Join Wairua Sinfonietta for a compelling evening devoted to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In collaboration with Auckland’s emerging chamber choir Neotectonic Vocal Ensemble and guests - together forming Wairua Voices. This special performance unites orchestra and choir in a powerful shared expression.

At the heart of the programme is Mozart’s Requiem, a masterpiece of profound intensity and spiritual depth. The luminous Ave verum corpus and a selection of radiant operatic arias complete the programme, revealing Mozart’s extraordinary range across sacred and dramatic worlds.

Together, these works trace a journey from darkness to hope, from solemn reflection to transcendent light. In the intimate, atmospheric setting of St Matthew’s, the music offers space for remembrance, consolation, and renewal.

This concert is a fundraiser for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, supporting vital advocacy, education, and community initiatives that promote mental wellbeing across Aotearoa.

An evening of powerful music and shared purpose, where light gently emerges from shadow.

Featuring
Neotectonic Vocal Ensemble and Friends

Soloists
Soprano – Henrietta Reid
Mezzo-soprano – Dilys Fong
Tenor – Mike Yang Liu
Bass – Blake Scanlen

Chorus Masters
Blake Scanlen & Elizabeth Lau

Conductor
Elizabeth Lau

Once upon a time, acclaimed Auckland chamber choir Viva Voce presented These Choral Islands, a playful title for a concert of NZ works rather than a true exploration of island-ness. Many years later, we tackle the topic head-on and return ‘to the island’. 

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And in a world of mayhem, mad men and media malevolence, where better to get away from it all? We sail with the Beach Boys across a raft of Caribbean islets, including the mythical Kokomo, and join Purcell in praising the ‘fairest isle’… of Britain. Some safe havens are harder to reach; Bonnie Prince Charlie dashes through wild wind and waves to Skye, and David Hamilton’s Na blátha craige evokes the bleak, rocky Aran Islands in Irish text as challenging as the landscape.

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We ‘visit’ both the elusive Bali Ha’i and the enchanted island of The Tempest, whose themes of betrayal, revenge and forgiveness inspire three contrasting works. Yet islands can also be prisons: Selene pleads with the moon to free her stranded boat, while Monteverdi’s stunning Lamento d’Arianna weeps for Ariadne, abandoned on a desolate shore.

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We promise to be reliable and entertaining guides! Your ‘choral’ island adventure awaits.

Otis Prescott-Mason, piano

Conductor - Michael Joel
Soloist - Helene Pohl

Brahms - Violin Concerto Op 77 in D
Dvořák - Symphony No 6 Op 60 in D

"I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the charismatic violin-playing of Helene Pohl". Middle-C

This concert is part of the St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra (SMCO) 2026 Concert Series.

St Cuthbert’s College choirs

Conductor - Michael Joel
Soloist - Lara Hall

Sibelius - Finlandia Op 26
Saint-Saëns - Violin Concerto No 3 Op 61 in B minor
Sibelius - Symphony No 1 Op 39 in E minor

“Hall played with immense ease and grace - her notes always honeyed and floating in the air, ghost-
like in the auditorium of Holy Trinity”.  – C Poppy, BOP News

This concert is part of the St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra (SMCO) 2026 Concert Series.

Flavio Villani, piano 

Dilworth School choirs

Conductor - David Kay
Soloist - Jonah Levy

Haydn - Symphony No 70 in D
Hummel - Trumpet Concerto in E
Mozart - Die Zauberflöte Overture K 620
Beethoven - Symphony No 5 Op 67 in C minor

This concert is part of the St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra (SMCO) 2026 Concert Series.

Instrumental ensemble

Conductor - Adam Maha
Soloist - Tony Chen Lin

Mozart - Symphony No 31 K297 in D ‘Paris’
Mozart - Piano Concerto No 20 K466 in D minor
Arnsten, Bjorn - Commissioned Work
Stravinsky - Pulcinella Suite

"TONY CHEN LIN is a true artist. Rarely have I encountered a finer musician who has
something truly exceptional to say in music. He has a strong musical personality that speaks
to audiences and possesses the technique, which is expected today, but also artistry which is
not always expected.” Tamás Vásárich

This concert is part of the St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra (SMCO) 2026 Concert Series.

Ben Hoadley, bassoon 

Conductor - Michael Joel
Soloists –
Monique Lapins – Violin
Matthias Balzat – Cello

Mozart - Symphony No 35 K385 in D ‘Haffner’
Gounod - Symphony No 1 in D
Brahms - Double Concerto Op 102 in A minor

St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra’s final concert for the year brings along not one but two of New
Zealand’s most acclaimed soloists for your enjoyment. The highlight of the programme will surely be
Monique Lapins (Violin) and Matthias Balzat (Cello) performing the great Brahms Double Concerto,
his final work for orchestra and a sublime masterpiece that requires two brilliant and equally
matched soloists.

This concert is part of the St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra (SMCO) 2026 Concert Series.

Alison Dunlop, oboe