I am a born collaborator!
- Leonard Bernstein
If Lenny said something like this, we should all take notice!
Because at its core, music is a shared experience. It begins with a composer’s spark, comes to life through performers, and finds its meaning in you — our amazing audience. The essence of music is collaboration, because music is, and always has been, a collective act — a shared art!
This spirit of connection is the driving force behind your orchestra’s 2026 season: COLLABORATIONS.
Next year, we’re doubling down on what music does best — bringing people together.
In COLLABORATIONS, Orchestra Wellington partners with as many extraordinary individuals, ensembles, choirs, dancers, and composers as we possibly can. And we go big — not just in the number of artists involved, but in the sheer scale of the works we present.
Alongside a world premiere by our gifted Composer-in-Residence, Victoria Kelly, we present New Zealand premieres of rarely heard masterpieces, and astonishing works not heard in Wellington for over two generations. Some of them require truly gargantuan forces!
We’re joined by a dazzling array of collaborators: the New Zealand String Quartet, NZTrio, Ballet Collective Aotearoa, four (!) brass bands, Arohanui Strings+, the NZ School of Music, multiple choirs, acclaimed soloists — and even a big band! We also proudly introduce the John Psathas Group, named for our orchestra’s patron, performing a 20thcentury masterwork for the first time in New Zealand in almost 40 years.
This season celebrates the joy, challenge, and power of COLLABORATIONS — proving that great art emerges when people find common ground and create together. Every programme is built on artistic partnership, and every performance is deepened by your presence.
Because you are essential to this collaboration.
Your support, curiosity, and presence inspire us to push boundaries, take risks, and create performances of depth and joy.
So this season, we invite you to be part of the COLLABORATIONS.
Let’s make music — together.
Marc Taddei, Music Director Orchestra Wellington
