Welcome to Between the Lines, our brand-new musical book club series created with Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Wellington Central Library, Orchestra Wellington and New Zealand School of Music - Te Kōkī. We're bringing music and literature into conversation across seven free, monthly concerts. For the third session in the series, curated and performed by NZSQ, we're exploring private lives. Music and literature both have the power to transport an audience deep into the interior pr

Across the 2026 King's Birthday weekend the NZ School of Music - Te Kōkī Kelburn campus resounded with the sound of 34 bright young chamber musicians. Let's look back on some of the highlights of the weekend. The NZSQ ChamberLab @ Te Kōkī (previously known as the King's Birthday Weekend Chamber Music Intensive) is an annual long weekend of chamber music making and coaching for secondary school ensembles. It's a great way for aspiring musicians to get an immersive taste of wha

Our events internship is back for its third year and in 2026 we're excited to have welcomed Caoimhe Pace to the NZSQ office! Caoimhe is a Wellington-based composer, performer and recent graduate of New Zealand School of Music - Te Kōkī. She has already been hard at work in the NZSQ office running our annual ChamberLab coaching weekend and is now ready to launch the 2026 season of The Racket Lounge. Read on to get to know Caoimhe and find out what she's most looking forward to

Welcome to Between the Lines, our brand-new musical book club series created with Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Wellington Central Library, Orchestra Wellington and New Zealand School of Music - Te Kōkī. We're bringing music and literature into conversation across seven free, monthly concerts. For the second session in the series, but the first hosted, curated and performed by NZSQ, we're exploring obsession. From infatuation to guilt to eccentricities to passion, composers and wr

The 32nd annual Adam Summer School for Chamber Music took place in Nelson this February with its signature mix of excitement and exhaustion. We wanted to take a look back on the week that was and share some of the exciting moments. The Adam Summer School for Chamber Music is an annual, week-long gathering of passionate secondary and tertiary string and piano players. Across eight days, at the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts, they're mentored by the New Zealand String Quartet a

The 2026 Adam International Chamber Music Festival is only days away from kicking off in Nelson, so we thought you would enjoy this quick Q&A with Peter all about how he's prepping for his first time at the Festival. This interview was originally published in the ACMF newsletter. Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox. 1. This will be your first Adam Chamber Music Festival - is that correct? If so, what are you most looking forward to about “the Adam”? For musici

The NZSQ Team for 2025 | Photo by Maeve O'Connell As the year draws to a close, we’ve taken the opportunity to reflect on what has been a significant transition year for the New Zealand String Quartet. 2025 has been characterised by collaboration, creativity, and connection with communities across Aotearoa. We were privileged to perform with 19 extraordinary guest artists , a special group of violinists and cellists who we now consider very much part of the NZSQ whānau. Our c

We are thrilled to announce that internationally renowned cellist Martin Smith will join the NZSQ in 2026. Martin will bring an impressive wealth of skills and talent to Aotearoa as he transitions into the role over the first half of 2026, beginning permanently in July. After receiving his early training in Sydney, Martin furthered his study with leading teachers in Europe. Over the past two decades, he has appeared with leading orchestras on some of the world’s most celebrat

It's been a few weeks since we wrapped up the 2025 season of The Racket Lounge. We presented four concerts across four months, featuring 31 incredible local artists who performed an eclectic mix of tunes, including six brand-new pieces of music by emerging Wellington composers. And all of it was brought together by a talented young artist, Ella Dowsett-Farmer! Ella joined us in the office as our Events Coordinator, a role created as part of an internship opportunity for an ea

The New Zealand String Quartet is proud to announce that Wellington-based composer Estella Wallace as the winner of the Finlayson Prize...

Our 2025 Fellowship Ensemble,The Antipodes Quartet, recently returned from their national tour as part of the Chamber Music New Zealand...

Antipodes Quartet is the ensemble of emerging and early-career musicians taking part in the 2025 Fellowship Programme , facilitated and...

We're thrilled to be running our events internship once again in 2025, this time with another rising star of the classical music world,...

For our first international tour of 2025 we travelled to rural New South Wales, Australia to spend a week performing at the Warren...

The 31st annual Adam Summer School for Chamber Music took place in Nelson this February with its signature mix of excitement and...

Across the end of March and beginning of April we toured to three centres around Aotearoa with the New Zealand Dance Company and Chamber...

The annual Adam Summer School for Chamber Music is an opportunity for up to 30 talented young string players and pianists to commit...

Mika Cornelius recipient of 2024/25 NZSQ | SOUNZ Tarling Trust Commission. Melbourne-based composer Mika Cornelius has been selected as...

Toe-tapping, awe-inspiring, boundary-pushing chamber music. Discover the joy of chamber music in a season designed for everyone! Whether...

In Wellington city, on the evening of Wednesday 2 October, Bedlam & Squalor was filled with good classical vibes at the final Racket...