• David Kay conducts the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in a murder mystery for the whole family.

The Composer is Dead

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra launches an investigation

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) has launched a homicide investigation following reports that the composer is dead. On Saturday 6 October, APO brings all 72 musicians to the Bruce Mason Centre for questioning, to discover who is responsible. What exactly took place on that well-orchestrated evening?

The APO continues its series of family concerts in the next school holidays with an entertaining whodunnit symphonic story for school children and their families at the Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, on Saturday 6 October.  

The Composer is Dead, with music by Nathaniel Stookey and words by Lemony Snicket (pen name for American novelist Daniel Handler who has written many books, including his bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events). The work is a murder mystery story in which every musician and their instrument is guilty… until they can prove themselves innocent. Audience members follow the clues as the Inspector interrogates each section of the orchestra on their whereabouts on the night of the murder. Where exactly were the violins? Did anyone see the harp? Is the trumpet protesting a wee bit too boisterously? But everyone seems to have a motive and an alibi.

This symphonic mystery is an exciting and entertaining way to learn more about the instruments in the orchestra.The work was originally commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and since its premiere in 2006 it has been performed by orchestras around the world.  The concert also features  Mussorgsky’s ‘Night on the Bare Mountain’ and Saint-Saëns’ ‘Danse macabre’.

The concert is conducted by North Shore resident David Kay, who is also a member of the APO horn section and who is known to many on the Shore for his role as musical director of the North Shore Junior Orchestra and the North Shore Youth Orchestra. David made his conducting debut with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and has since regularly conducted various concerts with the APO as well as with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Auckland Academy of Music.

He is also a private music tutor and a brass itinerant music teacher, specialising in French Horn, at three high schools and one intermediate school on the North Shore. He has Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Performance horn from the University of Auckland, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Orchestral Studies from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

The Inspector is played by actor Byron Coll, well-known to audiences for his work in theatre and film, including his critically-acclaimed turn as Ko-Ko in New Zealand Opera’s 2017 production of The Mikado, and as All Blacks super-fan Tim in the MasterCard television commercials.

The Composer is Dead, with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Sat 6 October, 2pm and 4pm

Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.co.nz or 0800 111 999
More info: www.apo.co.nz

 

 

 

 

 

THE COMPOSER IS DEAD – APO LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION

 

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) has launched a homicide investigation following reports that the composer is dead. On Saturday 6 October, APO brings all 72 musicians to the Bruce Mason Centre for questioning, to discover who is responsible. What exactly took place on that well-orchestrated evening?

The APO continues its delightful series of family concerts in the next school holidays with an entertaining whodunnit symphonic story for school children and their families at the Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, on Saturday 6 October.  

The Composer is Dead, with music by Nathaniel Stookey and words by Lemony Snicket (pen name for American novelist Daniel Handler who has written many books, including his bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events). The work is a murder mystery story in which every musician and their instrument is guilty… until they can prove themselves innocent. Audience members follow the clues as the Inspector interrogates each section of the orchestra on their whereabouts on the night of the murder. Where exactly were the violins? Did anyone see the harp? Is the trumpet protesting a wee bit too boisterously? But everyone seems to have a motive and an alibi.

This symphonic mystery is an exciting and entertaining way to learn more about the instruments in the orchestra.The work was originally commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and since its premiere in 2006 it has been performed by orchestras around the world.  The concert also features  Mussorgsky’s ‘Night on the Bare Mountain’ and Saint-Saëns’ ‘Danse macabre’.

The concert is conducted by North Shore resident David Kay, who is also a member of the APO horn section and who is known to many on the Shore for his role as musical director of the North Shore Junior Orchestra and the North Shore Youth Orchestra. David made his conducting debut with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and has since regularly conducted various concerts with the APO as well as with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Auckland Academy of Music.

He is also a private music tutor and a brass itinerant music teacher, specialising in French Horn, at three high schools and one intermediate school on the North Shore. He has Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Performance horn from the University of Auckland, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Orchestral Studies from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

The Inspector is played by actor Byron Coll, well-known to audiences for his work in theatre and film, including his critically-acclaimed turn as Ko-Ko in New Zealand Opera’s 2017 production of The Mikado, and as All Blacks super-fan Tim in the MasterCard television commercials.

 

The Composer is Dead, with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Sat 6 October, 2pm and 4pm

Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.co.nz or 0800 111 999
More info: www.apo.co.nz