The New Zealand String Quartet will return to Tauranga next month, inviting audiences to experience an evening of musical storytelling in the recently reopened Toi Tauranga Art Gallery.
The concert, The Storytellers: Transform on Sunday, August 9, is part of the quartet’s nationwide 2026 season and was designed to appeal to everyone, from seasoned chamber music enthusiasts to those attending their very first string quartet performance.
The programme explores the power of storytelling through music, bringing together classical masterpieces, contemporary works and New Zealand compositions in a concert that celebrates emotion, imagination and human connection.
“The programme is something the quartet has been working on for some time now and the performance will be a masterful one that all can enjoy,” Tauranga-based NZSQ trustee Buddy Mikaere said.
Audiences will hear music spanning more than 300 years, beginning with Henry Purcell’s Fantasias and concluding with Benjamin Britten’s acclaimed String Quartet No. 2, written in the aftermath of World War II.
The programme features Anthony Ritchie’s lively Perpetual Motion and Last Dance from String Quartet No. 3, Fanny Mendelssohn’s expressive String Quartet in E-flat major and Heal by New Zealand composer Salina Fisher, a moving reflection on grief and healing.
The New Zealand String Quartet has a long association with Tauranga going back to 2014, Tauranga-based NZSQ trustee Buddy Mikaere says. Photo / Maeve O'Connell
Performing in Tauranga will be violinist Peter Clark, violist Gillian Ansell, who has been with the ensemble since its formation in 1987, and the quartet’s new cellist Martin Smith. They will be joined by special guest violinist Peter-Andreas Nielsen, who is travelling from Denmark to perform with the ensemble throughout August.
Presented in the intimate surroundings of Toi Tauranga Art Gallery, the concert promises a unique blend of visual art and live performance, offering audiences an opportunity to experience world-class chamber music in one of the city’s newest cultural spaces.
Mikaere said the acoustics in the gallery will enhance the quartet’s performance.
“This concert continues the New Zealand String Quartet’s long association with Tauranga going back to 2014 and a performance marking the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gate Pā,” he said.
Tickets to Storytellers: Transform at Toi Tauranga Art Gallery, 108 Willow St, at 5.30pm on August 9 are for sale at Eventfinda.
Win with The Sun
Thanks to the NZ String Quartet, The Weekend Sun has one double pass to Storytellers: Transform to give away to one reader who can tell us where the August 9 concert will be performed.
To enter, visit: www.sunlive.co.nz and click on the ‘competitions’ tab. Entries must be in by Tuesday, August 4.