Bach Musica NZ Celebrate Local Talent With Two World Premieres

Bach Musica NZ returns to the Auckland Town Hall on Sunday 21 September at 5pm with a presentation of world premieres by NZ composers, Gabor Tolnay, and Oliver Bramah in collaboration with Hēmi Kelly, and a selection of glorious repertoire by J.S. Bach, Barber, Vavilov and Ravel.

Bach Musica NZ’s Music & Artistic Director, Rita Paczian, will lead the concert as conductor, marking her second to last performance with the organisation following the recent announcement of her retirement at the end of this year.

The concert will open with one of J.S. Bach’s most famous cantatas for solo alto voice, Vergnügte Ruh, BWV 170, sung by NZ's leading countertenor, Stephen Diaz. The performance will continue with Barber’s Adagio for Strings performed in its choral version, Agnus Dei, alongside the romantic Ave Maria by Vavilov, and Ravel's L'Aurore M. 45 sung in French by soprano, Gina Sanders.

Bach Musica NZ are proud to present world premieres of two impressive works by award-winning New Zealand composers, Gabor Tolnay, and Oliver Bramah whose work has been written in collaboration with Hēmi Kelly (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whāoa).

Bramah and Kelly’s work Kūī, Kūī (call of the bird) will be performed in te reo Māori on 21 September by Bach Musica NZ two days before the spring equinox, drawing on the tohu (sign) of the pīpīwharauroa (shining cuckoo), whose return marks the changing seasons. Tolnay’s new orchestral piece Dawn at the Bay also captures the magnificence of Aotearoa’s natural world, evoking the beautiful sunrise, birdsong and scenery of the remote Duncan Bay in the Marlborough Sounds.
 

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"As ever, conductor Rita Paczian artfully and competently master-minded proceedings, driving her ensemble yet again to an overwhelming finale. They demonstrated another remarkable Bach Musica NZ characteristic: that of pronounced and assured artistic versatility." – Rainer Buhmann, NZ Opera News

Bach Musica NZ’s full programme can be found here: https://bachmusica.com/2024/12/10/2025-concert-season/

World Premieres & Bach
Sunday 21 September 2025 at 5pm – Auckland Town Hall
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
Rita Paczian Conductor
Gina Sanders Soprano
Stephen Diaz Countertenor

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