The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is the largest professional orchestra in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand, based in the city of Christchurch. It was established in 1958 as the John Ritchie String Orchestra, due to the vision and encouragement of Christchurch composer John Ritchie. It was renamed the Christchurch Civic Orchestra four years later in 1962, and has used its current name since 1974. Currently, the CSO has an established core of principal and tenured players with additional contracted casual players. The orchestra performs in over fifty concerts a year including performances for the Royal New Zealand Ballet,

Southern Opera New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's only full-time professional opera company, formed in 2000 from the merger of companies in Auckland and Wellington (and later Christchurch). New Zealand Opera is headquartered in Parnell, Auckland, stages severa ...

, Christchurch City Council events, the National Concerto Competition and the

Adam International Cello Festival and Competition The Adam International Cello Festival and Competition took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1995–2009, on the initiative of Professor Alexander Ivashkin and Professor Natalia Pavlutskaya while on the staff at the School of Music, Univers ...

. The CSO repertoire presents a wide range of classical, pops and contemporary musical styles. The orchestra also works with primary and secondary schools throughout the

with its Community Engagement Programme. The Chief Conductor since 2015 is the Australian conductor Benjamin Northey. Bic Runga has recorded an album with the CSO, ''

Live in Concert with the Christchurch Symphony ''Live in Concert with the Christchurch Symphony'' is a live album by New Zealand artist Bic Runga, her third album overall. Runga performed with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marc Taddei. The performance was recorded in Chris ...

''. The orchestra has collaborated with a range of artists, including

the Adults The Adults is a "collaborative name" used for two different recording projects led by New Zealand musician and Shihad frontman Jon Toogood. The first iteration of the Adults was a New Zealand rock supergroup that released a self-titled album in ...

in 2012, Anika Moa and

Julia Deans Julia Mary Deans (born 27 August 1974) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer of rock band Fur Patrol. Banshee Reel In the early '90s Deans joined Wellington-based Celtic rock band Banshee Reel. The group released ...

in 2015, and Tiki Taane,

Big Sima Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...

, and Tali in 2021. name="Tiki Taane's Family Affair">

References

External links

* * Musical groups established in 1958 Organisations based in Christchurch Culture in Christchurch New Zealand orchestras Symphony orchestras Musical groups from Christchurch 1958 establishments in New Zealand {{orchestra-stub