The Symphony Experience! King's Birthday Monday 2nd June

ENTRY TO THIS CONCERT IS BY KOHA

This concert is supported by Creative NZ and the Palmerston North City Council through the Creative Communities Scheme. 

Dvorak: Legend No.4 and No.6

Beethoven: Romance for Violin and Orchestra Op.50 and Op. 40

Brahms: Symphony No.1 in C Minor

Conductors: Vesa-Matti Leppänen and Joanna Dann

Violin Soloist: Anna van der Zee

Vesa-Matti Leppänen

Born and raised in Finland, Vesa-Matti Leppänen relocated to New Zealand in 2000. In 2002, he was appointed as the Concertmaster of the NZSO, a position he has held since then.

He has performed as soloist with all the major orchestras in New Zealand. With the NZSO, he has performed several concertos as well as works by leading New Zealand composers. In 2005 he led the NZSO on its European/Japanese Tour and again in 2010, including unforgettable performances in the Musikverein in Vienna and Lucerne Festival Hall. On both of those tours he was also featured as a soloist.

Internationally, Leppänen has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines and Scandinavia and has had the privilege of serving as a guest concertmaster for numerous esteemed orchestras. These include the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, the Japan Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and Avanti! Chamber Orchestra.

Vesa says, “I’m very passionate in matching the expectations with the level of talent to make every project as rewarding as possible. This would involve creating a set of repertoire that is exciting for the audiences but more importantly for the keen youngsters.”

Joanna Dann

Joanna grew up in the Manawatu, playing cello in the local orchestras and in chamber music ensembles with friends and family. She pursued cello studies at the University of Waikato with James Tennant and the University of Otago with Heleen du Plessis, during which she performed in the Opus Orchestra in Hamilton, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and the NZSO National Youth Orchestra.

Since completing her cello studies in early 2022, Joanna has taken steps towards pursuing conducting, learning with Kenneth Young, Peter Adams and Martin Riseley. She is currently freelancing and teaching music in Wellington and Palmerston North.