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Welcome to Planet MusicTony Ryan is a conductor, composer, educator and reviewer
based in Christchurch, New Zealand |
Resonance Ensemble - final rehearsals for Sweet Sorrow
Music inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
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Resonance Ensemble
Sweet Sorrow
Music inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Bernstein - Extracts from West Side Story
Rota - A Time for Us from Franco Zefferelli's film Romeo and Juliet
Hextall - Wedding Mixtape
Tchaikovsky - Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet
Gounod - Je Veux Vivre from Romeo and Juliet
Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet (Suite No. 2)
Conducted by Tony Ryan
with saxophonist Lana Law and soprano Emily-Jane Stockman
Timeless and soul-stirring themes of love and humanity brought Resonance Ensemble’s 2025 Season to a close with music melts the heart – what better way to end the musical year?
Sweet Sorrow
Music inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Bernstein - Extracts from West Side Story
Rota - A Time for Us from Franco Zefferelli's film Romeo and Juliet
Hextall - Wedding Mixtape
Tchaikovsky - Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet
Gounod - Je Veux Vivre from Romeo and Juliet
Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet (Suite No. 2)
Conducted by Tony Ryan
with saxophonist Lana Law and soprano Emily-Jane Stockman
Timeless and soul-stirring themes of love and humanity brought Resonance Ensemble’s 2025 Season to a close with music melts the heart – what better way to end the musical year?
Interview recorded on 29 December 2022
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Resonance Ensemble's final concert of the 2025 season was Sweet Sorrow featuring music inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet on 30 November
CSM Sinfonia's concert on 22 November celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss II The Schools Music Festival Orchestra played magnificently over four nights from 4 to 7 November in the Christchurch Town Hall. Watch their performances on YouTube. Resonance Ensemble's concert on 14 September - Wayfarers was a hugely enjoyable event with music by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Mahler You can watch Resonance Ensemble's Music for Matariki concert on YouTube. This concert, on 15 June, featured works by New Zealand composers and included Tony's own Saxophone Concerto with soprano saxophone soloist Alice Morgan, as well as music by John Ritchie, Anthony Ritchie and Claire Cowan. Resonance Ensemble's concert on 6 April - Waifs & Strays with music by Rossini, Punto, Bissill and Prokofiev was a notable success with French Horn soloist Alex Morton giving a brilliantly flamboyant performance of Giovanni Punto's Horn Concerto No. 5 and Richard Bissill's Fat Belly Blues. Prokofiev's Symphony No. 7 was a real find and the orchestra rose magnificently to its many challenges. Last November, Resonance Ensemble's Rebellious Russians concert - Music by Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Borodin was another innovative programme with pianist Gabriel Baird joining the orchestra for a stunning performance of Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2. The latest Troubleshooter is prompted by this year's Shostakovich anniversary and talks about musical 'blind spots'. |
Recent Concerts and Events
- 30 November 2025: Resonance Ensemble presented Sweet Sorrow. - Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Bernstein, Gounod, Rota, Hextall
- 22 November 2025 CSM Sinfonia performed music by Smetana, Gounod, Johann Strauss
- 4 - 7 November 2025: Schools Festival Symphony Orchestra. Music by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Stravinsky.
- 14 September 2025: Resonance Ensemble presented Wayfarers. Music by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Mahler.
- 26 July 2025 CSM Sinfonia performed music by Chabrier, Lloyd Webber and J.Strauss II at the Christchurch Town Hall
- 15 June 2025: Resonance Ensemble presented Music for Matariki. Music by New Zealand composers
- 3 May 2025: CSM Sinfonia performed a programme of music by Bizet, Mussorgsky and Satie
- 6 April 2025: Resonance Ensemble presented Waifs & Strays. Music by Rossini, Punto, Bissill and Prokofiev.
- 21 November 2024: Resonance Ensemble presented Rebellious Russians. Music by Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Borodin.
- 22 - 25 October 2025: Schools Festival Symphony Orchestra. Music by Rossini, Elgar, Tchaikovsky
- 22 September 2024: Resonance Ensemble presented Bohemian Rhapsody. Music by Dvořák, Suk and Dohnányi.
- 17 August 2024: The CSM Sinfonia orchestra performed music by Ryan, Stravinsky and Rossini.
- 30 June 2024: Resonance Ensemble presented Celebrating Matariki. Music by a cluster of New Zealand composers.
- 16 March 2024: The CSM Sinfonia orchestra performed music by Bernstein and Dvořāk.
- 24 March 2024: Resonance Ensemble presented Spirit of the Land. Music by Sibelius, Smetana and Weber.
- 26 March 2024: Illustrated talk at the Christchurch Art Gallery Auditorium entitled Planet Opera - A Parallel Universe
- Tony's latest reviews can be found on Theatreview, and The Press (Stuff)
Festival Symphony Orchestra 4 - 7 November 2025
Pre-concert rehearsal for Resonance Ensemble's Wayfarers programme
Alice Morgan, soloist in Tony's Saxophone Concerto, with Resonance Ensemble on 15 June 2025
Below: Sinfonia performs at the Christchurch Town Hall, 26 July 2025
Below: Sinfonia presents a programme of music by Bizet, Mussorgsky and Satie on 3 May 2025
Below: Resonance Ensemble prepares for Waifs & Strays, 6 April 2025, at The Piano
Below: 2024 Festival Symphony Orchestra in the Christchurch Town Hall
Below: Resonance Ensemble rehearses their Matariki concert of New Zealand Composers, 30 June 2024. You can watch this concert on YouTube
Below: Resonance Ensemble's Spirit of the Land Dress Rehearsal, 24 March 2024
Below: Resonance Ensemble's Shall We Dance? Concert and Dress Rehearsal, 26 November 2023
Below: Conducting CSM Sinfonia's Flashmob at Northlands Shopping Centre on 4 November 2023
Below: Sinfonia warms up before their concert at The Charles Luney Auditiorium on 19 August 2023
Below: Resonance Ensemble warms up before their Danzón concert at The Piano on 25 June 2023, to a full house!
Below: Resonance Ensemble rehearses with saxophone soloist Mark Walton for their Danzón concert at The Piano
Below: Resonance Ensemble presented A Tuba Comes to Town on 4 December 2022 at The Piano in Christchurch.
The highlight of this programme was the premiere of Tony's Tuba Concerto
with soloist Thomas Allely, Principal Tuba of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra
The highlight of this programme was the premiere of Tony's Tuba Concerto
with soloist Thomas Allely, Principal Tuba of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Below: A few pictures from CSM’s final event for 2022
Tony conducts the CSM Intermediate Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia in music from the fifteenth century to the twenty first
Tony conducts the CSM Intermediate Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia in music from the fifteenth century to the twenty first
Below: Tony conducts the Christchurch Schools' Music Festival Symphony Orchestra
for its hugely successful performances at the Christchurch Town Hall on 1-4 November 2022
for its hugely successful performances at the Christchurch Town Hall on 1-4 November 2022
Below: Tony's CSM Sinfonia presented a Flashmob at two Christchurch Shopping Centres (Merivale and Northlands) on 3 September 2022
