NZSO Conjures Sorcerers, Spiders & Bret McKenzie

From The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and The Lark Ascending to Carnival of the Animals and an assortment of creepy-crawlies, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra presents a spellbinding three-concert winter festival in August.

Led by the NZSO’s Music Director Designate, acclaimed German conductor André de Ridder, the Rumakina Immerse Festival features Oscar-winner Bret McKenzie, NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen and Grammy Award-winning taonga pūroro player and composer Jerome Kavanagh Poutama in Wellington (8-10 Aug) and Auckland (15-17 Aug).

The festival promises an unforgettable musical journey through enchantment, aspiration, and the natural world.

Maestro de Ridder, NZSO Music Director from 2027, brings his visionary artistry to all three performances.

For Enchanted: Stravinsky, Dukas & Mussorgsky audiences will experience the magic of music with Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, both immortalised in Disney’s Fantasia. The concert culminates with Igor Stravinsky’s dazzling ballet score Petrushka, a tale of puppets brought to life through vibrant orchestration and irresistible rhythms.

Ascension: Schumann & Vaughan Williams celebrates the natural world with Papatūānuku, a powerful collaboration between Aotearoa New Zealand composer Salina Fisher and Kavanagh Poutama. The concert continues with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ beloved The Lark Ascending, featuring Leppänen as solo violinist. Vaughan Williams’ masterpiece regularly makes the top five listener favourites, including RNZ Concert (No.3 in 2024) and the UK’s Classic FM (No.3 in 2025).

Ascension concludes with the joyful renewal of spring in Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 1.

Perfect for whānau, the Sunday matinee concert Creepy-Crawly Carnival: Saint-Saëns & Roussel opens with Albert Roussel’s The Spider’s Feast, a musical exploration of garden insects and native Aotearoa creatures, including giant wētā and huhu grubs.

The musical menagerie continues with Camille Saint-Saëns’ timeless Carnival of the Animals, narrated by songwriter and comedian McKenzie, returning to the stage with the NZSO after his hit 2018 Muppets collaboration The Jim Henson Retrospectacle.

Known for bringing humour and heart to every performance, McKenzie will guide audiences through a symphonic safari filled with hopping kangaroos, stately swans, and bumbling elephants. The suite, a cornerstone of children’s classical repertoire, becomes a laugh-out-loud journey with McKenzie’s storytelling magic at the helm.

During the concert, acclaimed illustrator Stephen Templer will draw live, using the music as his muse to craft a series of whimsical and captivating artworks—each created from scratch and projected in real time on a giant screen.

The Rumakina Immerse Festival offers something for everyone—from classical aficionados to curious newcomers and young listeners. Join the NZSO over two weekends for this extraordinary celebration of music, nature, and imagination.

Maestro de Ridder appears with support from The Diessl Family.

COMING UP

Firebird: Ravel & Stravinsky – conductor Emilia Hoving, piano Javier Perianes. Wellington (17 July), Christchurch (19 July).

Mana Moana – conductor Brent Stewart, Signature Choir. Wellington (24-25 July)

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