The stars are out for Music’s 100th anniversary celebrations on Friday and Saturday! The two-day extravaganza includes performances, concerts and workshops featuring alumni, kaimahi and tauira, including (clockwise from left), pianist Abhinath Berry who is studying for his master’s at London’s Guildhall School of Music; band Emily Alice which began at Otago and Head of the School of Performing Arts Associate Professor Jennifer Cattermole.
A wealth of Otago musical talent will take the stage this week to celebrate 100 years of Music at Otago.
Alumni, kaimahi and tauira music stars feature throughout the two-day music extravaganza, held at a range of venues across the Dunedin Ōtepōti campus on 25 and 26 September.
The packed programme includes the classical concert A Century of Sound; contemporary concert Music at 100: The Contemporary Edge; a pub-style singalong; workshops; panel discussions; studio tours and the launch of a book capturing the stories behind Music at Otago - Ka mua, ka muri: 100 years of Music at the University of Otago.
“We have an amazing array of events lined up, with plenty of activities for people of all ages to enjoy,” says Head of the School of Performing Arts, Associate Professor Jennifer Cattermole.
“I’m looking forward to learning new things, being wowed by the incredible talent of the performers, and catching up with alumni and with former colleagues; it’ll be quite a reunion! As a Programme, we have a lot to celebrate and to look forward to.”
Music teaching began at Otago with a gift from local music enthusiast, former miner and seed merchant John Blair, whose bequest funded the University's first music lecturer, Professor Victor Galway.
One of Professor Galway’s pupils in the 1940s, Honor McKellar, recalls in Alison Clarke’s Otago: 150 Years of New Zealand’s First University, that he gave a thorough technical training and she could “write a fugue backwards”.
Honor, an acclaimed mezzo-soprano, was later appointed Otago’s first full-time executant Voice teacher, teaching some of Aotearoa’s most renowned singers, including Patrick Power ONZM and Jonathan Lemalu ONZM.
In the 150th history, Clarke says early Music courses included harmony, counterpoint, musical appreciation and history, and for advanced students, composition and orchestration.
The Music Department added ‘performance and repertoire’ in 1964 for students with proven musical skill and in 1967 Professor Peter Platt says Otago offered ‘excellent instruction to many different sorts of musicians: composers, scholars and executants’.
An anonymous gift led to the establishment of the Mozart Fellowship in 1970, and the Contemporary Music degree, sometimes known as the Rock Degree, was created in the 1990s.
Stars come out for the 100th
Alumni featuring in the 100th anniversary events include Music Performance and Composition graduate and one of Aotearoa’s most exciting young pianists, Abhinath Berry.
Abhinath is currently home from London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he is studying for his Master of Music in Performance after receiving the Jessie Wakefield Scholarship, one of the top awards offered by the 145-year-old institution.
Along with other alumni and Emeritus Professor Anthony Ritchie, Abhinath will be sharing personal reflections on the demands and expectations of high-level international training during Friday’s series of workshops.
On Saturday afternoon he will take the stage in the classical centenary concert, along with fellow graduate and guest artist, acclaimed soprano Rebecca Ryan.
During her career, Rebecca has performed in opera and recitals in London, Wales, Scotland, Dublin and Ireland. She also trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London, was Associate Artist with the Classical Opera Company in London and an Independent Opera at Sadler's Wells' Voice Fellowship recipient.
Held in the recently reopened Marama Hall and beginning with a Brass Quintet, the classical concert includes the Dunedin premiere of Professor Ritchie’s new Piano Trio performed by TriOtago, featuring Professor Terence Dennis and Otago kaimahi and alumnae Tessa Petersen and Heleen du Plessis.
The concert also features mezzo-soprano Tessa Romano and performances by pianists Terence Dennis and Tom McGrath, and clarinettist Emily Sterk.
A soaring grand finale, Leonard Bernstein’s Let My Garden Grow, highlights the combined expertise of Otago’s senior Classical Voice students.
In contrast, Saturday evening’s concert is a celebration of contemporary music, held in the Student Union, showcasing the diversity, energy and creativity of Music at Otago today.
Performers and current students The Cleos and Turtle Hearts will share the stage with alumni stars Emily Alice and Jake Barton (of Summer Thieves fame).
Emily Kerr-Bell of Emily Alice was an inaugural recipient of the University of Otago Six60 scholarship in 2022. Bassist Jakira Brophy was also a Six60 scholarship recipient in 2024.
The concert also features the Musical Theatre Voice class, who will put on a Broadway spectacular with songs from some of the most iconic shows.
Friday events also include the launch of Ka mua, ka muri: 100 years of Music at the University of Otago, by Otago alumnus and Honorary Senior Lecturer Dr Ian Chapman. The event includes a performance by 2025 Six60 scholarship winner Emilie Murphy.
Friday night’s Bangers and Brews with Senior Professional Practice Fellow Arlie McCormick is a pub-style singalong in the Staff Club - featuring some classic Kiwi hits from the 80s and 90s.
Saturday morning features a panel discussion on AI in Music, with Music alumni Mike Holland, Grace Shaw and Xavier Johnson joining Hugh Harlow and Neil Pickering to discuss the role Generative AI plays in music.
A chance to explore Te Korokoro o te Tūī studio, and a facilitated discussion with alumni reflecting on their journeys and on the past and future of Music at Otago, are also part of Saturday’s programme, along with a Taonga pūoro workshop with Jennifer Cattermole, which will give people a chance to listen to, learn about and get the opportunity to play taonga pūoro, traditional Māori musical instruments.
A Centenary Celebrations Dinner is being held between the classical and contemporary concerts and includes performances by student musicians.
All music lovers are welcome! Guests can select tickets for some individual events or enjoy the whole weekend. Explore the full programme here: 2026 Music Reunion
Individual tickets are available on Humanitix Music 100 Celebrations at University of Otago | Humanitix
Study Music at Otago
If you want to develop as a performer, composer, or producer we have courses to suit.
View