Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra - the Auckland Philharmonia

2 Auckland's Orchestra2.1 Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO)The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra is Auckland's resident fulltime symphony orchestra. Each yearthe APO supports both the NBR New Zealand Opera and the Royal New Zealand Ballet (in a hirecapacity) and is the orchestra of choice for the highly regarded Michael Hill International ViolinCompetition.Each year the APO presents a full season of symphonic work in the Auckland region, and has recentlybrought to Auckland such artists as Nicolai Demidenko, Midori, James Ehnes, Brett Dean, DavidGeringas and Nigel Kennedy.The APO’s Music Director is esteemed German conductor Eckehard Stier.The APO collaborates with New Zealand artists such as Simon O’Neill, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and DameKiri Te Kanawa, as well as visiting international artists who have included Luciano Pavarotti, PlacidoDomingo and Jose Carreras, and “popular” musicians such as Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, BurtBacharach and Serj Tankian. APO takes pride in nurturing New Zealand artists through its main stageperformances and through its extensive education programme, which gives opportunities to youngperformers and composers. It also has a longstanding Composer‐in‐Residence programme, untilrecently the only orchestra in New Zealand to do so.2.1.1 APO Development historyThe Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra can trace its origins back to the Auckland String Playersfounded by Owen Jensen in 1940. The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) was established in1980, originally as a musicians’ cooperative society.Six years ago the APO was on the brink of closure and financial collapse resulting from long terminadequate funding and lack of coherent and unified civic leadership. With the support of theregional mayors and central government, a comprehensive restructuring of virtually every facet ofthe APO was undertaken with what is now regarded as a successful outcome. Four features standoutas critical to that success:• Firstly, restructuring the APO on the international model of city‐based orchestras andaligning itself more closely to the Australian city‐based orchestras.• Secondly, securing the support of Auckland local government leaders. Undoubtedly thecoincidence of the Royal Commission and the birth of the Super City greatly assisted this.• Thirdly, securing additional central government support based on achievement of keytargeted performance indicators, both artistic and financial.• Finally, driving artistic standards and carefully crafted programming to meet audiencedemands demonstrated by 30 full houses in the last 2 years. In addition, APO placedemphasis on its outreach and educational programmes throughout the broader region,culminating in the launch of APO Connecting in 2011, and the introduction of SistemaAotearoa with special project funding from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.Contextualising Auckland and the NZ orchestral sector Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Page 4