Gemma New to Lead NZSO Wellington Town Hall Reopening and ENZSO Concert
Salina Fisher's new commission and Mahler's Symphony No. 2 headline the celebratory Wellington program.
Conductor Gemma New has announced highlights of her 2026-2027 season, marking her fifth and final season as Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra before transitioning to a new role as Artistic Partner in 2027. New concludes her tenure at the end of the calendar-2026 season, moving into the new role of Artistic Partner in 2027.
Praised for her 'programming prowess' (Vancouver Sun), conductor Gemma New is described as a rising star with a 'unique sensitivity and a heightened attention to detail and texture' (The Washington Post). Highlights of her final season with the NZSO include the New Zealand Premiere of GRAMMY Award winner Gabriela Ortiz's work Antrópolis, and the orchestra's 2026 season finale featuring the Orpheus Choir Wellington and City Choir Dunedin in a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
In a preview of the NZSO's calendar-2027 season, New has been announced as conductor of two special programs in February 2027. For two nights, she leads a celebratory concert program to mark the reopening of the orchestra's musical home at the newly renovated Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall. The program features the World Premiere of a new work commissioned for the occasion from New Zealand composer Salina Fisher, alongside Mahler's Symphony No. 2. Immediately following that, New leads the NZSO in its 80th Anniversary Concert, 'ENZSO,' featuring the songs of iconic New Zealand band Split Enz with appearances by Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner and other special guests.
As an in-demand guest conductor, New will lead the Danish premiere of Ortiz's Antrópolis in her debut with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and she conducts Claus Guth's production of John Adams' opera Dr. Atomic in her debut with the Bayerische Staatsoper. The season also brings her to debuts with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Staatskapelle, Danish Philharmonic Orchestra and Colorado Symphony. She appears for return engagements with Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The Hallé in Manchester, UK, the Juilliard Orchestra at Lincoln Center, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where she leads a production of Rossini's Cenerentola. Her summer 2026 highlights included engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, plus appearances at the Colorado Music Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival, Brevard Music Festival and the Aldeburgh Festival in the UK.
Currently in the midst of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's 2026 season, New will conduct the NZSO performance on September 4, 2026 at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, leading the New Zealand Premiere of Gabriela Ortiz's work Antrópolis, composed to channel the sounds of a city through its nightlife scene ('antro' being the Spanish word for 'nightclub'). Clarinetist Patrick Barry also joins the orchestra for this concert, performing as soloist on Copland's Clarinet Concerto. John Adams' The Chairman Dances (from his opera Nixon in China) and Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story complete the program. New again conducts as Barry and the NZSO reprise the program on September 5, 2026 at Auckland Town Hall.
She next conducts the NZSO on November 13, 2026 at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, as pianist Sir Stephen Hough joins the orchestra for Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, 'Egyptian.' New Zealand composer Ross Harris's Concerto for Orchestra and Elgar's Enigma Variations will complete the program. Hough and the orchestra will reprise the program on November 14, 2026 at Auckland Town Hall.
On November 19, 2026, she leads the NZSO at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, where the orchestra will be joined by Orpheus Choir Wellington and City Choir Dunedin for a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor. The program also showcases New Zealand composer Dame Gillian Whitehead through her work Hoata, an expression of the composer's Māori heritage titled after the Māori name for the New Moon. The program will be reprised on November 21, 2026 at Dunedin Town Hall, marking the end of the NZSO's calendar-2026 season.
The NZSO has announced that New will conduct a celebratory 'Resurrection' program on February 25 and 26, 2027 to mark the reopening of its musical home at the newly renovated Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall. The program will bring the World Premiere of a new work commissioned from Wellington-based composer Salina Fisher to commemorate the reopening. To complete the program, the orchestra will be joined by the Orpheus Choir of Wellington, mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble, and soprano Madeleine Pierard for Mahler's Symphony No. 2, 'Resurrection' – performed for the first time by the NZSO in this venue since 1968. Tickets will go on sale with the announcement of the NZSO's full calendar-2027 season in September 2026.
On February 27, 2027, New and the NZSO return to Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall for a concert to celebrate the orchestra's 80th anniversary. Reviving the 'ENZSO' experience – their smash-hit crossover format from the 1990s – the orchestra will perform songs by the New Zealand rock band Split Enz, arranged for orchestra by Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner, who will also feature in the performance. The program includes the Split Enz songs Poor Boy, Message to my Girl, Six Months in a Leaky Boat, and I See Red. Additional guest artists will include Indie pop artist Lawrence Arabia, singer/songwriter Reb Fountain, and singer/multi-instrumentalist Hollie Fullbrook. Tickets will go on sale with the announcement of the NZSO's full calendar-2027 season in September 2026.
In her first guest engagement of the 2026-2027 season, New returns to Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa for two concerts on September 16 and 17, 2026. The program features Alissa Firsova's Die Windsbraut ('Bride of the Wind') – inspired by Alma Mahler's intense relationship with the artist Oskar Kokoschka – along with Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, featuring pianist Makoto Ozone, and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
She goes on to make her Danish Philharmonic Orchestra debut on October 2 and 3, 2026 at Alsion Concert Hall in Sønderborg, Denmark, conducting a program of Elgar's Serenade for Strings in E minor, Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor, and Berlioz's Harold en Italie.
On October 12, 2026, New makes her Berlin Staatskapelle debut at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, Germany, as the orchestra is joined by tenor Stephan Rügamer and horn soloist Ignacio García for Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. The program also features Jessie Montgomery's Strum and Haydn's Symphony No. 104 in D Major, 'London.'
She returns to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for a pair of concerts on October 16, 2026 at the Orpheum in Vancouver, BC, and on October 18, 2026 at the Bell Performing Arts Center in Surrey, BC. The orchestra will be joined by violinist Blake Pouliot for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, paired on this program with Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin and Elgar's Enigma Variations.
New returns to lead the Juilliard Orchestra at Lincoln Center on October 26, 2026, conducting Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D major, paired with Kelly-Marie Murphy's A Thousand Natural Shocks – the composer's Hamlet-inspired musical reflection on the nature of new beginnings – and Aaron Jay Kernis's Viola Concerto featuring the Juilliard Viola Competition winner as soloist. While at Juilliard, New will also serve as a visiting instructor for conducting students.
She makes her Colorado Symphony Orchestra debut on November 6, 7, and 8 as the orchestra is joined by the Colorado Symphony Chorus, directed by Taylor Martin, for a performance of Mozart's Requiem. The program also includes Salina Fisher's Kintsugi and Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin.
Making her Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut on December 4 and 5, 2026, New conducts a program featuring Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 in D Major, 'Classical,' and Haydn's Symphony No. 104 in D Major, 'London,' along with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, performed with soloist Conrad Tao, and Maria Grenfell's Bach-and-Bartók-inspired work Clockwerk.
She goes on to make her Bayerische Staatsoper debut in Claus Guth's production of John Adams' opera Dr. Atomic, which captures the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, 'father of the atomic bomb,' and the terrible power and consequences revealed when these bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. New conducts performances on February 4, 8, 10, 13, and 15, 2027 – returning in the summer to conduct additional dates on July 5 and 8, 2027.
On March 18, 2027, she makes her debut with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, conducting the Danish premiere of Gabriela Ortiz's Antrópolis. The program also includes Piazzolla's Aconcagua, featuring accordionist Bjarke Mogensen, and selections from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.
New returns to The Hallé in Manchester, UK, on April 8, 2027, conducting a program of Brahms' Symphony No. 1 alongside Ligeti's Violin Concerto, featuring soloist Leila Josefowicz, and Bartók's Romanian Folk Dances.
She goes on to make her Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra debut in Amsterdam on April 16, 2027, as the orchestra is joined by South African cellist, vocalist and narrator Abel Selaocoe, performing as soloist on his own cello concerto Four Spirits, which is paired on this program with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.
She returns for two dance-inflected programs with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, first conducting the orchestra on April 28, 2027 in a program featuring Marc-André Hamelin on Gershwin's Swing-infused Piano Concerto in F major, paired with Jessie Montgomery's Coincident Dances, with its blend of classical and urban street music, and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances. The program will be reprised on May 2, 2027.
On April 29, 2027, she leads the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal in a celebration of Tango music including multiple works by Piazzolla, including his Concerto for Bandoneon and Orchestra, Aconcagua. Additional selections include works by Carlos Gardel, Alfredo Le Pera, Héctor Stamponi, Enrico Maria Francini, Aníbal Troilo, Rómulo Larrea, Mariano Mores, Eladia Blázquez, Rosita Piuma Vélez, and Homero Manzi. The orchestra will be joined in this performance by bandoneonist Romulo Larrea and his Tango group, Ensemble Romulo Larrea, along with bandoneonist William Sabatier and mezzo-soprano Luciana Mancini.
In the final engagement of her 2026-2027 season, New returns to Opera Theatre of St. Louis for Michael Shell's production of Rossini's comic opera Cenerentola – better known as Cinderella. With unexpected twists and variations on the more familiar tellings of the fairytale, the opera delivers quick wit, dazzling music, and clever disguises treasured by audiences of all ages. Performances run from June 5 to June 27, 2027.
Gemma New 2026-2027 Season Calendar
Friday, September 4, 2026 — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra — Michael Fowler Center | Wellington, New Zealand. Program: John Adams – The Chairman Dances, Foxtrot for Orchestra; Aaron Copland – Clarinet Concerto; Gabriela Ortiz – Antrópolis; Leonard Bernstein – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Patrick Barry, clarinet. Tickets: www.nzso.co.nz
Saturday, September 5, 2026 — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra — Auckland Town Hall – The Great Hall | Auckland, New Zealand. Program: John Adams – The Chairman Dances, Foxtrot for Orchestra; Aaron Copland – Clarinet Concerto; Gabriela Ortiz – Antrópolis; Leonard Bernstein – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Patrick Barry, clarinet. Tickets: www.nzso.co.nz
Wednesday, September 16 & Thursday, September 17, 2026 — National Arts Centre Orchestra — National Arts Centre | Ottawa, ON, Canada. Program: Alissa Firsova – Die Windsbraut, Op. 38; Sergei Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43; Modest Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition. Makoto Ozone, piano. Tickets: nac-cna.ca
Friday, October 2 & Saturday, October 3, 2026 — Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester / Danish Philharmonic — Alsion Concert Hall | Sønderborg, Denmark. Program: Edward Elgar – Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550; Hector Berlioz – Harold en Italie. Tickets: sdjsymfoni.dk
Monday, October 12, 2026 — Berlin Staatskapelle — Pierre Boulez Saal | Berlin, Germany. Program: Jessie Montgomery – Strum; Benjamin Britten – Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31; Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 104 in D Major, 'London.' Stephan Rügamer, tenor; Ignacio García, horn. Tickets: staatskapelle-berlin.de
Friday, October 16, 2026 — Vancouver Symphony — Orpheum | Vancouver, BC, Canada. Program: Maurice Ravel – Le Tombeau de Couperin; Pyotr Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35; Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations, Op. 36. Blake Pouliot, violin. Tickets: vancouversymphony.ca
Sunday, October 18, 2026 — Vancouver Symphony — Bell Performing Arts Center | Surrey, BC, Canada. Blake Pouliot, violin. Program: Maurice Ravel – Le Tombeau de Couperin; Pyotr Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35; Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations, Op. 36. Tickets: vancouversymphony.ca
Monday, October 26, 2026 — Juilliard Orchestra — Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center | New York City, NY, USA. Program: Kelly-Marie Murphy – A Thousand Natural Shocks; Aaron Jay Kernis – Viola Concerto; Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73. Tickets: juilliard.edu
Friday, November 6–Sunday, November 8, 2026 — Colorado Symphony Orchestra (with chorus) — Boettcher Concert Hall | Denver, CO, USA. Program: Salina Fisher – Kintsugi; Maurice Ravel – Le Tombeau de Couperin; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Requiem, K. 626. Tickets: coloradosymphony.org
Friday, November 13, 2026 — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra — Michael Fowler Center | Wellington, New Zealand. Program: Ross Harris – Concerto for Orchestra; Camille Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103, 'Egyptian'; Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations, Op. 36. Sir Stephen Hough, piano. Tickets: www.nzso.co.nz
Saturday, November 14, 2026 — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra — Auckland Town Hall – The Great Hall | Auckland, New Zealand. Program: Ross Harris – Concerto for Orchestra; Camille Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103, 'Egyptian'; Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations, Op. 36. Sir Stephen Hough, piano. Tickets: www.nzso.co.nz
Thursday, November 19, 2026 — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra — Michael Fowler Center | Wellington, New Zealand. Program: Dame Gillian Whitehead – Hoata; Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. Orpheus Choir Wellington; City Choir Dunedin. Tickets: www.nzso.co.nz
Saturday, November 21, 2026 — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra — Dunedin Town Hall | Dunedin, New Zealand. Program: Dame Gillian Whitehead – Hoata; Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. Orpheus Choir Wellington; City Choir Dunedin. Tickets: www.nzso.co.nz
Friday, December 4 & Saturday, December 5, 2026 — Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra — Cincinnati Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH, USA. Program: Maria Grenfell – Clockwerk; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488; Sergei Prokofiev – Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, 'Classical'; Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 104 in D Major, 'London.' Conrad Tao, piano. Tickets: cincinnatisymphony.org
Thursday, February 4, Monday, February 8, Wednesday, February 10, Saturday, February 13 & Monday, February 15, 2027 — Bayerische Staatsoper — National Theatre (Munich) | Munich, Germany. Program: John Adams – Doctor Atomic. Claus Guth, Director; Simon Keenlyside, baritone; Clive Bayley, bass; Brenton Ryan, tenor; Marlis Petersen, soprano; Natalie Lewis, mezzo-soprano; Gábor Bretz, bass; Jarrett Ott, baritone; Kevin Conners, tenor. Tickets: staatsoper.de
Thursday, February 25 and Friday, February 26, 2027 — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra — Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall | Wellington, New Zealand. Tickets available in September 2026. Program: Salina Fisher – World Premiere Commission; M
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