AUSCO Presents: Across Lands & Legends

Auckland University Student Chamber Orchestra (AUSCO) is proud to present:

Across Lands & Legends

Journey into the heart of Aotearoa with AUSCO’s Across Lands & Legends, a concert that tours the audience across breathtaking landscapes around the world, guided by the vibrant colours of a full student‑led string orchestra. From windswept coastlines to forests alive with birdsong, each work paints a vivid portrait of the natural world and the stories woven through it. Our musicians explore the tension between stillness and movement, earth and sky, crafting a soundscape that feels both ancient and immediate.

Featuring Lilburn’s Diversions, Vaughan Williams’ transcendent Fantasia, Sculthorpe’s atmospheric Jabiru Dreaming, selections from Parry, and the beloved Merry Go Round of Life, the program blends tradition, imagination, and cinematic warmth. Join us for an evening where music becomes a living landscape — a place where legends breathe, nature sings, and every note carries you deeper into the spirit of Aotearoa.

Friday 22 May, 7pm - 9pm - St Matthew-in-the-city (132 Hobson Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010)

Saturday 23 May, 2pm - 4pm - Building 250/6 Symonds Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010

Programme:

Diversions for String Orchestra - Douglas Lilburn

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis - Ralph Vaughan Williams

Third Sonata for Strings 'Jabiru Dreaming' - Peter Sculthorpe

An English Suite (Selections) - C. Hubert H. Parry

Merry Go Round of Life (Howl's Moving Castle) - Joe Hisashi Arr: Hai Mai

More about BirdCare Aotearoa:

BirdCare Aotearoa is Auckland's main Dept of Conservation-permitted native bird hospital. The charity serves nature-loving kiwis (the human kind) with clinical rehabilitation, education and advocacy for sick, injured or orphaned native birds. Each year, the tiny team and dedicated volunteers care for ~2000 bird rescues, from ~110 different species. Although challenging, the recovery and release of each taonga patient is a thrill, and critical for many at-risk species.

From the dawn chorus of tūī, to the low boom of matuku-hūrepo, and even the whistles and screeches of kākā, Aotearoa NZ was filled with music. BirdCare Aotearoa are excited to collaborate with the talented AUSCO musicians, to return birdsong back to Te Taiao nature.