News and Events
John Wells will have one of the most exciting moments of his career next year when the Auckland Town Hall organ is inaugurated on Sunday, 21st March. Dr Wells initiated the project when he became City Organist in 1998 and the contract was awarded to Klais Orgelbau of Bonn, Germany in 2007. The 4-manual organ will feature two stops based on Maori instruments (the kuauau [flute] and pukaea [horn]) and has a specially designed internal walkway.
The Inaugural Concert will feature John Wells' first Organ Symphony, commissioned by the the Auckland Town Hall Organ Trust and generously funded by the Freemasons' Roskill Foundation. It will especially show the capabilities of the new organ and feature the two stops based on the Maori instruments (For more information on the concert, please refer to the Auckland Town Hll organ website.)
John Wells will perform his Organ Concerto with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra on May 18th. He will give an organ concert as part of the Wellington Festival (March 6th) and also performs in Howick, Ponsonby and Warkworth later in the year.
Current commisions include a fanfare based on the organ bird (the kokako); plans are in hand to produce a CD of the new Town Hall organ and the Well-Tempered Piano.
January 2010
