2026 Second New Zealand International Music Competition Closing Ceremony Charity Symphony Concert Held in Grand Style in Auckland
[Auckland, New Zealand]
On 22 August 2026, the Closing Ceremony Charity Symphony Concert of the 2026 Second New Zealand International Music Competition was held in grandeur at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland. The competition and its closing ceremony charity symphony concert were hosted by the New Zealand Performing Arts Group, with organisation undertaken by the Shine Future · New Zealand International Music Competition Organising Committee.
Musicians, young musical talents, and music educators from China and New Zealand gathered alongside representatives from New Zealand's political, cultural, Māori, Chinese, and charitable communities to witness a magnificent symphonic gala that transcended borders, celebrated multiculturalism, and connected arts education with philanthropy.
On the evening of the concert, approximately 1,117 audience members filled Holy Trinity Cathedral to capacity. Nearly 200 performers and production staff took part in the performance, featuring a full symphony orchestra, a combined chorus of over one hundred voices, as well as vocalists, pianists, traditional instrumentalists, young competition winners, and Māori cultural performers from both China and New Zealand.
Beneath the cathedral's majestic vaulted ceilings, European opera, Western symphonic music, traditional Chinese folk music, and Māori culture resonated in harmony. The massive ensemble of nearly 200 performers and an audience of over a thousand collectively created a breathtaking and powerful cultural spectacle, writing a magnificent and heart-warming finale to the 2026 Second New Zealand International Music Competition.
This year's competition brought together young musical talents from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the China Conservatory of Music, the Middle School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Middle School Affiliated to the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, as well as from across New Zealand. Through international competition, professional exchange, and large-scale stage practice, music learners and professional artists of different cultural backgrounds and ages came together in New Zealand, listening to and understanding one another through music.
Dignitaries from China and New Zealand, Cultural and Community Leaders Witness the Occasion
On the evening of the concert, Mr. Chen Shijie, Consul-General of the People's Republic of China in Auckland, attended and delivered a speech. Hon Tama Potaka, New Zealand's Minister for Māori Development, and Nancy Lu, Member of Parliament of New Zealand, took to the stage together to address the audience. Nan Zhou, Opera Artistic Director of the New Zealand Performing Arts Group and baritone, also delivered remarks.
Chinese guests in attendance also included Ms. Lou Baiqian, Cultural Counsellor at the Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland, Vice-Consul Mr. Li Zhenyu, and Mr. Wang Jianwen, Director of the Auckland China Cultural Centre.
New Zealand political and Māori community representatives included Georgie Thompson, Chief Executive of Ruapōtaka Marae. Chinese community and organisational representatives included Jenny Chen of the New Zealand Chinese Tea Culture Association, Steven Wong of the New Zealand Chinese Associations Federation, and Jenny Wang QSM, Founder and Executive Director of the New Zealand Chinese Community Services Foundation. Business and educational guests included Leo Liu (EXP Finance) and Michelle Xie (Wukong Education).
Willa Hand, Chief Executive Officer of Variety – The Children's Charity New Zealand, was also present to witness the convergence of arts and philanthropy on this special evening.
The presence of dignitaries and representatives from the political, cultural, educational, Māori, Chinese, and charitable sectors elevated the concert beyond a purely artistic performance, transforming it into an important platform connecting China–New Zealand cultural exchange, youth arts education, community engagement, and social good.
A Gathering of Chinese and New Zealand Artists: Professional Excellence Meets Rising Stars
The closing ceremony charity symphony concert was staged under the direction of Luxuan Liu (Stage Director), with Nan Zhou serving as Music Director, Elisabeth Lau as Conductor, and renowned New Zealand violinist Monique Lappins as Concertmaster.
The competition's adjudicating panel, in addition to New Zealand experts, featured distinguished guest judges from China: Christopher Zhong, piano teacher at the Middle School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and Wang Guanwen, Associate Professor of Piano. Their presence built professional bridges between young musical talents of China and New Zealand, lending substantial artistic weight to the gala.
The concert featured an impressive line-up of artists: Liu Yaqi, a young Chinese tenor based in Italy; Dr. Morag Atchison, New Zealand soprano and voice faculty member at the University of Auckland School of Music; Wu Wenyan, recipient of the World Folk Music Bluebird Award and young folk instrumentalist from the China Conservatory of Music; and Meini Gong, Master of Music graduate from the University of Auckland and New Zealand local guzheng award winner in world folk music.
At the same time, performance ensembles from the University of Auckland School of Music, Māori cultural performers, and community representatives participated wholeheartedly, imbuing the concert with a rich layer of indigenous New Zealand cultural heritage. Professional artists, music educators, and young musical talents from China and New Zealand performed side by side, creating a cross-generational, cross-cultural, and cross-disciplinary artistic exchange.
Bluebird Excellence Award Winners Take to the Symphonic Stage
As a key outcome of the Second New Zealand International Music Competition, this concert was not merely a large-scale professional artistic performance but also a precious opportunity for outstanding young musical talents to perform alongside professional musicians and a symphony orchestra.
Bluebird Excellence Award piano winners Li Senmao, An Ye, and Chen Yu each took to the stage to perform classic piano concertos by Haydn, Mozart, and Liszt with the orchestra. Vocal competition winners—young mezzo-soprano Zheng Sihan, young soprano Hu Youke, and Charlotte Phillips, a young singer of Chinese and New Zealand heritage serving as a Youth Cultural Ambassador for China–New Zealand cultural exchange—also graced the closing concert stage.
Here, the significance of the competition extended beyond the awards themselves. Winners moved from the competition stage to the grand symphonic stage, performing alongside professional artists. This truly connected arts education, professional practice, and international exchange, allowing the next generation of musical talents to be challenged, showcased, and nurtured on a stage of the highest calibre.
Symphony, Opera, and Chinese Folk Music Converge in a Cross-Cultural Artistic Feast
The evening's programme spanned opera, symphonic music, piano concertos, Chinese traditional instrumental music, and Māori music, unfolding as a grand musical panorama bridging East and West.
Baritone Nan Zhou performed the celebrated aria "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's *The Barber of Seville*, joined by theatre performer Nev Cant for a dramatised stage presentation. Dr. Morag Atchison delivered Puccini's "Quando me'n vo'" from *La Bohème*. Nan Zhou and Italy-based young tenor Liu Yaqi joined forces for the classic duet "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's *Les Pêcheurs de Perles*.
Traditional Chinese instrumental music proved to be one of the evening's most emotionally resonant highlights. Young erhu performer Wu Wenyan took to the stage with the orchestra for *Galloping War Horses*, showcasing the unique artistry of the Chinese erhu through powerfully expressive folk musical language. Meini Gong presented *Ode to the Cloud-Clad Robe* on guzheng with orchestral accompaniment, as Eastern string timbres intertwined with the symphony orchestra in a display of distinctive stage colour.
Wu Wenyan later returned with pianist Cyrus Zhou for a selection from Pirates of the Caribbean, creating a vibrant crossover between Chinese traditional instruments and contemporary film music.
Christopher Zhong, piano teacher at the Middle School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, took to the stage with Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, delivering this technically demanding and dramatically charged masterwork with the orchestra.
From Rossini, Puccini, and Bizet to Haydn, Mozart, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff; from Western opera and piano masterpieces to Chinese erhu, guzheng, and the indigenous music of New Zealand—the concert achieved a profound dialogue between Eastern and Western musical civilisations, forging a multicultural musical feast of truly international vision.
Nearly 200 Performers on Stage—Letting the World Hear New Zealand's Voice
One of the evening's most monumental and symbolic stage images was the gathering of the full symphony orchestra, the combined chorus of over one hundred voices, soloists, and artists from diverse cultural backgrounds upon the magnificent stage of Holy Trinity Cathedral.
The official theme song of the 2026 New Zealand International Music Competition, "Let the World Hear You," composed by Nan Zhou with lyrics by Nan Zhou and orchestral arrangement by Jiao Peng, was performed in three languages: Māori, English, and Chinese.
The New Zealand Performing Arts Group Opera Chorus, the New Zealand Children's Choral Academy, and the Takapuna Grammar School Chorale participated in the vocal performance. Together with the New Zealand Performing Arts Group Symphony Orchestra and numerous artists, they formed a stage ensemble of immense scale.
Nearly 200 performers and production staff participated in the performance, with approximately 1,117 audience members in attendance—a full house. When the massive choral forces and symphony orchestra sounded together, when Māori, Chinese, and English voices intertwined beneath the vaulted ceilings of Holy Trinity Cathedral, nearly 200 performers and over a thousand audience members together created a profoundly moving musical moment.
What was expressed in that moment was not merely a single composition but the very spirit the competition sought to convey—let every young voice be heard, let different cultures meet through music, and let the world hear the voice of New Zealand.
From Chinese Folk Music to Māori Song: A True China–New Zealand Musical Dialogue
If the Chinese erhu and guzheng brought the sounds of the East across mountains and oceans, then the concert's final chapter returned the stage to the land of New Zealand.
Traditional Māori songs—Pukakere Ana, Hine e Hine, Matariki, Tarakihi —were newly arranged for orchestra by composer Jiao Peng and performed by Māori vocalist Joel Warnock, Nan Zhou, and Charlotte Phillips. On stage, European classical opera, Western piano masterpieces, Chinese traditional instrumental music, and Māori indigenous music unfolded in succession. The arts of each region were not simply presented in sequence but resonated and collided in dialogue. Though China and New Zealand are separated by vast oceans, music is the shared language that bridges the distance. This is the very significance of the Second New Zealand International Music Competition: using the stage as a bond and youth as a force, making cultural and artistic exchange between China and New Zealand real, vibrant, and full of warmth.
Music in Service of Charity—$4,270 in Ticket Proceeds Donated Entirely to Children's Charities
The closing ceremony was not only a musical gala transcending cultures and borders but also a charity symphony concert that translated love and social responsibility into concrete action.
The $4,270 raised through ticket sales was donated in full to Variety – The Children's Charity New Zealand, to support children and families in need across New Zealand. This ensured that the emotions stirred by the music extended from the stage into the community, making every ticket a tangible expression of love and support.
Willa Hand, Chief Executive Officer of Variety – The Children's Charity New Zealand, was present at the concert, joining Chinese and New Zealand guests, artists, and over a thousand audience members to witness this meaningful moment.
Approximately 1,117 audience members in attendance, nearly 200 performers and production staff participating, and $4,270 in ticket proceeds donated entirely to New Zealand children's charities—these figures together record that this concert not only achieved artistic success but also translated the social value of music into concrete philanthropic action.
When the final note faded, the concert's meaning did not end. The applause from the stage ultimately became support for children, and every ticket purchased by the audience became a gift of warmth to the children of New Zealand.
A Musical Gala, A Cultural Bridge Connecting China and New Zealand
The successful conclusion of the 2026 Second New Zealand International Music Competition Closing Ceremony Charity Symphony Concert brought this international music competition to a triumphant close.
Approximately 1,117 audience members filled the cathedral to capacity; nearly 200 performers and production staff took part; $4,270 in ticket proceeds was donated in full to children's charities—these figures not only reflect the grand scale of the concert but also record the power generated when art, cultural exchange, and social good converge on a single evening.
From the gathering of international young musical talents to the joint performances of Chinese and New Zealand professional artists; from a full symphony orchestra to a combined chorus of over one hundred voices; from European opera and Chinese folk music to Māori culture; from youth music education to children's philanthropy—this musical gala used music as its thread, bringing together art, education, youth, cultural exchange, and social responsibility on a single stage.
Within the space of Holy Trinity Cathedral, over a thousand audience members and nearly 200 performers together witnessed an evening of music, culture, friendship, and love. This was not merely a concert but a collective expression of exchange, youth, culture, and love.
The conclusion of the 2026 Second New Zealand International Music Competition is not an endpoint. The youth music exchange platform it established, the China–New Zealand artistic forces it connected, and the philanthropic ideals and cultural friendship it conveyed will continue to extend into the future through music.
Let the world hear the music,
Let the world hear the voices of the young;
May China and New Zealand draw closer through culture,
And may love and friendship travel ever further with the music.
Host: New Zealand Performing Arts Group
Organiser: Shine Future · New Zealand International Music Competition Organising Committee