The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra is acknowledging the greats for this Saturday’s concert Homage. Great works reimagined will be performed including Anton Webern's interpretation of Bach's Ricercare in 6 Parts and Arnold Schoenberg's reimagining of Brahms' Piano Quartet No. 1 for full orchestra. University of Canterbury’s Head of Performance violinist Mark Menzies will also perform in the Australasian premiere of Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina's Offertorium which draws on inspiration from both Bach and Schoenberg.

Going to the theatre and putting on headphones could seem strange, but that is what performer Richard Katz gets his audience to do for The Encounter, a one-man show which takes you deep into the Amazon jungle. Richard gets up close and into the ears, and heads of those watching with a type of theatre that is both technical but very intimate.

Richard O’Brien is the god-parent of combining frocks and rock and roll. The creator of Rocky Horror is celebrating being 75 with a musical extravaganza, with all the money going to the Starship Foundation, which is celebrating 25 years. Richard O’Brien talks about the good life he’s enjoying in the Bay of Plenty, the longevity of Rocky Horror, and why he’s so dedicated to helping charity.

Voices New Zealand, the country’s first premier professional choir, has released its first subscription series spanning four different concert programmes in five regions across the country. From Jack Body’s Passio at the Auckland Arts Festival, to Baroque classics with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Artistic Director Karen Grylls says the varied challenges will stimulate the choir and the audience.

Cloud Gate Dance Company’s RICE has been a much anticipated work at Auckland Arts Festival 2017. But did it live up to expectations? Dione Joseph describes “visionary” choreographer Lin Hwai-Min’s work, which tells of the lifecycle of rice (and life itself), “hypnotic and commanding.”

The history of band rotundas takes centre stage today as an exhibition telling the story of rotundas in big towns and small opens at the National Library’s Turnbull Gallery. Co-curators Samantha Owens, Victory University Associate Professor of Musicology, and Alexander Turnbull Library Music Curator Dr Michael Brown discuss why the ornamental rotunda is such an important part of our national identity.

Prestigious Cloud Gate Dance Company of Taiwan is in Auckland as part of the Auckland Arts Festival which started this week. Run by Lin Hwai-Min the company brings RICE which depicts the lifecycle of rice and humanity. The company, which has been going 44 years, is well known for its abstract modern dance combined with stillness, acrobatics and martial arts skills.

The Wellington Jazz Festival is back in June. Shelagh Magadza is in charge of getting audiences into the swing with local and international bands. Today she announces the first names who are coming for the mid-winter musical fest.

Nude works by Picasso, Cindy Sherman and Matisse are part of The Body Laid Bare: Masterpieces from Tate on at the Auckland Art Gallery. It’s the first time many of these pieces have been seen in New Zealand. The exhibition featuring more than 100 artworks from the Tate in London, explores the fragility and beauty of the human form. Zara Stanhope explains how this exhibition explores privacy, eroticism and gender politics.

Stories of wartime told through song are coming to the Hannah Playhouse in Wellington in April. Voices from the Front tells the story of soldiers on the front line at Gallipoli, with the script, written by Amanda Stone, based largely on the diary and letters of WWI hero Lt Colonel William Malone.  Amanda, and director Sandy Brewer are part of the largely female team bringing the show to the stage.