30 May – 28 November 2026
Michael Fowler Centre
With the overarching theme of ‘collaborations’, Orchestra Wellington is looking forward to bringing people together with their 2026 concerts. A dazzling array of musicians, all at the top of their game, will collaborate with the local orchestra. These include the New Zealand String Quartet, NZTrio, Ballet Collective Aotearoa, four brass bands, and many choirs and soloists.
The orchestra is not just going big with the number of performers, but with the sheer scale of the works presented. Wellington audiences will get to hear Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Hector Berlioz’s Requiem Grand Messe des Morts, and Carl Nielsen’s Symphony 4.
What happens when a jazz band, a full orchestra, and a choir share one stage? A genre-bending, joy-filled mash-up you’ve never heard before. The programme includes George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.
Think classical music is quiet and polite? Not this concert. Intense, athletic, and up-close musicianship is put front and centre. Works include Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Belá Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.
This programme is a celebration of sound and movement. It features music built on rhythm, motion, and pure adrenaline. It features Carl Nielsen’s Symphony 4 (also known as the Inextinguishable) and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for two pianos, percussion and orchestra.
Scale and impact define this breathtaking programme. The world premiere of Joshua Pearson’s Digital Fenua: Fakatili Te Kiloga Fou introduces a work rooted in contemporary Pacific identity. Then Berlioz’s monumental Requiem requires vast forces.
The orchestra invites Orpheus Choir Wellington to join. Together they tackle Debussy’s Nocturnes — a work based on the paintings of James McNeill Whistler and Busoni’s mammoth Piano Concerto. The thrilling piece puts insane demands on the pianist.
Beloved New Zealand chamber music group, the NZTrio, collaborates with the orchestra on Beethoven's Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano. Kiwi composer Victoria Kelly premieres a new work based on an Antarctic trip.
16 February 2027Michael Fowler Centre
23 – 29 May 2026Michael Fowler Centre
2 April 2026Michael Fowler Centre
15 March 2026Michael Fowler Centre
1 – 3 May 2026Michael Fowler Centre
26 June 2026Michael Fowler Centre
26 March – 19 November 2026Michael Fowler Centre
6 – 7 May 2026TSB Arena
Tanea Heke has been a driving force in Aotearoa’s creative sector for decades. Her career spans acting, producing, arts management, and education. She shares her picks for the upcoming Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
13 April 2026St James Theatre | 2:30pm and 6pm