Joining for landmark performance

Excitement is growing among singers from more than a dozen local choirs, as the final week of rehearsals loom ahead of a landmark collaborative performance of Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”.

In a rare move, the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) will unite for the “Mahler’s Resurrection” concert, to be held next Friday, May 15, from 7.30pm at Dunedin Town Hall.

The concert will open with the world premier of Fanfare Kotahitanga, a new work by acclaimed Dunedin composer Anthony Ritchie.

Joining the 120 musicians on-stage for the concert, to be conducted by DSO principal guest conductor and NZSO music director emeritus James Judd, will be soloists Anna Leese (soprano) and Deborah Humble (mezzo-soprano), along with about 150 singers.

The extraordinary collaboration between the two orchestras is among several special concerts celebrating the DSO’s 60th anniversary year throughout 2026.

NZSO chief executive Marc Feldman said the orchestra had enjoyed bringing its music to Dunedin over the past seven decades and had built close relationships with the DSO and the city’s talented choirs and soloists.

However, there had rarely been an opportunity to perform together on the same stage.

“Mahler’s second symphony is a Mount Everest of classical music, so it’s only natural that two New Zealand orchestras should come together to scale its majestic heights in an extraordinary musical event,” Mr Feldman said.

The core of the massed choir will be City Choir Dunedin, who have been joined by singers from other Dunedin choral organisations, including All Saints Church, Choirs Aotearoa, Highland Harmony, Knox Church, Logan Park High School, Octagon Ensemble, Polyhymnia (King’s & Queen’s High Schools), Royal Dunedin Male, Southern Consort of Voices, Southern Youth, St Joseph’s Cathedral, and St Paul’s Cathedral choirs.

In recent weeks, the singers have been led through rehearsals of the choral section of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, which concludes the work’s fifth and final movement, by City Choir Dunedin musical director David Burchell and piano accompanist Roland Storm.

Mr Burchell said bringing together such a wide-ranging group of singers to rehearse the piece was an exciting challenge.

City Choir Dunedin was delighted to be joined by so many singers from across Dunedin for such a special performance.

The choral section of the symphony could be tricky to sing, as singers were required to create a focused sound as quietly as possible initially, rising to a thrilling fortissimo conclusion.

The rhythms of the work, sung in German, also required great care.

A lot of work was going into rehearsals, but the outcome would definitely be worth it for the glorious sound of Mahler in concert, he said.

“It’s going to be huge.”

brenda.harwood@thestar.co.nz