Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra - the Auckland Philharmonia

3.3.3 New Zealand Symphony Orchestra exists within a set of arrangements that are unique inworld terms. It was founded in 1946 after the success of the Centennial Festival Orchestra in 1940.At the time orchestral culture in New Zealand was driven, like many other aspects of New Zealandculture and society, from the grassroots by amateurs or expatriate professionals of various levels ofaccomplishment, some of a very high level. It is important to note that in its establishment, theNZSO was always intended to be the “jump‐start” sort of orchestra that would create an audienceand demand for orchestral music, and would hopefully in turn lead to an ongoing and sustainableorchestral culture in New Zealand where at the time there was no orchestra. It was certainlyintended to tour the country and provide orchestral music in areas that did not have access toprofessional orchestral music making. In this sense it is more akin to the Royal Scottish NationalOrchestra model.The strategic role of the NZSO is acknowledged in its establishment by Act of Parliament and itsconsequent close relationship to government, especially as regards its funding streams. It now alsohas a clear flag‐bearing ambassadorial role, touring internationally, playing in festivals and having astrong recording presence, with a special mission to record New Zealand music. This last elementseems a particularly sensible approach for an orchestra in this remote part of the world that seeks tofulfil an ambassadorial role on an ongoing basis.4 Praise and Problems with the National Orchestra in New ZealandBased on this examination of national orchestras from around the world, it appears that the role andfunctions of the NZSO in the New Zealand orchestral scene in 2012 are much less clear than theywere under the original intentions when it was established.Considering the NZSO was intended to jump start an orchestra culture in New Zealand, it has beenextremely successful as there are now numerous orchestras with strong audiences throughout thecountry. Jump starting is, however, the first phase of creating a healthy orchestral milieu. Once anorchestral audience and culture is established, the presence of a national touring orchestra, as wehave seen in the case of the Royal Scottish National or the Israeli Philharmonic orchestras, can in factstrongly hinder the ongoing development of the orchestral provision. In New Zealand there is now ademonstrable audience for orchestral music in several major centres. The NZSO is required to tourmore regularly, more extensively and over much longer distances than any other national orchestra:it therefore lacks the time and resources to adequately satisfy current levels of demand.At the same time, the disproportionately significant resources devoted to enable the running costsof the NZSO mean that establishing stable, viable city orchestras to further the development oforchestral culture beyond the limitations of the NZSO’s reach is not affordable. This key pointrequires further examination.Firstly, it is increasingly the case that the largest part of the role of a 21 st century orchestra is in itsrelationship with the community it serves. Its facilitation of music education and social programmesis as much a raison d’être of the modern orchestra as subscription concerts. These functions can onlybe fulfilled by a resident orchestra that can establish deep and wide links with its community, withmultiple and diverse points of contact on a frequent and regular basis.Contextualising Auckland and the NZ orchestral sector Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Page 4