possible for NZSO

11 February 2016

Grammy win possible for NZSO

Next week the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) will find out if it joins Lorde, The Flight of the Conchords and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as one of New Zealand’s prestigious Grammy Award winners.

The NZSO has been nominated for Best Orchestral Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards which takes place in Los Angeles onTuesday February 16 (NZ time).

A recording of works by Pulitzer Prize-winning Chinese composer Zhou Long and the Symphony ‘Humen 1839’, written in collaboration with compatriot Chen Yi, is in the running for this prestigious prize. Singaporean Darrell Ang conducts the recording, which was recorded in Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre in June 2013 and released on the Naxos label in May 2015.

“The recording is exciting and colourful and provides many opportunities for the orchestra to display its affinity with contemporary music from the Asia-Pacific region,” says Christopher Blake, NZSO Chief Executive.

“This is one of many international collaborations and projects the NZSO has been involved in over the past few years. I’m proud that our players have been acknowledged for their artistic excellence and we look forward to the announcement of the winner.”

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Other nominees are the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Oregon Symphony. It is the first Grammy nomination for the NZSO.

As New Zealand’s national symphony orchestra, the NZSO tours extensively throughout the country each year. It also tours internationally and earned wide critical acclaim for its performances on its 2010 European tour. The NZSO has made more than 60 recordings for theNaxos label and has sold more than one million CDs internationally.

ENDS

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