New World, New Beginnings

Nearly a year before the end of the Second World War, a group of 733 Polish children and their 102 caregivers who had been displaced by the war, settled in Pahiatua in November 1944.

75 Years later SMP Ensemble dedicates two contrasting programmes to the Pahiatua Polish Children and their descendants, of classic and contemporary Polish music paired with brand new compositions from New Zealand composers.

The first concert (November 15th) features the mammoth Second Piano Quintet by Grażyna Bacewicz, alongside premieres by Glen Downie, Callum Mallett and André Nowicki.

The second concert (November 17th) features André Tchaikowsky’s atmospheric Trio Notturno, Szymanowski’s Songs of an Infatuated Muezzin, Hanna Kulenty's Cradle Song, and a new premiere by Louisa Nicklin.

This concert series is supported by Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Wellington, and Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music.

Tickets will available on the door but will be cash only.