For Sally Jane, the opening of the National Music Centre in February 2027 will hold a deep resonance both personally and professionally. She has dedicated herself to the project for years, first as Director since 2017 of the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, and now as the inaugural Denis Adam Chair in Music.
She also has years of memories in Te Whare Whakarauika | Wellington Town Hall, from performing in dance competitions as a child to spending time there with her father, the late Bob Norman, a dedicated public servant. Sally Jane’s parents instilled a love of music in all five of their children, and they have retained that passion throughout their lives.
Sally Jane knew that when the time came to show her support for the National Music Centre by naming seats in the Adam Auditorium, she would name one for herself and one for Bob. When the Centre opens, she and her brothers will be able to view the plaque bearing Bob’s name and remember his lifelong dedication to the power of music.
The National Music Centre will join the recently reopened Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui | Central Library, and the soon-to-open City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, in Te Ngākau Civic Square. Sally Jane says the revitalisation of the area is incredibly exciting.
“It's a fantastic renaissance for Wellington, culturally. The opening of the Town Hall really brings back to life a space that Wellingtonians always deeply loved.
“Wellington has had some really rough knocks. But Wellington is also capable of weathering the most unimaginable constraints. We are extraordinarily resilient.”
She is thrilled that the longstanding connections between the NZSM and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra—Te Tira Pūoro o Aotearoa will be further strengthened through the opening of the National Music Centre. Both organisations will benefit significantly from the fit‑out and specialist equipment, acoustics, and facilities that will transform the Town Hall into a world-class performance and learning environment.
The National Music Centre’s supporters, including those who have become chairholders, are directly contributing to this fit-out. Sally Jane says the difference this support makes will be monumental.
“We're going to have absolutely superb technical facilities. Kim Cunio, our Head of School, together with our technicians, has been working incredibly thoroughly. We have three distinctive performance spaces, each equipped with its own recording and streaming transmission facilities. They're all interoperable, and they can all be hooked up to the NZSO's basement recording space.
“There's a lovely notion of literally music moving across the wires, within the building, and then being broadcast beyond it. And that ties the NZSM and NZSO together in a very real way.”
Sally Jane says that fellow chairholders, and the countless others who have supported the National Music Centre, have been an essential part of it coming to fruition.
“What I love about our supporters is their enthusiasm for upholding the next generation of cultural and creative practices.
“I think their loyalty and their enthusiasm for emerging creation, as well as for the rich heritage of music that they have always supported, is what's been most striking for me.”
Sally Jane highlights the Adam Foundation as one of the many steadfast supporters of the project, through its founding gift of $4 million.
Sally Jane says it is fitting that the Town Hall auditorium has been named the Adam Auditorium, in recognition of the wonderful generosity and cultural foresight of Verna and the late Denis Adam, whose name she proudly bears as NZSM Chair.
The National Music Centre is the result of the dedicated work of countless people from the NZSM, the NZSO, the Wellington City Council, and many other groups and individuals from across the community. Sally Jane says their devotion to the project is remarkable, and she is hugely looking forward to musically sharing the moment with the wider community when the National Music Centre opens its doors.
“There’s a whole bunch of people, many of them hidden very discreetly in the wings, without whom this couldn't have happened. It’s important to recognise that this is not the imperial effort of people at the top. It’s an enormous collaborative effort by people working right across the board at all levels.
“I think it’s that notion of a public good that has really inspired people from day one.”
To find out more about becoming a chairholder in the Town Hall, visit becomeachairholder.co.nz or contact Acting Associate Director, Fundraising Corinne Barnard on 04 463 6952 or corinne.barnard@vuw.ac.nz.