Five Lines is a collection of writings about music in Aotearoa New Zealand by Elizabeth Kerr. It features short articles, artist profiles and reviews of concerts, operas and albums. You can subscribe - it’s free - at the bottom of any story.
Music at the Festival: do venue acoustics matter?
An opinion piece about venue acoustics, exploring issues in concert settings used during the 2026 Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts, while reviewing concerts by NZTrio and NZ String Quartet.
SOUNDCATHEDRAL: sonic architecture across time and space
Michael Norris’s SoundCathedral was installed in the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul for premiere during the Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts. Its monumental sonic architecture made a big impact.
NZSO Beyond Words: united by music
In Beyond Words, the NZSO, conductor Fawzi Haimor, composer John Psathas with vocalist OUM and oud virtuoso Kyriakos Tapakis marked the 5th anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks with music that moved and united the audience.
Voice of the Whale
Voice of the Whale is an online concert in the 2022 Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts. It includes a performance of Vox Balaenae, a tribute to composer George Crumb who died in February 2022.
21 x 21: not such a “crazy idea”
Soprano Jenny Wollerman commissioned 21 songs from female composers of New Zealand, setting texts by female poets, and will premiere the set with pianist Jian Liu in a recital in the Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts.