A major milestone, new name, and moving premises; there is not much the Southern Sinfonia is not doing this year. Rebecca Fox discovers why all the changes.
It all boils down to one simple word: growth.
The Southern Sinfonia has not only outgrown its premises, it has also outgrown its name.
So a change in name - it will now be known as the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) - reflects how the orchestra has grown from a small group to a larger orchestra playing symphonic music.
To accommodate that growth, it is leaving behind the rehearsal rooms and office at the Carnegie Centre and moving in May to Hanover Hall in Hanover St.
The orchestra has chosen its 50th anniversary year to make the changes and will mark the milestone with its 2016 concert series including a gala performance in April featuring conductor Tecwyn Evans (formerly of Dunedin, now based in Europe), Claire Barton, Jonathan Lemalu (a Dunedin boy now based in Europe) and the City Choir of Dunedin.
‘‘The theme of the concerts is working with the conductors, soloists and composers who have played a large part in the orchestra's history, and the orchestra has played a large part in their careers too,'' general manager Philippa Harris said.
For example, both conductor Holly Mathieson and violinist Jenny Banks started their careers at the Sinfonia and now have flourishing careers in Europe, Mathieson as resident conductor of the Youth Orchestra of Scotland Junior Orchestra and Banks as principal second violin at Leipzig's Gewandhaus Orchestra.
The pair will perform Beethoven's Eroica in July.
‘‘We've also got some stars from overseas. Noah Bendix-Balgley, a violin soloist and concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic and conductors Jessica Cottis and Nicholas Braithwaite, who was for 10 years our principal guest conductor.''
It was a significant milestone for the orchestra, which was the oldest city-based sinfonia in New Zealand, she said.
No celebration would be complete without a performance of a work by Dunedin composer Anthony Ritchie, she said.
The season would finish with a new work by Ritchie, Gallipoli to the Somme performed by Dunedin-trained soprano Anna Leese and Christchurch bass-baritone Paul Whelan and conducted by principal guest conductor Simon Over.
‘‘We'll be celebrating the past and turning over a new leaf.''
The Sinfonia, or Dunedin Civic Orchestra as it was first known, had its initial concert in February 1966 with Governor-General Sir Bernard Fergusson in attendance.
The latest name change was the organisation's fourth.
It was changed to Dunedin Sinfonia and then in 2000 to Southern Sinfonia in an effort to recognise changes to its role and funding priorities.
Ms Harris said the change to DSO also reflected that the orchestra was based in Dunedin as were its musicians, it played mostly in the city and it had solid local support.
When its name changed to Southern Sinfonia, it reflected that there was government funding for the orchestra to branch out more into the region but that funding had since stopped.
‘‘We still do it but not like it was envisioned back then.''
As time had gone on, the orchestra had needed to branch out, both in response to its audience but also because the artistic development of the orchestra meant it could perform a wider range of repertoire.
‘‘I think the artistic leadership of the guest conductors and concertmaster has really helped the orchestra grow artistically to be able to do the wider range of repertoire.''
That development was indicated by the Royal New Zealand Ballet asking it to accompany it.
‘‘It's a feather in our cap.''
A new website was being rolled out today to mirror the changes: www.dso.org.nzAs well as celebrating the birthday, the orchestra is also preparing to change premises.
It had simply outgrown the Carnegie Centre which the Sinfonia moved into in the 1980s when it was a lot smaller.
DSO marketing and publicity officer Pieter du Plessis said the rooms had served a purpose for many years.
‘‘There is a lot of history here. But we have more players and need a new home.''
Finding a place to house 70 musicians, their instruments and office space was not easy.
‘‘We have reasonably specific requirements.''
However, when an offer of Hanover Hall, formerly the Hanover Street Baptist Church, and most recently the Monkey Bar, was made, it appeared to be a good fit, Ms Harris said.
Like the Carnegie Centre, which was formerly the city's library, the hall has history and is a category one Historic Places building.
‘‘It is such a nice fit. It is a distinctive part of the Dunedin landscape and is very central. It's the kind of place we wanted. It's not just a warehouse.''
The hall would be the orchestra's permanent home, providing rehearsal and office space on a scale it has not had before.
The move would provide the musicians with a place to rehearse in a more convenient manner, as many held full-time jobs or study.
‘‘There are very few orchestras of this kind where you can have a daytime job,''
Ms Harris said.‘‘I think it is a very healthy balance and brings a freshness to playing.''
The building's owner will renovate the interior of the building, which had an 80% earthquake rating under the new building standards, but the orchestra will fit it out.
In another first for the orchestra, the rehearsal spaces will be acoustically treated to provide acoustics which imitate that of the venues they perform at, such as the Dunedin Town Hall.
To do this, the Sinfonia has had to commission specially designed and made acoustic panels at a cost of $120,000.
‘‘The church is a much taller, bigger space.
‘‘At the moment, it's too reverberant, but we don't want it totally dead like a recording studio,'' Ms Harris said.
Mr du Plessis said the orchestra needed a specific type of acoustic to allow the various instruments to be heard properly.
It would also install acoustic absorbent carpet, fit out the office, add storage and reinstate the kitchen, which would cost $190,000.
Part of that would also be seating for the rehearsal space, which could fit about 260 people.
The plan was to rent out the space to other performing arts groups and music ensembles when not needed for orchestra rehearsals.
The orchestra itself would continue to perform at venues such as the Town Hall and King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre, which were much larger venues.
The move has required the orchestra to launch a fundraising project.
It had funding of $65,000 so far and hoped to raise $145,000 from trusts to go towards the move but that still left $100,000 to raise from donations and grants.
‘‘We hope all our fans will help us get there,'' Mr du Plessis said.
Funding had always been a challenge for the orchestra, although it had three main sponsors: Creative New Zealand, the Otago Community Trust and the Dunedin City Council.
‘‘It's been, I hate to use the word battle, to not only provide the standard of music our audience wants but also have the number of concerts we have,'' Mr du Plessis said.
The reason the orchestra did not perform more was due to funding constraints.
‘‘It's difficult to get more funding so we do what we can according to budget. While the audience might demand more, it's just not financially viable.''
Support from the audience, from throughout Otago through attendance, subscriptions and donations was crucial to the orchestra, he said.
‘‘We can't survive without that support.''
Ms Harris said it was very heartening that unlike the trend internationally, subscriptions to the orchestra were growing, last year by 12%.
‘‘It's remarkable, really.''
