Upbeat Podcast Options

11:08 AM.The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has produced a 360-degree virtual reality experience which teleports users up on stage. Each of five vantage points offers a different view as well as a different… Read more Audio, Gallery

1:45 PM.Christian Kahnt is the new Director of Goethe-Institut New Zealand. He talks about what appealed to him about New Zealand and what he wants to achieve here. One of his many jobs is creating the German… Read more Audio

1:20 PM.Wellington painter Melanie Mills created a stir in the visual arts world when her first show of paintings based on flowers was an immediate sell-out. Melanie Mills and curator Kathlene Fogarty from… Read more Audio, Gallery

1:00 PM.The Damnation of Faust by Berlioz was performed by Edo de Waart, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and an international cast this past weekend. The concert performance of an opera has been a… Read more Audio

1:20 PM.Patrick Nolan discusses his direction of Kátya Kabanová for New Zealand Opera. The production comes from Seattle where it was premiered earlier this year. It features the same creative team but a… Read more Audio

2:29 PM.Musicologist, Dr Gregory Camp visited Disneyland often as a child and got to know it well. When he entered academia he wanted to combine his personal experience with critical thinking, including the… Read more Audio

1:35 PM.There's a reason Romeo and Juliet is one of the ultimate love stories - the young star-crossed lovers' story is the stuff of stage, screen, music and of course literature. The Royal New Zealand Ballet… Read more Audio

1:40 PM.What were you doing at 25? For Andrew Atkins, he’s preparing to bring to life Ravel, Berlioz and Faure this weekend when he conducts performance of their works by the Manawatu Sinfonia. The assistant… Read more Audio

1:20 PM.One of new music's funkiest ensembles is in the country at the special invitation of the NZ School of Music. They are Ensemble Nikel, electric guitar saxophone percussion and piano, they’re based in… Read more Video, Audio

1:00 PM.Chinese cellist Li-Wei Qin is expected to send chills down the backs of the audience this week when he takes to the stage with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra. Described as a “superbly stylish, raptly… Read more Video, Audio

1:45 PM.A number of favourite fairytales are melded together into smash hit musical Into The Woods. The Sondheim musical is on stage at the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin under the guidance of Mark Dorrell. He… Read more Audio

1:25 PM.New Zealand tenor Simon O’Neill is amongst the select group of singers to perform in the 2017 BBC Proms season. He features in the performance of Beethoven’s Choral Symphony conducted by Xian Zhang… Read more Audio

1:00 PM.Love and desire are at the heart of the New Zealand String Quartet’s 30^th season celebration this week. They’ll take the audience on an emotional journey through the works of Mendelssohn, Janáček and… Read more Video, Audio

11:35 AM.Violinist Andrew Beer has been described as a performer displaying "accuracy and subtle charisma" by the Boston Globe, and as a "musical gift" by the New York Times. He has performed extensively… Read more Audio

7:00 PM.Holst's pieces describe the moods or personalities of seven planets. Performed by Orchestra Wellington, and women of the Orpheus Choir, conducted by Marc Taddei, and accompanied by video by NASA. Read more Video, Audio

2:26 PM.Cheese making is an unlikely subject for a dance work but it's the next course in Java Dance Company's artisan series, following shows about bread and wine. Read more Audio

2:10 PM.The Modern Māori Quartet join Alex Behan for a kōrero and a performance to celebrate Matariki and their upcoming album. Read more Video, Audio

12:16 PM.It's been described as a win-win - the Wellington City Council's multi million dollar investment in Wellington's Te Whaea Dance and Drama studios to accommodate the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company… Read more Audio

2:40 PM.Genre bending musician and composer Bill Frisell has been a leading light in jazz and experimental electric guitar playing since the 1980s. Here for the Wellington Jazz Festival this week, Frisell… Read more Video, Audio

10:00 PM.What does it take to get into one of the most prestigious music institutions in world? Composer Salina Fisher reveals where she will study a Master of Music in composition later this year. Read more Audio

1:45 PM.Kirsten Johnstone gets the recipe for Babushka's Borscht with Wellington Balkan brass band Niko Ne Zna. Read more Audio

6:00 PM.The award-winning screen composer talks about his career and film music with RNZ's Adrian Hollay. Zimmer has scored over 150 films now, so there is quite a bit of music to choose from. Read more Audio

3:00 PM.Love them or loathe them, you can't deny Jethro Tull's rightful place in the pantheon of classic rock. En-route to New Zealand for shows next week, Kirsten Johnstone speaks to Ian Anderson, the… Read more Video, Audio