National Youth Orchestra To Take Audience On A Musical Adventure

25 June 2025

Rising opera star Madison Horman will join the NZSO National Youth Orchestra for an unforgettable evening of artistry and passion in Wellington and Auckland next week.

NYO Adventure: Rachmaninov & Strauss, in association with the Adam Foundation, features Horman, a 2024 Lexus Song Quest semi-finalist, performing the exquisite 4 Lieder Op. 27, a set of songs originally composed as a wedding gift for composer Richard Strauss’ wife, soprano Pauline de Ahna.

With her refined talent and fresh experience from the Royal Academy of Music, Horman is poised to bring these romantic and expressive works to life in a way that is both intimate and breathtaking.

NYO Adventure includes the world premiere of glacier by NZSO NYO 2025 Composer-in-Residence Luka Venter, offering a fresh and bold addition to the orchestral repertoire.

Audiences can also revel in the daring and charismatic energy of Strauss’ Don Juan, followed by the sweeping emotions of Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony—a masterwork that dances between moods of deep longing, playful charm, and soaring passion.

NYO Adventure also marks the New Zealand debut of acclaimed Canadian conductor Adam Johnson.

From conducting Canada’s top orchestras to collaborating with rock stars, Johnson is proving himself one of his homeland’s best talents in orchestral conducting, including engagements with Opéra National de Paris and orchestras in Spain, Germany and the United States.

Music Director of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and Canada’s Guelph Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Johnson completed his tenure as resident conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) in 2019 and has conducted over 90 concerts with the OSM. He recorded his first full album, Riopelle Symphonique, with the OSM in 2022 and won an Opus Prize with the famed orchestra in 2018.

Don’t miss the chance to support and celebrate these talented young musicians as they make their mark in the world of symphonic music.

Tickets to NYO Adventure are $10. To book and for more information go to nzso.co.nz.

NYO Adventure: Rachmaninov & Strauss

in association with Adam Foundation

ADAM JOHNSON Conductor
MADISON HORMAN Soprano
R STRAUSS Don Juan
R STRAUSS Lieder
LUKA VENTER glacier (World Premiere NZSO NYO 2025 Composer-in-Residence)
RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2
TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA WELLINGTON | Michael Fowler Centre| Saturday, 5 July| 7.30pm

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