Gemma New Credit Anthony Chang Photo: supplied
Her name is Gemma New, and she's been hailed as "one of the brightest rising stars in the conducting firmament".
More important - to us at any rate - is that the in-demand conductor was born and bred in Wellington New Zealand. Here she is conducting Lilburn's Overture Aotearoa.
After concerts were cancelled leading to 5 months of enforced semi-isolation in the US where she's based, Gemma's back here to work with several orchestras, including the NZSO.
Gemma says she had a very busy schedule for this year, and beyond, before the pandemic threw a big spanner in the works:
Conductor Gemma New will lead the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for the first time with the Passion concerts in Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch and Auckland in August and September.
A livestream of the Wellington Passion concert can be viewed for free at live.nzso.co.nz
The Prime Minister's announcement on Monday about any change to the Alert Level status will clearly affect the NZSO concerts.
If it changes from Level 2 to Level 1, this will allow the Shed Series: Cadence to go ahead in Wellington on 28 August, and the Passion programme to play in Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch over the next week. Check the NZSO website for details.
Please note that if New Zealand (outside Auckland) remains in Level 2 from 28 August, the Passion concert on 29 August in Wellington will still go ahead – only without an audience. The concert will be live-streamed free for anyone to watch at live.nzso.co.nz
