WELLSO Winter

Come and enjoy a weekend of Orchestral and Chamber music making with like-minded adults. The winter programme has been running for a number of years now and has been enjoyed by adult players of all levels from all over New Zealand and Australia.

The theme of the 2025 WELLSO Winter Weekend is “Sounds of Spain,” which will include music from or influenced by Spain. The weekend will be a combination of sessions all together to enjoy some orchestral classics, chamber music groups plus sectionals and workshops to develop skills.

In the orchestra, we play a combination of popular classical music arranged for different levels to be able to play together. Chamber groups are arranged according to your levels.

Mark Bobb is the musical director and conductor of WELLSO (Wellington Late Starters Orchestra), which now has 50 regular members on Saturday mornings. As well as WELLSO, he conducts four choirs and various chamber groups around Wellington. He teaches in two Wellington Colleges, sings with a number of opera companies and vocal groups, and has directed music ensembles for more than 15 years.

Throughout the weekend, we will be welcoming professional musicians to help with sectionals and assisting with the conducting. Coaches we have used have been from NZSO, Orchestra Wellington and NZ String Quartet.

Music will be mailed out two weeks before the weekend to give you time to practice. The emphasis is on enjoying playing the music as much as getting it perfect (although we do aim for it)! 

The full programme will be available soon!