Bret McKenzie and NZSO win over the whole family with creepy-crawly carnival

It’s a wet Wellington Sunday in August, the southerly’s blowing, there’s snow flurries on the Remutaka Hill Road; in short, conditions couldn’t be better for getting the kids off their screens and out to a classical concert.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has just the ticket. A Creepy-Crawly Carnival and the band has brought in a big gun for the child-focussed gig; Bret McKenzie.

The Flight of the Conchorder is compere and narrator in a double bill feature of The Spider’s Feast’s by Albert Roussel, which came with film footage of some of Aotearoa’s own creepy crawlies.

That was followed by Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with two budding performers as piano soloists, Shan Liu (15) and Alex Xuyao Bai (14), and real time art work from Wellington illustrator Stephen Templer.

But this is more than a concert. Even before you enter the auditorium, there’s bouncy castles (sorry kids only) face painting and colouring in.

I wouldn’t quite say I felt like Dad at the disco, but the average age of this audience is well below the usual for an NZSO gig.

McKenzie is no stranger to classical music. As a teenager he played oboe with the Wellington Youth Orchestra so he knows his pianissimos from his Sforzandos even if musically, he’s best known for his scherzos.

Maybe there was a tiny hint of nerves early on, but McKenzie’s natural wit and charm won over the mums, dads and grandparents straight away. A bit of audience participation (sing-along while the orchestra tunes up) and he’s got the younger ones onside too.

The first act is the creepy-crawly part of the show; The Spider’s Feast by Frenchman Albert Roussel.

Originally music for a ballet depicting the insects and arachnids found in your typical continental garden, the NZSO’s version celebrates the critters of Aotearoa, courtesy of moving pictures from Natural History New Zealand projected onto a big screen behind the orchestra.

That big screen came in handy again in the second half, when artist Templer took the stage with his sketch pad to illustrate the feature item, Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals in real time.

Saint-Saëns wrote the Carnival in 1886 after a bad run with the music critics. He wanted a break from public humiliation and wrote it for a private concert.

It’s a suite of 14 numbers, each one representing an animal. To name a few, there’s a lion, an elephant, some fish, a swan (for a bit of melancholy) a donkey (which could be a music critic). There are even some fossilised ones.

McKenzie introduced each of the 14 sections with a rhyme and riddle, the musicians would play while Templer drew in time, and we the audience were invited to guess what the animal was.

When Saint-Saëns wrote his Carnival he was worried the critics would dismiss it as lightweight and he banned public performances until after his death.

So, given children can be the harshest critics, what did the younger members of the Micheal Fowler audience make of the action?

Pretty enthusiastic judging from the reaction of those around me.

Meltdowns were at the minimum, and the worst one in my area (something about needing to go to the loo) was almost serendipitous, as it came during Andrew Joyce’s lyrical and lachrymose cello solo depicting the swan.

However, if you’re an adult who prefers your classical music in reverential silence, this is not the gig for you. Otherwise, bring the kids along, and be sure to get in early (there were queues for the bouncy castles).

The NZSO under conductor André de Ridder (fresh from being announced as its music director from 2027) was in its usual splendid form.

Having two of the country’s youngest piano stars, Liu (winner of the 2025 National Concerto Competition) and Bai (2024 Lewis Eady Piano competition winner) was a lovely touch.

Templer’s doodling to the music was nothing short of miraculous, and his charming illustrations were a delightfully low-tech way of adding a multi-media component to a classical concert.

I have one request for Bret; just be a little slower on the delivery. Those lines of yours are too good to get lost in the audience applause – and this is not the sort of audience that’s going to hold back on applauding between movements. And I reckon you can take a bit more time between those movements too. After all, you’re the main reason a lot of people came along.

Creepy-Crawly Carnival with the NZSO and Bret McKenzie is playing at Auckland Town Hall 17 August.

Bryan Crump presents RNZ Concert's 3 to 7.