New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
| New Zealand Symphony Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Orchestra | |
NZSO playing at Te Papa in 2009
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| Founded | 1946 |
| Concert hall | Michael Fowler Centre |
| Music director | Edo de Waart |
| Website | www |
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Act 2004. It is currently based in the Michael Fowler Centre and frequently performs also in the adjacent Wellington Town Hall. It also performs in Auckland.
A national orchestra for New Zealand was first proposed with the founding of the Radio Broadcasting Company in 1925, and broadcasting studio orchestras operated in major cities from the late 1920s. A national orchestra was formed in 1939 for New Zealand's Centennial Exhibition in 1940.
The orchestra became permanent in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II as the "National Orchestra of the New Zealand Broadcasting Service" (by Oswald Cheesman and others); the inaugural concert took place on 6 March 1947. It was managed as a department of the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, which later became Radio New Zealand, as the NZBC National Orchestra and later the NZBC Symphony Orchestra.
The orchestra was renamed the NZBC Symphony Orchestra in 1963, still being administered by Radio New Zealand. In 1975, it became the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In 1988, the orchestra became fully independent of Radio New Zealand, and began operating as an independent Crown-owned company under its current name, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Even after the formal separation of the orchestra from Radio New Zealand, NZSO performances continue to be recorded, broadcast and archived by Radio New Zealand Concert. Auckland Town Hall, Wellington Town Hall and Michael Fowler Centre performances are broadcast live-to-air and streamed online, and performances in other centres or overseas cities are usually recorded and broadcast at later dates.
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Wikipedia