About Us

Established in 2018, The Queen’s Closet is a professional baroque orchestra based in the cultural hub of Wellington, New Zealand: a 17th century musical company for the 21st century.

We are a unique early music ensemble grown from the creative fabric of Pōneke (Wellington) and wider Aotearoa New Zealand. Innovative and scholarly, we apply cutting-edge research and scholarship—into historical instruments, historical performance practices and the aesthetic context of the time the music was written—to creating accessible and engaging musical performances for the enjoyment of New Zealanders today. We’re training and developing an exciting and vibrant cohort of musicians in historical performance and are growing a world-class early music scene right here in Aotearoa. We’ve been recognised nationally and internationally for both the quality and significance of our creative practice, as well as our importance within the community for our contributions to the arts in Pōneke and beyond.

Our goal is to bring music of the Baroque era to life in ways that are faithful to the performance practices of the time and make it relevant and alive for modern audiences. We aim to engage audiences and provide a truly immersive and authentic experience of this wonderful music.