In collaboration with Arohanui Strings+ and Orchestra Wellington, SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music | Toi te Arapūoru is pleased to announce composer Natalie Hunt as the recipient of the 2026 SOUNZ Commission for Orchestra and Sistema Youth Orchestra | Te Tono Mahinga a SOUNZ mā te Rāngai Puoro me te Rāngai Puoro Taiohi a Sistema.

Now in its ninth year, the SOUNZ Commission for Orchestra and Sistema Youth Orchestra is a unique opportunity for a composer to create a new work for the combined forces of Orchestra Wellington and Arohanui Strings+. Natalie’s work, Nocturne in Black and Gold, will be performed in a concert that also contains the Nocturnes of French composer Claude Debussy. Both works are inspired by the paintings of American artist James McNeill Whistler, with Natalie’s work imagining a reflection of Nocturne in Black and Gold - The Falling Rocket from a 21st-century, Aotearoa New Zealand perspective.

Containing evocative moments of writing, shimmering musical imagery and a strong New Zealand tint, Natalie’s work will be the product of close collaboration between the composer, the young musicians of Arohanui Strings+, and the professional musicians of Orchestra Wellington. With a strong familiarity performing on many different string, wind, and percussion instruments, Natalie is looking forward to putting her performance and composition experience into action again. On receiving this opportunity, she says:

“I'm completely thrilled to be this year's composer for the SOUNZ Commission for Orchestra and Sistema Youth Orchestra. I love writing for orchestra, attending Orchestra Wellington's performances, and composing for talented emerging musicians - I couldn't be happier to be writing this work and I'm really looking forward to working with the excellent musicians in both of the orchestras to bring this piece to the stage. I'm incredibly grateful to Orchestra Wellington, Arohanui Strings+, and of course SOUNZ for their unstinting championing of music from Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Arohanui Strings+ is a Sistema-inspired music tuition programme that uses the pursuit of musical excellence and ensemble performance to bring about positive change in the lives of children in the greater Wellington region. Natalie’s new work will be workshopped over the coming months at Arohanui Strings+’s regular after-school sessions. In testing out concepts with the students and revising ideas to highlight their strengths, Natalie aims to create a work that is accessible and playable for young musicians, and equally engaging and challenging for Orchestra Wellington. Arohanui Strings+ Programme Director, Margaret Guldborg adds:

The team at Arohanui Strings+ were all impressed by the high level of the applicants. So many composers had beautifully laid out proposals and had obviously spent a great deal of time on how to work with a youth orchestra while also catering to professional musicians. It was a difficult decision, and we hope that many of the applicants will reapply next year. We were drawn into Natalie Hunt's musical depiction of Whistler's painting and are looking forward to working with Natalie in the coming months and creating fireworks with her music!

The premiere of Natalie Hunt’s Nocturne in Black and Gold will open Orchestra Wellington’s Revelations concert, on Saturday 24 October at Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre. Tickets are on sale now.

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