Classical music meets contemporary Cuba Street culture
Opening the doors for a new audience for classical music
The 2023 festival’s expert curator is Elliot Vaughan, composer, performer, and artist based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, having returned to Kiwi shores to complete his MMus after fifteen years in Vancouver. His output includes exploratory concert music, composed theatre, pop songs, performance art, and contributions to collaborative projects.
This fresh approach and vision for opening the doors for a new audience for classical music resulted in a programme that featured a widely diverse and playful line up with shows spanning Bach to Bridgerton. Classical on Cuba forges new paths, with classical players coming together with hip hop artists, jazz musicians, taonga pūoro powerhouses, opera divas, drag performers, theatre actors and contemporary dancers to make one exciting lineup of acts to choose from on a classical crawl through the weekend.
From new commissioned concerts to special musical events for kids, Classical on Cuba has something for everyone.
Classical on Cuba is nurtured under the umbrella of Wellington’s Creative Capital Arts Trust, a non-profit organisation looking out for the arts and artists alike, masterminding the likes of CubaDupa and NZ Fringe Festival. Creative Capital Arts Trust works in artistic partnership with Orchestra Wellington for Classical on Cuba.