The Night Watch | Producer's Circle

Since our founding in 2019, The Night Watch has been acclaimed for the “verve and incisiveness” and for the “finesse and exuberance” of our music-making. Having undergone a hiatus in recent years, we have recently re-launched the ensemble, joined by co-director Luka Venter alongside founding member, viola da gamba Imogen Granwal.

Our aim as an ensemble is to make world-class early music a constant in the musical ecosystem of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), as well as bringing our work to other centres across the motu.

To support our upcoming two concerts in 2025 + and help lay the foundations for our 2026 Season we are launching a fundraising campaign for patrons to join our Producers Circle and support our work 

By joining the Producers Circle and donating to our work, you will be supporting us in drawing together some of Aotearoa and Australasia's finest players and bringing electrifying performances of early music to our communities. 

Totalling decades of experience at the highest levels of our field, the members of The Night Watch count among some of Aotearoa's finest specialists in early music.

We pride ourselves on bringing together the finest local talent, with the highest levels of international expertise and experience. Fundamentally, we are a soloist ensemble, and each of our players brings the depth, breadth, and energy of their own practices to our work as an ensemble.

Our members and collaborators have worked with NZ Barok, Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and world-leading ensembles and opera companies in the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia.

Re-launched in early 2025 after a hiatus, The Night Watch was led by founder and co-director Imogen Granwal in collaboration with co-director Luka Venter (they/them) 

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Founder and co-director Imogen Granwal, is one of Australasia’s leading viola da gamba players with an extensive background on both the viol and the cello. A longstanding cellist in Orchestra Wellington, Imogen has played for NZ Opera, NZ Barok, Palliser Viols and more. Imogen trained with renowned pedagogue James Tennant, before moving to Sydney where she furthered her training at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music on both cello and viol da gamba.

Imogen’s career is marked by its emphasis on collaboration, including with Latin American ensemble Trio Matiz, recordings of Jewish music from around the world, as well as Sydney viol consort Josie and the Emeralds. 

Imogen founded The Night Watch in 2019 — launching the ensemble in a programming that brought together leading players from across Aotearoa, Australia, and guests from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. 
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Co-director Luka Venter, is an award-winning conductor-composer and countertenor from Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Amongst others, Luka has conducted the NZSO, OW, CSO, and worked with the Royal Opera House, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, New Zealand Opera, Wellington Opera and more. 

Currently the NZSO NYO Composer-in-Residence, Luka’s works have been heard internationally in venues including the Barbican Centre, St Martin-in-the-Fields, and at the 2024 International Viola Congress in Brazil. As a singer, they have appeared as a soloist with NZ Opera, Days Bay Opera, Orchestra Wellington, the Auckland Arts Festival and others. 

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THE NIGHT WATCH is formed of a core group of players who bring diverse perspectives and world-leading specialism in early music to the ensemble:

•  Miranda Hutton (violin) is the co-artistic director of NZ Barok, and Aotearoa’s leading baroque violinist, having played with Pinchgut Opera, Australian Haydn Ensemble and many others.
• Kamala Bain (recorders) is one of Aotearoa’s most dynamic musicians, active internationally in collaboration with ensembles that include Pinchut Opera, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Bruneck, Stroma and many more.
• George Wills (lute/theorbo) regularly performs in Europe and Australasia and is a rising star in early music. Previously based in Berlin, George has collaborated with Lautten Compagney Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, Ensemble I Sogni, Crossroads Baroque and many more.
• Rachael Griffiths-Hughes (keyboards/continuo) has appeared as a soloist with the NZSO, and is a regular collaborator with NZ Barok, director of Vox Baroque, and is both music director of St Peter’s Cathedral in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) and Convenor of Music at the University of Waikato Conservatorium of Music.

As an independent ensemble, our work is sustained through a balance of philanthropic support and ticket sales, with the support of donors in our Producers Circle playing a vital role in sustaining the financial stability and future work of the ensemble.

An essential part of our identity as an ensemble is the fact that our members are drawn from the highest levels of early music in Aotearoa, with members based in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Melbourne, as well as Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington). This model allows us to not only engage the brightest voices in early music, but to draw on broad and international perspectives and experiences.

Feeding into this, our future seasons will see The Night Watch extend its work to other centres in Aotearoa, including with various arts festivals across the country, and the support of the Producers Circle is crucial for this work.

Your support will go towards a few targeted aspects of our work, including the costs of venue hire, allowing us to secure the spaces with the best acoustics for our music, and travel costs for our musicians, as well as supporting us to offer competitive fees to our musicians that align with their level of expertise.

In addition, your donation will allow us to also reinforce the long-term growth of the ensemble by supporting us in expanding our marketing - including billboards across Te Whanganui-a-Tara featuring our 2025 marketing campaign (featuring the beautiful work of photographer Murielle Michetti), as well as expanded digital advertising campaigns and the development of a new website for the ensemble. This online presence will allow us to strengthen the visibility of the ensemble, as well providing a platform to share our work, details about our upcoming projects, and share more information about the the core members of our ensemble.

• With a donation of $500+ you will be supporting the fees of our players and enable us to secure leading soloists from across Aotearoa
   
• With a donation of $300-500 your support will provide a considerable boost to securing beautiful spaces with fine acoustics for the upcoming concerts in our season 
   
• A donation of $200-300 will make an invaluable impact in our ability to support our soloists and players with travel costs, as well as supporting us in the physical and digital marketing campaigns for our current and upcoming season
   
• Any donation below the above nevertheless has an impact, and will help The Night Watch to cover further costs associated with our concerts including supporting the work of our co-directors and the creation of a new website for the ensemble

The Night Watch is currently in an exciting and crucial stage in our development. The ensemble has recently appointed Luka Venter as co-director alongside Imogen Granwal and formalised a new Core Group of players consisting of some of Australasia’s finest specialists in early music.

In re-launching the ensemble, we're currently re-envisaging what an early music ensemble can be in Aotearoa, and we are working towards establishing The Night Watch as an essential voice in the Aotearoa music scene, and as a vital part of the musical ecosystem of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) with aims for future national tours.

The current season launched to great acclaim in February with TÉNÈBRES — an evening of radiant works from the French Baroque featuring soloists Carleen Ebbs and Rowena Simpson. 

Building on this work, we're now looking ahead to the two concerts in the triptych that forms the Night Series: 

• IN DARKNESSE: an immersive, theatrical programme weaving together dream-like and melancholic works from the English Baroque (featuring music by Dowland, Hume and more)
   
• LA NOTTE: a visceral and vibrant event bringing together works from the Italian Baroque (featuring music by Tarquinio Merula, Vivaldi and more)
   

As our first season since relaunching and rebranding the ensemble, this season rightly felt like the opportunity to go back to our roots and explore phenomenal works of early music that give voice to the Night —  at the same time exploring ways of pairing world-class music-making with new theatrical and interdisciplinary approaches. 

As specialists in early music, we're passionate about finding ways of bringing to life repertoire that's centuries old. As an ensemble, we're curious and passionate about finding fresh ways of doing this that connect into our passion for the theatricality and full, immersive power of music 

By joining the Producers Circle and donating to our work, you'll be playing a first-hand role in re-ingiting our work, securing our long-term future, and in establishing The Night Watch as one of Aotearoa and Australasia's leading period ensembles 

As a donor in the Producers Circle, you will be credited in our programmes for your support, and a donation of $200 or above will give you access to a number of bespoke opportunities to get closer to the music. Included in these are the following:

• Opportunities to attend open rehearsals and bespoke pre-concert talks, paired with refreshments and opportunities to meet our players
• Access to an intimate and immersive Producers Circle concert with viola da gambist and co-director Imogen Granwal, giving you an opportunity to delve deeper into jewels of the repertoire for solo viol
• Behind the scenes looks into our work and our coming season
• Priority booking for our future concerts and the option to reserve seating
   

Any support from our donors is invaluable and we at The Night Watch are always interested in hearing from you and building a relationship with our donors, our audiences, and our community. 

Your support of the ensemble will enable us to build on our work with each successive project, to experiment, explore, and ultimately to bring Aotearoa a wealth of early music performed at the highest international standards by our very own leaders in the field. 
 

Imogen + Luka (co-directors)