Photo: Gareth Watkins/Wallace Arts Trust/Lilburn Trust
‘Resilience - A symphonic diary of a difficult decade' is a new work by Christchurch composer Philip Norman. Taking its starting point from the 2011 earthquake, the composition encompasses the three major challenges Christchurch has faced over the past 10 years: the earthquake, the 2019 mosque shootings and the current coronavirus pandemic.
For Philip Norman, it’s birdsong that provides a uniting thread: the eerie silence that preceded the quake, and its exuberant return during last year’s Level 4 lockdown.
Philip Norman and Christchurch Symphony Orchestra CEO Gretchen La Roche talked to Upbeat about the new composition and the CSO’s adaptability and connection with the community during this difficult decade.
Gretchen La Roche says it’s been an ‘interesting’ ten years, and while it hasn’t been without its challenges, it’s also given the orchestra a lot of opportunities to discover new ways of doing things.
“I think it’s really helped to revitalise and rejuvenate the orchestra, and particularly for us to take the opportunity to listen and understand better what our community, our city needs from us as an arts organisation.”
Philip Norman: Resilience - A symphonic diary of a difficult decade
Sergei Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No 1
Michael Endres (piano), Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Young (conductor)
Saturday 13 March, 7.30pm, Douglas Lilburn Auditorium, Christchurch Town Hall
