Dunedin’s Southern Consort of Voices invite music lovers to experience the stars through the medium of music in celebration of Matariki.

Under the direction of Daniel Kelly, the choir will present “Starlight”, a programme of unaccompanied choral works inspired by the night sky, the seasons and Matariki, on Sunday, July 26, from 7.30pm at St Paul’s Cathedral. 

A centrepiece of the concert programme will be the Ōtepoti premiere of Dunedin composer Anthony Ritchie’s Ururangi —  a major contemporary New Zealand choral work exploring themes of the heavens, creation and connection. 

In a statement, Kelly said Ururangi was part of a larger work created by Ritchie, Matariki He Kahui Reo, commissioned for the World Choir Games in 2024. 

“We’re especially pleased to be performing Ururangi, which means ‘winds of the sky’ and is the eighth star of Matariki,” Kelly said.

“Anthony has had a long association with the Southern Consort of Voices, and it’s always rewarding to bring his evocative music to local audiences.”

Kelly said surrounding Ururangi would be a richly atmospheric programme of music for unaccompanied voices by internationally acclaimed composers including Eriks Esenvalds, Dan Forrest and Ola Gjeilo. 

“The selection of works has been inspired by the night sky and the stories we tell about it,” he said.

“Some of the pieces are luminous and expansive, while others are more atmospheric and reflective, drawing on contemporary poetry or sacred texts.”

The resonant acoustic at St Paul’s would be ideal for the concert’s a capella repertoire, and audience members would be surrounded by the cathedral’s special lighting and candles, Kelly said.

The Southern Consort of Voices has built a reputation for excellence in choral performance and adventurous programming, regularly presenting concerts that challenge, inspire and delight audiences across Dunedin and Otago.

Recent programmes have ranged from Renaissance motets and Romantic masterpieces to contemporary New Zealand works and folk-inspired music from around the world.

 — Allied Media