Uniting through the language of music
A Quick Response Grant has enabled The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Foundation to deliver their new Community and School Outreach Programme to communities in South Auckland and Northland.
The Setting Up Camp tour, which ran from 9th – 13th June 2021, was an innovative way for the national orchestra to reach a much wider audience and engage with many more communities across Aotearoa New Zealand. Rather than a whistle-stop tour of towns and cities where the NZSO performs a single evening concert, the Orchestra “sets up camp” for up to three days in each centre. In addition to evening concerts, Setting Up Camp offers daytime performances and a wide range of free events where the NZSO and local communities can connect.
Setting Up Camp was launched in 2020 with concerts and events in the Greater Wellington Region, Palmerston North, Tauranga, and Hamilton. This week, Setting Up Camp will visit Kerikeri, Whangarei, Manukau and the North Shore for the first time.
Highlights of the programme include free coaching sessions and workshops with students, opportunities to meet with NZSO players, and performances designed for audiences who may feel uncomfortable in a traditional concert environment.
“The very generous support of Foundation North means the NZSO can engage with many more schools and communities, from Manukau to Kerikeri, with a variety of exciting concerts, music workshops, and related events,” says NZSO Chief Executive Peter Biggs.
“For some tamariki and taitamariki, the community performances will be their first experience of their national orchestra. Our players will be just as eager to meet and connect with many different people of all ages in both regions.”
