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Supertonic is proud to present our second concert for 2024: Whakarongo! A Choral Concert of Aotearoa Composers.
Directed by kaiārahi puoro Isaac Stone, Whakarongo! celebrates Aotearoa’s incredible composers, our unique choral sound, and of course, te reo Māori! From choral art music to contemporary waiata, we will explore the beautiful diversity of Aotearoa artists in themes of faith, our whenua, our people, and te ao Māori. He ngākau tino harikoa mātou - we are delighted to share these taonga with you. Featuring music by: - Chris Artley - Gareth Farr - David N. Childs - Rosa Elliott - Takerei Komene - Reuben Rameka and more! The centrepiece of this konohete (concert) is a brand new waiata by rising rangatahi composer Elisabeth Te Puni, who was recently named winner of the Te Reo SOUNZ-NZCF Composition Competition. Be among the first to hear it live! Whakarongo! 8 September 2024 Alan Gibbs Centre, Wellington College Tickets $20-$30 Book at supertonic.org.nz
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Supertonic choir to celebrate 10th anniversary with an evening of classical music by composers who influenced each other across time
In its 10th anniversary year, the innovative Supertonic choir of Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington is excited to announce the details of the first of three concerts planned for 2024. You might have heard of Supertonic’s recent exploits - a Swing music extravaganza, a video game themed saga, and a rock concert of Elton John’s 70s hits. With this concert, Supertonic presents a classical music concert that’s both accessible and nuanced. On 25 May in the beautiful acoustic of Wellington Cathedral, Supertonic will perform Parallel Gifts: Kindred composers, separated by centuries. The choir will explore the unique, deep and fascinating relationships between two sets of composers - Britten and Purcell, and Mendelssohn and Bach - and the musical notes that shaped their compositions. Isaac Newton once wrote to rival scientist Robert Hooke about his discoveries, saying “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. Britten and Mendelssohn are two of the biggest giants in Classical music - but even composers as prolific as them knew that by looking to the past, they could see even further into the future. Despite Bach’s music being everywhere from advertising to your nephew’s Grade 2 piano exam, we wouldn’t even know who he was if Mendelssohn hadn’t been obsessed enough with his predecessor’s music to dig up the old scores and stage a huge performance of the St Matthew Passion nearly 100 years after Bach had died. Benjamin Britten knew he could make his mark on the world because he found the voice of a fellow English composer who’d died over 200 years earlier - Henry Purcell. Britten’s style is quirky, innovative and unique, just like the Baroque composer’s music he was devoted to. This concert will juxtapose some of their most famous compositions - Britten’s secular Hymn to St Cecilia and Purcell’s own dedication to the patron saint of music, Hail Bright Cecilia. Bach’s very famous cantata chorale Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring will be presented alongside one of Mendelssohn’s beautiful and soul-calming Verleih uns Frieden. We’ll also be bracketing sacred anthems, operatic music, oratorio excerpts, and we’re particularly excited to present one of Bach’s renowned motets, Lobet den Herrn. Parallel Gifts will be a fresh offering for Supertonic after several consecutive performances of contemporary works, presenting meaty classical music for every audience member - whether this is your first time hearing Bach live or whether you go to every performance of Britten you can get your hands on. Supertonic hopes to show that classical music can be cross-cultural and cross-generational. Parallel Gifts 25 May 2024 Wellington Cathedral of St Paul Tickets $25-$35 Book at supertonic.org.nz Supertonic is ecstatic to present High Score: Legendary soundtracks in concert. Along with a 10-piece orchestra, the 50 voices of Supertonic are set to spirit you away with the sublime soundscapes of your favourite video games, fantasy adventure films and anime.
This concert will take you through decades of music, from retro video game classics like Tetris to modern favourites such as Halo and Grammy Award-winning pieces from Sid Meier’s Civilization. The concert also includes classic anime themes, Marvel masterpieces and scores from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Through the power of choral singing, this special event will invoke the feeling of excitement and 'possibility' of a convention - where everything you can imagine is in one big place. Join us for a great adventure through all the different worlds represented in music and song. Taking place for one night only, High Score will be performed at Pipitea Marae, 7:30pm Saturday 4 November. We're playing on a whole new level - don't miss this out on this choral quest! Tickets available from Saturday 2 September at www.supertonic.org.nz Supertonic is excited to return to the stage for its first concert of 2023, Sing, Sing, Sing! - an unabashed full-throttle choral celebration of the Big Band era of music. The 56-strong choir, known for crisscrossing the full gambit of musical genres, will be joined by an extraordinary jazz ensemble of rhythm, sax and brass for a one night only show on Saturday 27 May.
Swing emerged in a hellish moment in world history, bookended by two World Wars and peaking in popularity during the Great Depression. It’s unsurprising that the escapism of this rambunctious, rhythmic and soulful style of music took the world by storm. Sing, Sing, Sing! will include music from some of the true superstars of the era: Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey and many others. Concertgoers will get to experience the full spectrum of Swing, from sentimental ballads like Summertime, Autumn Leaves and Stardust, to American dancehall standards including Lady is a Tramp, It Don’t Mean a Thing, and of course In The Mood! Join Supertonic, music director Isaac Stone, and musicians from the New Zealand School of Music for this show-stopping choral spectacular that’ll have you jitterbugging all the way home. Sing, Sing, Sing! Performed by Supertonic Venue: Queen Margaret College Hall, Thorndon Time: 7:30pm, Saturday 27 May 2023 $35/$25 Tickets available from www.supertonic.org.nz from Thursday 27 April. Supertonic is thrilled to announce its second concert for 2022. With the uplifting Gloria in D Major by Antonio Vivaldi as the opener followed by a feast of feel-good choral works, Joy will send you dancing into spring with a collection of choral arrangements overflowing with festive cheer. Divided into 12 brief movements, the well-known Gloria is a joyful hymn of praise and worship that takes the listener on a journey of rejoicing to profound sadness and back again. Its distinctive opening chorus will be familiar to many, leading into a mixture of gorgeous soprano solos and duets, still and solemn movements and Vivaldi’s masterful instrumental countermelodies that feature throughout. Rich and rewarding, the Gloria is as enjoyable to sing as it is to experience in the audience.
Supertonic is delighted to announce its first concert for 2022: North. Join us on Saturday 18 June at Samuel Marsden Collegiate Auditorium for an evening of music celebrating the joy of finding yourself, finding your way and moving forward. We’re also thrilled to welcome a new music director for 2022: Virginie Pacheco.
Rest: Fauré’s Requiem and Songs of Remembrance will take place in the magnificent Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. Under the direction of Isaac Stone, Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in D Minor will feature the brilliant voices of guest soloists Nicola Holt and William McElwee.
The audience will be treated to the 1893, seven-movement version of Fauré’s Requiem, accompanied by a moving array of works from across the globe to complement Fauré’s beloved choral lament. Written in 1887, the ‘first’ version of the Requiem, the only one for which any manuscripts survive, consisted of five movements. Fauré wrote the Requiem from a personal selection of texts, laying emphasis on motifs of rest and peace. A masterpiece written in Fauré’s ecclesiastical style, the Requiem was written to be appreciated with ease, described by Fauré himself as a "lullaby" and "happy deliverance". This concert will explore the theme of remembrance through a collection of pieces including Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing by Herbert Howells, written to honour the memory of J.F. Kennedy; Y Comienzo a Bailar, a poem about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) by Elizabeth Alexander and Indodana, a traditional South African song arranged by Michael Barrett and Ralf Schmit. Supertonic is a 64-strong SATB Wellington choir that takes pride in presenting a variety of contrasting musical styles. This concert is our opportunity to perform an ambitious arrangement of classical music supported by the rich acoustic of Wellington Cathedral. Whether this is your first or fiftieth time enjoying Fauré’s Requiem, this evening of traditional choral entertainment will be sure to satisfy your musical fascination. Supertonic presents Rest - Fauré’s Requiem and Songs of Remembrance 7:30pm, Saturday 19 June 2021 Wellington Cathedral of St Paul $35/$25 Tickets available from supertonic.org.nz from Friday 14 May. Classic Christmas movie favourites and sing-along carols.
Performed by Supertonic Ground Floor, Asteron Centre, 55 Featherston Street, Pipitea, Wellington 6011 Wednesday 2 December, 7pm Tickets $10 - all profits donated to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery We’ve nearly done it. We’ve almost made it through one of the craziest, up and down, round and round, truly bizarre years in recent memory. We think it’s high time for something warm, comforting and trustworthy - with a healthy dose of seasonal nostalgia. This December 2nd, Supertonic is delighted to present for one night only Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal - a cheeky Christmas send-off for 2020. This choral concert will indulge your sappiest and silliest Christmas movie memories. Including choral numbers from all-time Christmas movie favourites Love Actually, The Polar Express and Home Alone, you’ll also be treated to nostalgic numbers from classic films like Holiday Inn and Meet Me in St. Louis. These will be complemented by solo and small group numbers, plus a live performance of our digital lockdown anthem Reach Out, composed by Supertonic member Martha Machin-Palmer. And what would a Christmas concert be without some sing-along carols to ignite the festive spirit? Supertonic is a 50-strong SATB Wellington choir that takes pride in presenting a diverse range of music. This concert is our chance to celebrate some of the music that we all know and love, and your opportunity to sing some seasonal songs with us. Supertonic’s most recent concert, Saturday Night’s Alright, sold out within 48 hours, prompting the addition of a second show. Don’t miss out on the fun - come and sing along with Supertonic! A choral celebration of Elton John
Performed by Supertonic Marsden Auditorium Saturday 10 October, 2pm and 7.30pm We hope you don’t mind if we put down in words… Supertonic’s latest choral spectacular is coming this September, and it’s their most exciting yet! After a few months away from the stage, the pitch is back with Saturday Night’s Alright - a spectacular presentation of music by prodigious singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer Elton John and equally accomplished lyricist Bernie Taupin. Including a four-part canon that would make Pachelbel blush, this concert features the full force of 50 singers, a series of powerful rock soloists from within the choir and a full rock band of some of Wellington’s best musicians. The first half showcases some of the incredible songs from beloved 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, while the second half will be composed of a range of early 70’s Elton favourites, plus a few surprises. Highlights include a full symphonic choral setting of Someone Saved My Life Tonight a trio treatment of Daniel, and of course the choir’s signature beautiful harmonies. Director Isaac Stone is a teacher of classroom music and leader of the choral programme at Tawa College in Wellington. Stone’s artistic agenda is to work with singers on choral music that is both accessible but challenging - creating concerts to captivate a new audience for choral music. This concert is extra special for Stone - Elton John’s music being what inspired him to become a musician. By sitting down at the piano and learning Elton’s music by ear, Stone remembers discovering chord progressions, the power of singing and being opened up to the worlds of choral, classical and orchestral music. “I truly consider Elton John to be the Schubert of our time - Schubert being another one of my favourite composers. As a teacher, I’m inspired by Elton’s own championing of younger musicians and his openness to working with people from across the world, across generations and across genres. Elton is the perfect vehicle for bringing people into the amazing world of music education and the wider world of music, because at its core his music always offers piano riffs that stay with you, chord progressions that feel right, and a melody that speaks to the soul.” Supertonic is a 50-strong SATB Wellington choir that takes pride in presenting a diverse range of music. Past concerts cover everything from traditional choral repertoires of early music through to modern works, strongly themed presentations such as music written solely in endangered and extinct languages, through to rock, pop and jazz extravaganzas celebrating the greatest music of the 20 th and 21 st centuries. This choir aims to take choral music to new places and greater heights, and Saturday Night’s Alright will be no exception. Supertonic’s most recent rock concert, Thunderbolt and Lightning, sold out within a few days to a 400-strong audience of Queen fans. Don’t miss out on our latest offering! Our gift is our song, and this one’s for you, Wellington. Supertonic presents Groundswell
Supertonic announces its next performance for 2019 – Groundswell: Songs for a Sustainable Future. Join us in the gorgeous acoustic of Pipitea Marae at 4:30pm on Sunday 17 November 2019, to commemorate the change people have caused to the Earth and to celebrate the groundswell of momentum from people eager to solve those environmental issues. After the success of the indie-pop adventure Leaving the Table, Supertonic will present an ambitious choral concert exploring our relationship with the environment around us, and the impact humans can have – both negative and positive. From the waters of Aotearoa to the Mongolian steppe, Australian rainforest, and North African desert, the audience’s journey will span the world. Through music and accompanying kōrero, Groundswell will explore climate change, the loss of biological diversity, human damage to the environment, the loss of indigenous environmental guardianship, and the global and local challenges that make addressing these issues so complicated. As Supertonic’s audiences have come to expect, this will be an immersive experience with top notch harmonies and a thought-provoking message. Supertonic is a Wellington-based choir that seeks to take choral music to different places and new heights. Supertonic is well known for its innovative and no-compromise concerts, from those exploring ways to amplify voices that are seldom heard, to its all-out rock extravaganzas that turn the concept of a choral concert on its head. Supertonic has gone from strength to strength with consistently sold out concerts. Tickets available www.supertonic.org.nz from Monday 14 October. Get in quick! |