American opera singer Frederica Von Stade is the star judge for this year's Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest. Ahead of the big night she shared a sparkling conversation with my RNZ Colleague Clarissa Dunn.

Watch Frederica sing Rossini here

Frederica wears the trousers here

Frederica sings to the moon here

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Mataatua wharenui, the stolen meeting house. Ngāti Awa built it in the 1870s in Whakatāne, then lent it to the Crown for an exhibition in Australia. It took a century to get it back. Composer Gillian Whitehead and collaborator Tessa Peterson talk about the true story that inspired an opera.

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The 2026 NZSO National Youth Orchestra dazzled audiences in Auckland and Wellington this month. Bryan spoke to couple of the crew, sisters Portia and Indiana Bell.

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Kiwi baritone Julien Van Mellaerts has an album out, "Dialogues" singing Schubert along with music by his friend (and current Master of the Kings Music) Errollyn Wallen.

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Apart from the odd stay in a transit lounge, American violinist Gil Shaham's never visited New Zealand. We spoke with Gil ahead of his New Zealand debut playing Beethoven with the Auckland Philharmonia.

Watch Gil Shaham play Beethoven here.

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This year's Mt Eden Chamber Music Festival is a tribute to two leading lights of New Zealand classical music who've died this year; violinist Mary O'Brien and pianist Katherine Austin. Festival director Simeon Broom tells us why and how.

Watch a beautiful performance of Schubert's String Quintet here.

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Peter Hobbs has been making music with bees. The Auckland sound artist and composer tells us how he used recordings of the insects as the raw material for his latest album, Bee Sides.

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American conductor Mark Russell Smith is the leader of probably the largest band coming to Aotearoa this year; the 126 strong Greater Twin Cities Youth Orchestra from Minnesota.

Watch that bit of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Bryan and Mark were raving about.

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Young Dunedin violinist Skyla Murray decided to do her university study in Finland and it's paying off. She spoke to us about all day sun, saunas, Finnish small talk (they don't do it) and making wonderful music.

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Tui Mamaki shares her love of Bulgarian song with her all female choir Medena, recorded in RNZ's Auckland studio.

Medena sings a song of Bulgarian independence here.

Medena performs a song about getting married here.

Medena sings to the mountains here.

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