The Big Sing finals are here with 24 choirs from across the country hitting the top notes. The final decisions will come down to three international judges:  Jonathan Grieves-Smith from Melbourne and Rachael Griffiths-Hughes from the University of Waikato along with composer Anthony Ritchie from Dunedin. What will the judges be looking for at this week’s competition?

Patrick Nolan discusses his direction of Kátya Kabanová for New Zealand Opera. The production comes from Seattle where it was premiered earlier this year. It features the same creative team but a different cast for this version for Auckland and Wellington. Nolan has earlier directed La bohème and Eugene Onegin for New Zealand Opera but was assistant director on Kátya Kabanová for the 1996 New Zealand International Festival.

Playwright Jan Bolwell tells her grandfather’s First World War experiences through her teenage self in her show Bill Massey’s Tourists. It’s currently touring the country telling gripping, painful and sometimes funny stories about the young Kiwi soldier from the Otago Mounted Rifles and his mate Cyril’s survival at Passchendaele.

The Royal Shakespeare Company took a punt on Roald Dahl’s much loved story Matilda by commissioning Australian composer and lyricist Tim Minchin to turn it into a magical musical in which children revolt, evil adults get their comeuppance and good triumphs over evil. RSC Executive Director Catherine Mallyon is in the country for the opening week of the musical. She talks about the importance of making great theatre for all age groups, how she’s making Shakespeare relevant today, and why the children are revolting.

Victoria University of Wellington along with some of the biggest names in New Zealand film and design technology have come together to form a new hub where students can learn from the best. The University’s Miramar Creative Centre is a collaboration with Park Road Post, Weta Digital and Weta Workshop equipped with state of the art facilities. Associate Professor Leon Gurevitch from the School of Design and Professor John Psathas from the New Zealand School of Music discuss the Masters degrees being offered which give the next generation an opportunity to learn from the best in the business.

The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and cellist Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt are showing defiance in this week’s concert of the same name. Featuring works from Messiaen, Saint-Saens and Shostakovich, the APO takes the audience through stories of the human spirit. Conductor Andrew Gourley explains why Shostakovich’s Symphony no.10 is particularly important, as it reflects the suffering of the Soviet people under Stalin and their defiance to survive.

In every three to five million people there is likely to be one musical prodigy. Could your child be the next Lang Lang? Professor Gary McPherson explains what traits musical prodigies have, what age they start to show their gifts and how to encourage our children even if we think they aren’t musically talented.

Metropolitan Opera star Eric Owens is as much at home with classical music as he is with contemporary. It’s no wonder, having spent the last 40 years learning and plying his craft. The American bass-baritone is one of the biggest names in US opera and brings his star quality to perform the role of the devil in Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Lullabies are common to all cultures and are varied in their themes and moods. Anthony Ritchie’s Lullabies is being performed by City Choir Dunedin  featuring more than 140 performers. Composer Anthony Ritchie and poet Elena Poletti, who wrote the text for Lullabies explain the importance of this form of storytelling.

Representatives from 20 countries will participate in more than 40 events at the upcoming 44th International Viola Congress in Wellington in early September. Orchestra Wellington violist Chris van der Zee says there’s quite a buzz around the congress, with some of the world’s greatest viola players gracing our stages.