A DISTINCTIVE Arts and Culinary Experience with A Symphony of Flavours is on the menu for patrons of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra as they partner with the newly reimagined 9th Avenue Marina Restaurant to launch their 2026 Summer Season on Thursday, March 5.

The season, which will be opened with performances by Japanese conductor Yasuo Shinozaki, presenting a programme of French, English and Austrian masterworks, promises to have the audience at the edge of their seat with delight. Coupled with the 9th Avenue Marina experience, Bongani Tembe, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, said the partnership is taking the experience to another level by offering music lovers a bespoke arts and culinary experience.

He said guests will begin the evening with gourmet starters while overlooking the yacht basin, before being shuttled to the Playhouse Opera for premium seating at the opening concert of the KZN Philharmonic’s Summer Season.

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The restaurant has crafted an impressive menu offering a selection of five starters (prawn crevettes, crispy squid, tongue and tail, veg bao buns and mushroom tortellini); seven main courses (poulet Mediterraneen; duck Magret; fillet mignon; pasta crevettes; lamb loin chops; French oxtail and market fish); and the meal wraps up with three desserts (namelaka, chocolate brownie and ice cream trio)

“This thoughtfully curated evening celebrates artistic excellence and meaningful collaboration between the cultural, hospitality and tourism sector,” said Tembe.

During the interval, guests will enjoy a private tasting of French Provence pale pink Minuty Rose, followed by the second half of the orchestral performance.

The evening will conclude with a return shuttle to 9th Avenue Marina for a specially curated themed dinner and dessert shared with the evening’s conductor, soloist and members of the orchestra.

Other musicians that will be performing include Canadian cello virtuoso Bryan Cheng who will join Shinozaki to perform Camille Saint-Saens virtuosic Cello Concerto No. 2. Benjamin Britten’s elegantly crafted Simple Symphony offers a lyrical contrast, before Shinozaki, Cheng and the Orchestra ignite the stage with Saint-Saens’s dynamic Cello Concerto No. 1.

After the interval, Schubert’s beloved Unfinished Symphony brings the evening to a poignant and melodic close. Tickets for KZN Philharmonic concerts are available through Quicket and bookings for A Symphony of Flavours can also be made directly through the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra.

For further information or subscription bookings, call 031 369 9438, email bookings@kznphil.org.za or visit www.kznphil.org.za.

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