Orpheus Choir
Wellington
New Zealand’s premier symphonic choir
NZ’s premier symphonic choir
Thrilling audiences for seven decades
Tena Koe Welcome!
We’re often referred to as “the mighty Orpheus” because we bring the big choir experience — dramatic, spectacular, and emotionally charged performances of stunning choral music — to a wide variety of events. These include not just our own sell-out subscription series concerts but also festivals and pop concerts — think NZ’s biggest backing group. Our concerts are often recorded by Radio New Zealand.
Formed in 1947, our varied and sometimes surprising repertoire includes everything from the most loved works like Messiah and all the great Requiem Masses to forgotten or less known masterpieces such as Vaughan Williams spectacular Sea Symphony and James MacMillan’s emotionally devastating Seven Last Words from the Cross to Māori Waiata and Dave Dobbyn.
We are custodians of some of the greatest music ever written and we love to make it come alive for contemporary audiences of all ages and stages.
Recalibrating again!
Self-presented concerts
The pandemic is still with us and so are the disruptions. As a choir, we’ve learnt to be agile, adaptive and resilient. We’ve now extended our Singet! German Season across 2022 and 2023. It’s going to be wunderbar!
Instead of performing Bach’s incredible Mass in B Minor in May 2022, we’ve shifted it out to May 2023. It’s just too massive to perform without a full in person rehearsal schedule. Other works in our calendar fit the hybrid rehearsal model — in person and live streamed for those who want to join from home.
Our first self presented concert in the season will be the beautiful and ever-popular A German Requiem by Brahms in September 2022. Featuring Orchestra Wellington, a stellar line up of soloists and conducted by Brent Stewart.
Both these concerts will be an experience not to be missed. For more information and to buy tickets for both concerts, go to Our Concerts Page.
Our ‘guest appearances’
Our partnership with Orchestra Wellington goes from strength to strength, with Orpheus featuring in three of their 2022 season concerts.
As if that weren’t enough, we round out the year joining NZ Opera and Orchestra Wellington for two performances of Tim Finn’s haunting opera on 9 and 11 December at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua.
What the critics say
Percussion-driven Carmina Burana with the Orpheus Choir a triumph — a feeling of being immersed in an oceanic surge from all concerned of total and utter commitment to the music.
…I thought the chorus work among the best I’d ever heard in a “live” Messiah performance
Peter Mechen, Middle C
A packed Cathedral was here treated to a concert of variety and solid achievement…. the choir sang beautifully, and the halo effect of the Cathedral’s acoustics suited it ideally.
John Button, Dominion Post/Stuff
Orpheus Choir Wellington
In action at the Michael Fowler Centre
Sounds like you?
If you would like to join the choir we encourage you to register
your interest in auditioning.