Composed by Prof John Drummond, of Otago University, the world premiere of The Journey Home will be given on September 8, in the third of the orchestra's International Series concerts. The oratorio will be conducted by Simon Over and feature soprano Jenny Wollerman, tenor James Rodgers, baritone Robert Tucker and the City of Dunedin Choir.
Every year the orchestra aims to have a comprehensive range of works, soloists and conductors for concerts, according to general manager Philippa Harris.
"The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is only doing two concerts here this year and both are quite small orchestras. We see our role as the main presenter of orchestral repertoire, so we go from the baroque right through to Stravinsky, Nielsen plus New Zealand works as appropriate," she said.
This year's series includes several core works, some of which have not been played by the orchestra before, such as Brahm's Piano Concerto No 2.
This will be performed at the first concert on March 24 with Diedre Irons as soloist.
Another highlight in the same concert was Sibelius' Symphony No 5 with its rousing swan theme in the finale, she said.
Young up-and-coming British violinist Jack Liebeck plays Dvorak's Violin Concerto in the second concert, on July 21, continuing the orchestra's tradition of bringing in talented performers early in their careers.
The first matinee concerts, on May 5 and 6, feature two of the orchestra's principals as soloists, Luca Manghi playing Nielsen's Flute Concerto, and Nicholas Cornish Mozart's Oboe Concerto.
Giving some of their best players solo opportunities not only gives them due recognition, but also is part of their artistic development, Harris says.
"Dunedinites are proud of these players they see in concerts with enticing little solos and now they will have a chance to do a major work."
Last year's matinee series concerts on Sunday afternoons at Kings and Queens Performing Arts Centre sold out, and extra concerts were scheduled on the previous Saturday.
This year the orchestra has decided to schedule two of each concert from the beginning so people can choose.
Late Saturday afternoon suits some people better than mid-afternoon on Sundays.
With the Town Hall being renovated, the orchestra will give its Saturday night International series concerts in the Regent Theatre.
"It's always a bit nerve-racking when you try something new like that. Upstairs at the Regent is a bit closer to the stage than the Town Hall's upstairs, so from the audience point of view there's more feeling of involvement in the performance. The big question for a lot of people was the acoustics, but we were amazed at how good they were. We took down the side curtains."
A venue that could seat more than 1000 people was needed and nothing else in Dunedin approached that, she said. The Regent was central and had all the front-of-house and backstage facilities needed.
"It's the audience's experience that really matters, and we've had nothing but positive feedback."
The orchestra's subscription sales open on Monday.
