Latest news with #DunedinSymphonyOrchestra
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Transported to idyllic world
NZSO principal oboe Robert Orr. PHOTO: SUPPLIED An excited audience packed the King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre on Saturday evening to hear an exceptionally polished performance by the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra under the inspirational conductor Benjamin Bayl with guest oboist Robert Orr. Three works from the Western classical repertoire transported the audience to an idyllic world of stability, exuberance and wealth as portrayed by three prodigious composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. The highlight of the event was the Mozart Oboe Concerto given a stunningly beautiful performance by Robert Orr. Orr's exceptional breath control over long lyric phrases held true over increasingly technically demanding solo obligatii. Orr richly deserved the prolonged applause. The reduced orchestration of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749) befits the concert chamber. Composed for extraordinarily large forces as incidental music in the days before loudspeakers were a thing, it invites its audience to celebrate peace by right, royally dancing the night away despite the fizzled fireworks display. Its catchy rhythms, rousing grandeur and the strength of the DSO's wind section created a successful performance. Schubert's 4th Symphony, ''The Tragic'', has a Bryon-esque opening. It wallows in poetic gloom before the following movements emerge grandly frenetic. Reprieve comes in the briefly sweeping menuetto. Schubert is better remembered for his chamber works. The Tragic is built on standard classic composition techniques in which a small amount of thematic material is, to put it simply, echoed down and up the melodic scale through the various timbres of instrumental groups before upping the tempo with inverted thematic material. All credit to all sections of the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and to the conductor for keeping the delivery crisp, energetic and tight while testing stamina. The whole event was a sublime escape, leaving the audience feeling all the richer for the experience.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Collaboration driver in taking conducting route
Ben Bayl is on his first visit to Dunedin to conduct the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED Ben Bayl has gone from pianist to organist to conductor as he discovered the joys of working in a team. He talks to Rebecca Fox from his home in Budapest about his journey. A common held cliche of conductors as dictatorial figures is becoming a thing of the past, says Australian conductor Ben Bayl. He believes it is far more rewarding to be a positive collaborator with the musicians he is leading. "I think the people skills are an essential part of the job, and it's something which I really kind of enjoy, meeting new people, working with new musicians, as it will be in Dunedin." Bayl will conduct the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra for the first time in two performances of "Sublime Schubert" this weekend on his first visit to the lower South Island. With only a week to meet the DSO's musicians and prepare for the concert, it is a tight turnaround which is normal for symphony performances. "It's like a first date with 60 people at once, and they make up their minds very quickly. So the first impression is very important." So while Bayl does not find he gets nervous before performances, that first meeting with a new orchestra can be a bit nerve-racking. "Sometimes the very first rehearsal with a new orchestra I do like to get out of the way just so you establish that bond and begin to work together. "I've heard lots of amazing things about the orchestra, so I'm really looking forward to meeting." Bayl has arrived in New Zealand from Budapest where he lives with his Hungarian wife and two preschool daughters. He will fit in a visit to his family in Sydney, where he was born and grew up, as well as a performance with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Hobart on this trip. The travel is part of the job, especially given Bayl likes to return to Australia whenever possible, although he tries not be away from home for more than a fortnight at a time and if the job requires a longer stay, he often brings his family along with him. Last year the family came out to Brisbane with him for his season with Opera Queensland which required him to be there for eight weeks. "I guess it was like having a regular day job." It was a special project for Bayl as it included Australian acrobatic company Circa, combining acrobatics and opera, in the story of Dido and Aeneas. "It was a lot of fun. I quite enjoy these ideas of mixing different artistic worlds like opera and acrobatics. You wouldn't naturally put them together but someone had the genius idea to try it and I think it worked really well." Mixing things up is something Bayl has done a bit of in his life after starting out playing piano aged 4. "There was music in the family, we had a piano at home. My dad couldn't read music but could kind of play anything by ear and my mum had an aunt who was a piano teacher." Bayl and his three younger siblings were encouraged to give everything a go, so along with piano Bayl played cricket. "For me, it was the music that stuck, I think and I was also lucky, even at primary school there was a really good music teacher and a little concert band so I actually played the saxophone as well." Ben Bayl looks to create a positive collaboration with the musicians he leads. Then when he went to high school, he wanted to join the orchestra, so started playing the flute. "I wasn't really good at the flute. I couldn't get a decent sound out of it and I ended up being transferred to the percussion section because I could play xylophone and vibraphone and marimba because they were set up like a piano keyboard." It was then he started reading orchestral scores, having plenty of time in between the percussions calls to play. Bayl believes having inspiring teachers and mentors in that time encouraged his continued interest in music. Around this time he became interested in organ and choir music. However, he never actually wanted to be a professional musician and applied to study law at university. With his place secured, he decided instead to do a gap year, heading to England where he taught piano, travelled and "did the gap year thing". Then he received the opportunity to be the first Australian Organ Scholar of King's College Cambridge. "This is the point where I thought perhaps I should take this seriously so I never did begin the law degree." During this time he did a lot of work with choirs and singers which led to his interest in conducting. "So actually after university I kind of moved away from the organ and church music and went more towards opera, theatre world, orchestras, conducting, and this side of musical life." He had begun to realise he was not that excited about being a soloist. "I guess I loved the team nature of music. I loved the collaborative nature of opera and playing in an orchestra which I did a lot as a harpsichordists and keyboard player. I just loved the feeling of being on stage with other musicians, creating something together." So conducting offered him the opportunity to be involved in team-building and teamwork. Bayl then studied conducting at London's National Opera Studio and Royal Academy of Music. "Opera, of course, music is just one side of everything that's going on. If you think also about the dramatic action, lights, costumes, stage, it's something which you create, which music is an important part of. So I just really enjoy that process." It's not an easy path to choose. First Bayl took apprenticeship roles with experienced conductors. He was appointed Assistant Conductor to Ivan Fischer at the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He also assisted Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Daniel Harding and Richard Hickox with ensembles such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. "That's also a very good way to learn what to do or indeed what not to do in some cases. So I think that vocational side of it is really important, because the thing really with conducting is that you can't just practice in front of a mirror. It's a reactive activity, and I believe you can only learn by doing and practice by doing." That is what makes conducting difficult, he says. "You need the hours in front of musicians to hone your craft." Having and developing people skills is an important part of that journey, Bayl believes but it is often one not taught in conducting courses. Working as a freelance conductor, Bayl has found the music world in Europe to be 90% recovered from the turbulence that Covid-19 wrecked on the industry. "Its more or less back to where it was, but I think there is a little bit more caution in terms of long-term forward planning and programming. It's just taken a long time for the ecosystem to recover. There is more uncertainty." On the positive side, if you can look at it that way, Bayl says is that people seem to appreciate live music much more now than they did in the past. "You can't match that feeling of being in the room." For Bayl there was no safety net or proper financial support during those times and his wife was pregnant with their first baby when Covid hit. Having both Australian and Netherlands passports, thanks to his father, Bayl was able to move between countries. So they visited Australia twice in 2021 for concert performances going through hotel quarantine both times. Those experiences made him think more about his career as a whole so he did some online training in leadership management. "I looked at just broadening my skills beyond the podium and used the time to upskill as well." These days he has a full schedule. Once he returns from Australasia he has concerts with the Warsaw Chamber Opera and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra followed by concerts in Amsterdam and Stuttgart. "No two days are the same really. I would say that working with orchestras is a bit different to opera because with an orchestra, with a symphonic programme, it's usually contained within a week. Opera's a bit different, especially if it's a new production, because it tends to take up more like five to seven weeks." One of his more recent highlights has been La Fest in Stuttgart, an opera which is a festival of baroque music and dance. It was about how human's celebrate events in their lives both happy and sad. Bayl, a choreographer and director, spent 18 months creating the work. "It was a very unusual show with the orchestra on the stage and 48 different pieces of music from 30 different composers and that was a huge project which is still going." He puts his interest in baroque music down to his time playing the organ and working with church choirs as they performed a lot of old music on historic instruments or copies of. "For me its an interesting sound world like being able to recreate a sound that those composers would have been familiar with which is different to the sound of a modern orchestra because the instruments have changed and developed in many ways, especially the strings. "So when I do Baroque music with a modern symphony orchestra like we do some Handel fireworks music next week I do try with the orchestra to explore as much achieving that sound world with the modern instruments as we can." Bayl is also the founder of the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, although he no longer works with it, and is involved with English group the Hanover Band, an orchestra that plays on historic instruments music from the classical period. "We actually did a very big project in the pandemic. We recorded all the Beethoven symphonies for digital video broadcast basically in two weeks." When not working with companies, he finds there is plenty of work to do learning new music and preparing for upcoming concerts. And while he has a manager there is still work involved as there is with any small business. "You have to be your own accountant, publicity, logistics. It's like running a small business for one which is also what they don't teach at college. I feel like conductors should have an economics degree, a psychology degree, a music degree and a lot of experience and then you can start to get somewhere." Bayl, who is in his mid-40s, says there is always things to learn in the job whether it is how to do things better or interpret a score in a different way. "I think that's true especially with conducting. I think the amount of experience is really, really important and I always feel that there's more to know. There's always more to learn. There's always more depth to something and I think that should not be underestimated." TO SEE Sublime Schubert Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, July 19, 5pm. July 20, 3pm, King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre.
Otago Daily Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Oboist joins DSO for matinee series
NZSO principal oboe Robert Orr will head south to perform Mozart's Oboe Concerto with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra in its two "Sublime Schubert" matinee concerts this weekend. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Lovers of woodwind are in for a treat this weekend, when leading New Zealand oboe player Robert Orr joins the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra for its "Sublime Schubert" matinee series concerts. Wellington-based Orr, the principal oboe with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, will perform as soloist in Mozart's much-loved Oboe Concerto — renowned for its achingly beautiful melodies and light-hearted, lively passages. The Mozart Oboe Concerto will feature alongside two other great works of the Classical era — Handel's Royal Fireworks Music and Schubert's Symphony No. 4 "Tragic" in the matinee concerts, to be held on Saturday at 5pm and Sunday at 3pm, at the King's & Queen's Performing Arts Centre. The concerts will be conducted by acclaimed Australian conductor Benjamin Bayl, making his first appearance with the DSO, and bringing fresh energy to these important works. Although nicknamed "Tragic", Schubert's fourth symphony is filled with bubbly vitality and sublime melodies. Schubert's composing career lasted fewer than 20 years, but he produced an enormous number of compositions. However, due to Beethoven's prominence at the time, Schubert's fourth symphony, completed in 1816, didn't receive a public premiere until 1849, more than two decades after the composer's death.
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Passing down passion for music
Coming from a musical family, Natasha Manowitz is determined all children should have similar opportunities to enjoy music in their lives. Rebecca Fox talks to the choral director, teacher, conductor and performer. Often being a musician and teacher go hand in hand and it is certainly the case for Natasha Manowitz. "That can often naturally happen because if you're really passionate about something you want to be able to pass on that knowledge and share it with others," the Dunedin choral director, teacher, conductor and performer says. Manowitz has been surrounded by music her whole life — her father Sydney is the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) concertmaster emeritus, and mother Beverly Dwan plays violin for the orchestra — so it is not surprising to learn that she and her sister (now known as Rainbow Rosalind) had violins in their hands since they were pre-schoolers. Having their parents play and perform around her and her sister spurred Manowitz's passion for music. "Especially seeing how much they enjoyed it and how passionate they were." Manowitz then picked up the flute when she was 9 and when she hit secondary school she started performing in choirs as well as orchestras. She also did her music exams in all three. "Violin's a big part of the family. And violin's such a great instrument because it is so versatile. "When I was in high school I played in a gypsy and klezmer band as well. "We played at folk festivals but at the same time I was also playing in orchestras like the Dunedin Youth Orchestra." She also performed flute solo for the Brandenburg Concerto No 5 with the New Zealand Secondary Schools Orchestra in 2010 and received the Young Musicians Award in 2017, enabling her to perform a concerto movement as a flute soloist with the Dunedin Youth Orchestra. The attraction in music is the reward of going through the process of picking up a piece, learning it, rehearsing it and then performing, she says. "It's hard to see the bigger picture when you start. But when you get to the performance and see the reaction from the audience — and how much other people take away from that, how much they soak in the music and how much it means to them — that's really special. "So I think that process of getting to that final stage of performance and performing is really quite amazing. Being in the moment in a performance I would say is a highlight of music." In her late teens she wanted to share that excitement, beginning teaching privately, and that element of her musical career has just grown from there. "I do love the teaching side of it as well. That's definitely part of my calling I would say." After doing a year of study in Dunedin after leaving school early, Manowitz decided to transfer to Auckland University to study flute, with a little violin on the side. "I was exposed to some amazing teachers. And during this time I went on a tour with the Auckland Youth Orchestra to Europe [as a violinist]. It was quite incredible, a real highlight." After graduating, Manowitz began teaching music in various Auckland primary schools and taking part in the Sistema Aotearoa programme in Ōtara, helping to provide free opportunities for children in orchestral music. She also toured around New Zealand as part of a flute-piano duo with Cindy Xia. Six years after moving north, she decided to return home to Dunedin when a job opportunity for a flute teacher opened up. She worked as an itinerant flute teacher around Dunedin before deciding to formalise her teaching skills with a master's of teaching and learning from the University of Otago. "That opened up doors in terms of classroom teaching. So it's a great qualification." Soon after completing it in 2019 she got a job as a music teacher at her old school, Logan Park High School. She has also continued training, studying the Kodaly approach, completing all three levels of the Australian Kodaly Certificate in Music education. Kodaly works on the concept of teaching through games and taking the child from the known to the unknown in a sequential way at a developmental level for them. "After a while through a sequential approach they've learnt so much, more than they could have realised." Through it all she has become more and more determined to find ways to work in the community on a bigger scale with music. "How can we engage with young people with music in a meaningful way, particularly young children coming up from primary school ages." One of the ways she and colleague Susan Frame decided they could do it is through a children's choir. The pair had worked together on the Māori Hill School choir and loved it. "We thought there is a bit of a need in the Dunedin community for something like this, something community based, open to a wide range of ages and as accessible as we can make it." So they started the Dunedin Children's Choir in 2023 to provide high-quality music education enabling children to sing a range of music as well as provide a range of performance opportunities. The response from parents and their children has been "fantastic", she says. Families have supported the choir often with two or three siblings taking part. "I think from the beginning families have recognised the importance of what we're doing and have embraced the kaupapa and that meaning behind it." Getting out and performing at various public events has also helped raise its profile and encourage more children along. "I think they really love it. It's great watching their faces and seeing how much they get into the music, especially when we incorporate a lot of games and really fun songs. "So what we try to do is really teach them so many skills. But we do it through a way where they don't realise how many skills they're actually learning." While music may be the focus of the choir, it also provides social and academic skills. "I would say that children sign up to the choir and everybody gets out something slightly different. As well as things that they wouldn't have expected when they came along. "Getting into something like this can help with self-belief and confidence as well, and help to rebuild that kind of culture where singing is normal. " It also provides a team activity alternative to sport. It allows singers to embrace their voice and work together with others. "I think choirs are really quite unique in that way. Where it is a team and everyone's working together to create something unified. "So often we do things individually in our lives. But how often do you get together with 20 or 30 others and all sing the same thing at exactly the same time?" Just one year after forming, the choir received an invite to go to the World Choir Games in Auckland last year. It was a big step for the young choir but one Manowitz knew they could do. With the help of parents, they fundraised to get the choir to the games and perform. "For the children performing on the Auckland Town Hall stage and the way that they just absolutely filled the hall with their sound was really incredible." They won a silver level six diploma in the children's choir category which was quite a high-level award to get, she says. "We were really over the moon about, especially since we are such a new choir." This year they have split the choir into two, a junior choir for the 7 to 10-year-olds and a senior choir of 11 to 15-year-olds with about 46 members all up. She wants to encourage the older singers to continue performing and building their skills with the choir until they can move on to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Choir. This weekend the children's choir is performing alongside City Choir Dunedin and a jazz quintet in Alexander L'Estrange's song cycle: Zimbe! Come Sing the Songs of Africa at Knox church. "It's going to be huge. It will make a great sound and have a fantastic energy. "This music is really the kind of music that gets your feet tapping, and you want to sing along. And you see the children really embracing that as well." Working with the choir has also enabled Manowitz to continue to develop another skill — conducting. "It feels like I can combine all of these skills that I've worked towards in my life. "In terms of as a musician and as a teacher and relating to different ages and different personalities as an instrumentalist and a singer. "It's been really rewarding getting into conducting." Having those skills means she can contribute on a larger scale in the community which she believes is important. "Particularly for bringing up the next generation of musicians from a young age, and helping all children to realise that they are musical and innately carry a musicality and voice. "It's just a matter of how to use that and how to bring it out." As well as conducting the children's choir, she has also conducted the Dunedin Youth Orchestra for a term and has recently taken on an adult community Choir! Choir! based in Broad Bay. She has also conducted the Dunedin City Wind Orchestra. When not working with others, Manowitz still enjoys performing herself — she played flute with the DSO for two "special" concerts in 2020: the premiere of Anthony Ritchie's Symphony Number 5 Childhood and a Christmas concert in collaboration with City Choir Dunedin — although these days she concentrates more on singing. Although she grew up in an instrumental household, she also took singing lessons, did exams and took part in choirs such as the Southern Youth Choir and the Auckland Youth Choir. "It's something that I've found I am really drawn to, particularly with leading choirs as well. It's very much a part of you and your identity, and it's coming out of yourself. Which to a point you do with instruments. But I feel that when you sing that you really are connecting with yourself on a deep level." She also loves its ability to connect people in a meaningful way without any costly equipment required. "What I love about singing is that you can get a group of anyone together and start singing straight away. So there can be less barriers to that. "You can start a choir in any school without needing to purchase instruments first." It also helps people connect to their cultures in different ways which kapa haka and waiata demonstrate. "That is an important element in choirs as well. How can we bring that cultural appreciation and embracing a range of cultures into choral singing?" Manowitz is also studying classical voice under Dr Tessa Romano at the University of Otago and is a member of Voices New Zealand, the national choir for adults with whom she performed Mozart's Requiem with the DSO last year and The Planets with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Wellington and Auckland. She has also sung with the Opera Otago chorus. Through Voices she has been able to learn from choral conductor Dr Karen Grylls, not only about singing, but also conducting, something she is very appreciative of. "That's been amazing. She's a really incredible person. She's made a big impact on me." "I really enjoy having the study alongside the teaching, and being able to grow my own skills more and more as well as share them with others." TO SEE Zimbe! African Folk with a Jazz Twist, July 12, 7pm, Knox Church
Otago Daily Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
History writ large in concert
"BRAHMS & MATAATUA: A JOURNEY IN MUSIC" Dunedin Symphony Orchestra Saturday, June 28 Dunedin Town Hall The audience was taken on a deeply-moving musical journey exploring the trials and tribulations of one of Ōtepoti's much-loved former residents in Saturday's concert. Presenting the world premiere performance of Gillian Karawe Whitehead's The Journey of Mataatua Whare, the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and conductor James Judd were joined on stage by soloists Rebecca Ryan (soprano), Tomairangi Henare (baritone), and Paul Whelan (bass), along with a 16-strong DSO chorus. The work was introduced with a spine-tingling karanga by Lily Fraser, on behalf of mana whenua, setting the scene for an absorbing and emotional journey for all. The Journey of Mataatua Whare is very much an ensemble piece, with important roles for all participants. The orchestra took a range of roles, from the peace of 19th-century Māori life to jubilant marching bands, tackling the many changes in style with aplomb. Whelan was suitably stern as the voice of government and empire, Henare's resonant voice depicted the pain and determination of Ngāti Awa, and Ryan was superb as the meeting house herself — singing many difficult passages beautifully, while bringing the emotion to the fore. The chorus was sterling in support, taking on multiple roles with great energy and shining alongside Ngāti Awa themselves in the final, uplifting waiata Tomo Mai. The concert's second half featured another monumental work, Brahms' epic Piano Concerto No. 2, beautifully performed by the orchestra and piano soloist Jian Liu, under the steady baton of Judd. Very much a conversation between orchestra and soloist, the concerto moved through multiple themes, with Liu bringing its stately passages and delicate beauty to the fore. Principal cello Heleen du Plessis also made the most of her opportunity to shine in glorious solo passages in the third movement. Following thunderous applause, Liu returned with his own tribute to Whitehead as an encore, playing her Lullaby for Matthew. Saturday's concert was a wonderful showcase of the power of music to move, entertain, and teach history.
