Stroma is a mixed chamber ensemble based in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand. It is New Zealand’s largest chamber ensemble, able to draw on over 20 players, many of whom are principal players with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO). It focuses on music written in the last 100 years, and has been active since 2000. It has commissioned and/or premiered over 50 New Zealand works, and has given repeat performances to another 40. Stroma has also collaborated with musicians and artists from other genres, such as jazz musicians (e.g. Jeff Henderson),

taonga pūoro Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments of the Māori people of New Zealand. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods a ...

players (e.g. Richard Nunns) and choreographers (e.g.

Daniel Belton Daniel Alexander Belton (born 1970) is a New Zealand dancer, choreographer and film-maker based in Dunedin. He is the co-founder and artistic director of Good Company Arts (GCA). He is an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate. His works hav ...

). Because the members are largely affiliated with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, usually fewer than 10 concerts a year are given by Stroma. NZSO principals have included Vesa-Matti Leppänen (violin), Bridget Douglas (flute), and Ed Allen (horn).

History

Stroma was established in 2000 by

Hamish McKeich Hamish John McKeich (born 13 May 1967) is a New Zealand bassoon player and conductor. He is principal conductor in residence of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Early life and education McKeich was born in Christchurch on 13 May 1967, the ...

, Michael Norris, Bridget Douglas and Philip Brownlee, with McKeich as its conductor. Its first concert, ''Wind, Rain & Light'' featured the music of Toru Takemitsu, James Gardner, Philip Brownlee,

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...

, Kaija Saariaho, Paul Booth, Michael Norris and

Jenny McLeod Jennifer Helen McLeod (12 November 1941 – 28 November 2022) was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington. She composed several major works for big groups including ''Under the Sun'' for four orchestr ...

. Since then, it has staged over 50 concerts throughout New Zealand, and has appeared at the

New Zealand Festival New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, the International Jazz Festival 2003, the Wellington Cathedral Festival 2003, the Christchurch Festival of the Arts 2005 and the Tempo and Body Festivals in 2012. They also toured for Chamber Music New Zealand in 2004, and ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' music critic William Dart commented that for their eclectic mixing of pieces by composers from New Zealand (Ross Harris), the United States (

George Crumb George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...

), and France (

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

; they played his '' Quatuor pour la fin du temps''), they gained "cheers all round". While Stroma's programmes are primarily focused on New Zealand composers and performers, it has also worked with international musicians as Roberto Fabbriciani,

Nicholas Isherwood Nicholas Isherwood is a Franco-American bass singer, who specialises in contemporary and baroque music. Notable roles include "Lucifer" in the world premieres of Stockhausen’s '' Montag'', '' Dienstag'', and '' Freitag'' from ''Licht'' at La S ...

, Richard Nunns, Madeleine Pierard (performing '' Pierrot Lunaire'' in 2012), Lars Mlekusch, the Duo Stump-Linshalm, Simon Docking, Adam Page, Richard Haynes, Warren Maxwell and Pedro Carneiro. In 2015, Stroma gave a tribute concert ''Nine Echoes'' to New Zealand composer

Douglas Lilburn Douglas Gordon Lilburn (2 November 19156 June 2001) was a New Zealand composer. Early life Lilburn was born in Whanganui and spent his early years on the family sheep farm in the upper Turakina River valley at Drysdale. He attended Waitaki Bo ...

on his 100th birthday at the

Sacred Heart Cathedral Sacred Heart Cathedral may refer to: Africa *Sacred Heart Cathedral, Moundou, Chad *Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bamako, Mali *Sacred Heart Cathedral, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo *Sacred Heart Cathedral, Freetown, Sierra Leone *Sacred Heart Cathedra ...

in Wellington. In 2016, ten of their players accompanied the opera ''Brass Poppies'', produced by Ross Harris and Vincent O'Sullivan and set in Wellington at a time when soldiers were leaving for

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

. Stroma contributed one piece to the double album set ''Passing By'' of compositions by New Zealand composer

Jack Body John Stanley Body (7 October 1944 – 10 May 2015) was a New Zealand composer, ethnomusicologist, photographer, teacher, and arts producer. As a composer, his work comprised concert music, music theatre, electronic music, music for film and da ...

. The album was released on 30 April 2015, only days before Body's death.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2000 Contemporary classical music ensembles Musical groups from Wellington