What: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Organ Symphony
Where: Auckland Town Hall
The under-representation of female conductors on concert stages is a cause for concern and it was heartening to see Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, playing to its second full house in a week, introducing the first of three women who will take on baton duties this season.
Gemma New is a young New Zealander making a mark in North America. Back home now, she clearly relished the chance to launch this concert programme with Douglas Lilburn's Overture: Aotearoa.
It was a remarkable reading. With broad, sweeping gestures, New invested the opening pages with a sense of majesty. Moving on to a brisk and purposeful Allegro, she drew out the composer's often tetchy to-and-fro between instruments, punctuated with sonorous strings and brass.
Violinist Francesca Dego faced a considerable challenge, competing with Janine Jansen's superb Sibelius concerto in this very venue just six months ago.