The Auckland Philharmonia (formerly Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, APO) is a

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Its principal concert venue is the

Auckland Town Hall The Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian architecture, Edwardian building on Queen Street, Auckland, Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Local authority, ...

, and it is also the accompanying ensemble for Auckland stage performances by

New Zealand Opera New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's only full-time professional opera company, formed in 2000 from the merger of companies in Auckland and Wellington (and later Christchurch). New Zealand Opera is headquartered in Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, Au ...

and the

Royal New Zealand Ballet The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company. History New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danis ...

. The Auckland Philharmonia's patrons are Dame

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December ...

, Dame Rosanne Meo, Dame Jenny Gibbs and Barbara Glaser.

History

In 1980, 19 musicians of the collapsed Symphonia of Auckland founded a new cooperatively run orchestra as an

incorporated society In New Zealand, an incorporated society is a group of at least 15 people who have applied for registration under the ''Incorporated Societies Act 1908''. Once registered the Society constitutes a distinct legal entity In law, a legal person ...

, the Auckland Philharmonia Society, Inc. Local businessman

Olly Newland Olly, like the similarly spelt Ollie, is a variant of the given names Olivia and Oliver. Notable people and characters with this form of the name include: People * Olly (born 2001), Italian singer and songwriter * Olly Alexander (born 1990), Br ...

undertook the

financial risk Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financi ...

of holding the remaining assets of the Symphonia, and organised several public rallies to garner support. He continued to serve on the management board for some years afterwards. From 1980 to 2005, the Auckland Philharmonia Society focused on artistic management of the orchestra, and delegated financial responsibility to a Board of Advisors and Management. In 2005, a structural change in the organisation produced two principal stakeholders. A charitable trust was established to manage the orchestra's capital asset fund, allowing the society to concentrate on the artistic and operational functions. John Hopkins was principal conductor of the Auckland Philharmonia for 8 years. Other conductors who have worked as artistic advisors to the Auckland Philharmonia include Edvard Tchivzhel, Vladimir Verbitsky and

Enrique Diemecke Enrique Arturo Diemecke (born July 9, 1952) is a Mexican conductor, violinist and composer. He is currently the Artistic General Director of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and music director of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic and the Flint, Mich ...

Miguel Harth-Bedoya Miguel Alberto Harth-Bedoya Gonzalez (born 1968) is a Peruvian conductor. He was formerly music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2020 and chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra from 2013 to 2020. Starting the Fa ...

was music director of the Auckland Philharmonia from 1998 to 2005. From 2009 until 2015, the orchestra's Music Director was Eckehard Stier. In February 2015, the Auckland Philharmonia announced the appointment of Giordano Bellincampi as its next music director, effective in 2016, with an initial contract of 3 years. In February 2024, the orchestra announced the most recent extension of Bellincampi's contract as music director, through the end of 2027. Other affiliated APO conductors have included

Roy Goodman Roy Goodman (born 26 January 1951) is an English conductor and violinist, specialising in the performance and direction of early music. He became internationally famous as the 12-year-old boy treble soloist in the March 1963 recording of Alleg ...

, principal guest conductor from 2009 to 2011. The Auckland Philharmonia maintains several artistic partnerships with entities such as the

Auckland Festival Formerly known as Auckland Festival, Auckland Arts Festival or is an annual arts and cultural festival held in Auckland, New Zealand. The Festival features works from New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia and beyond, including world premieres of new wo ...

, the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, and the Atamira dance company. Its educational work includes a partnership with the

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

in the Sistema Aotearoa programme (based on the ''

El Sistema El Sistema (which translates to The System) is a publicly financed, voluntary sector, music-education program, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu.Lesniak It later adopted the motto " ...

'' programme from Venezuela).

Music Directors

(1998–2003) * Eckehard Stier (2009–2015) * Giordano Bellincampi (2016–present)

Composers-in-Residence

*1990:

Ivan Zagni Ivan Zagni (born 16 October 1942) is a New Zealand-based musician and composer who has been a member of bands such as The Jody Grind, Big Sideways and Avant Garage, and has recorded albums with Aynsley Dunbar, Elton Dean, Don McGlashan and Peter ...

*1991: Eve de Castro-Robinson *1992: Andrew Perkins *1993: Martin Lodge *1994: Helen Bowater *1995:

Nigel Keay Nigel Keay (born 1955) is a New Zealand composer. He has been a freelance musician since 1983 working as a composer, violist, and violin teacher. Nigel Keay has held the following composer residencies: Mozart Fellowship, University of Otago 1986 ...

*1996:

Jaz Coleman Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman (born 26 February 1960) is an English singer and musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of post-punk group Killing Joke. In addition, Coleman has composed orchestral and sound ...

*1997: Leonie Holmes *1998: Jonathan Besser *1999: David Hamilton *2000–2001:

Gillian Whitehead Dame Gillian Karawe Whitehead (born 23 April 1941) is a New Zealand composer. She is of Māori Ngāi Te Rangi descent. Her Māori heritage has been an important influence on her composing. Early life Whitehead was born in Hamilton in 1941 ...

*2002–2003: John Rimmer *2004: Dylan Lardelli & Anthony Young *2005–2006: Ross Harris *2007–2008:

Gareth Farr Gareth Vincent Farr (born 29 February 1968) is a New Zealand composer and percussionist. He has released a number of classical CDs and composed a number of works performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) and Royal New Zealand Ball ...

& Karlo Margetić (Young Composer in Residence) *2009: Chris Adams *2010–2011:

John Psathas John Psathas, (born Ioannis Psathas, ; 1966) is a New Zealand Greek composer. He has works in the repertoire of such high-profile musicians as Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman and the New Juilliard Ensemble, a ...

*2012–2013:

Jack Body John Stanley Body (7 October 1944 – 10 May 2015) was a New Zealand composer, ethnomusicologist, photographer, teacher, and arts producer. As a composer, his work comprised concert music, music theatre, electronic music, music for film and d ...

*2014–2015: Kenneth Young *2016–2017: Karlo Margetić The orchestra discontinued its Composer-in-Residence position in 2018.

References

External links

* * *
University of Melbourne biography of John Hopkins
{{authority control New Zealand orchestras Musical groups from Auckland