POLISHED: Manukau Symphony Orchestra is set to perform its final concert for the year. Photo supplied.

• Howick and Pakuranga Times

TWO mythical Chinese lovers reunited in death will be celebrated at a community orchestra’s final concert of the year.

Manukau Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) December showcase features some of its members’ favourite works. The Butterfly Lovers concert plays at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau on December 10-11.

Uwe Grodd, the MSO conductor and music director, has returned from a series of professional engagements overseas and oversees the orchestra’s final performance for 2011.

Mr Grodd says it was hard to choose what pieces to play, and he’s pleased with the final selection, as there will be something for everyone. “The overriding feeling is one of joy engendered by the familiarity and exuberance of the works,” he says.

Among the compositions is the Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto, one of China’s most famous pieces.

Written by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao, it tells the tragic story of two lovers in a Romeo and Juliet-themed legend.

As a special feature, Liao Juhua, consul-general of China’s ministry of culture in Auckland, has arranged for the renowned violinist He Chang to perform.

Set to take the stage also is Howick resident and MSO premiere scholarship winner in 2001, Patricia Robertson-Bickers.

The University of Auckland student performs the first movement of the Hummel Trumpet Concerto.

Ms Robertson-Vickers is a regular member of the brass section and the orchestra is “delighted” to showcase her talent, says treasurer Andrew Kincaid.

Celebrity Max Cryer will be on hand as part of the festivities to narrate the musical story The Night Before Christmas, while the audience can also look forward to the performance of works by Handel, as well as Tchaikovsky’s famous 1812 Overture.

Butterfly Lovers is at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, 770 Great South Road, Manukau, at 7.30pm on December 10 and 2.30pm on December 11. Tickets cost $15-$50. To book, phone (09) 372-6572, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit www.ticketdirect.co.nz.

Win! One of four double passes to Butterly Lovers' Violin Concerto