Inspired by the museum’s collection of War artifacts, including letters from New Zealand soldiers, Victoria Kelly writes of the musical concept for this work, THE UNUSUAL SILENCE, “This piece will explore silence and the transience of sound; the silence that descends when battles stop; the unspoken relief, hope and desolation that is left resonating in the spaces between bursts of sound; the soldiers left deafened by noise and events too great for their bodies to withstand; the silence that so many soldiers maintained when they came home, the echoes of battle ringing only within; the effect of time on sound; the way that sound exists in memory and in dreams, filtered and altered by the unique human landscape of the people whose memories they are.”

In an emotional roller coaster ride the music programme travels from Keep the Home Fires Burning to Chatman’s In Flanders Fields, Eric Whitacre's A Boy and A Girl to Oh, it's a lovely War.

THE UNUSUAL SILENCE will also tour to the Hawke's Bay Arts Festival, and feature local boys choirs for both concerts.

These concerts and the Victoria Kelly commissioned work are presented in partnership with the Auckland War Memorial Museum and Toronto Children’s Chorus

THE UNUSUAL SILENCE is planned to be performed in Toronto, Canada, at the 100^th anniversary of Armistice Day in 2018.

Conductor: Dr Karen Grylls
Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir
Boy’s choirs