Biography
Brent Stewart is a leading New Zealand conductor, percussionist, and pianist whose work spans orchestral, choral, operatic, and contemporary music. Known for his wide-ranging musical fluency, he brings creativity and precision to everything from symphonic premieres and choral direction to music education and production.
Brent's conducting engagements have included the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra, and Manukau Symphony Orchestra. Appointed Orchestra Wellington's first intern assistant conductor under Marc Taddei, he remains a key guest conductor for significant projects each year.
Since 2014, Brent has been the Music Director of Orpheus Choir Wellington, leading the choir to new heights with dramatic, spectacular, and emotionally charged performances. Under his direction, the choir has presented stunning renditions of works such as Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony, Orff's Carmina Burana, Bach's B Minor Mass, and Poulenc’s Gloria. The choir now regularly fills concert halls, boasts the largest membership in its history, and is frequently engaged by orchestras such as Orchestra Wellington and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
A champion of New Zealand composers, Brent has premiered numerous percussion, orchestral, and choral works to critical acclaim. In 2007, he gave the premiere of Karlo Margetic’s Xylophone Concerto with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and later recorded the work as soloist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. More recently, he was assistant conductor for Claire Cowan’s Cinderella with the Royal New Zealand Ballet and served as Assistant Producer for the NZSO’s recording of her ballet Hansel & Gretel. In 2021, he conducted the New Zealand premiere of Lucy Mulgan's Red! with New Zealand Opera, followed by the 2023 world premiere of Dame Gillian Whitehead’s Ngā Whetū o Matariki with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, he led the premiere of Takerei Komene’s emotionally charged E Kiwi E with Wellington Brass Band and Orpheus Choir Wellington, honouring the 28th Māori Battalion. Later this year, he will conduct the world premiere of Nathaniel Otley’s this rising tide, these former wetlands with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra.
In 2007, Brent was appointed Music Director of the Hutt Valley Orchestra. His eclectic and adventurous programming, exemplified by concerts featuring Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, earned him acclaim. During his decade-long tenure, he conducted ten symphonic education workshops, inviting all comers to experience performing notable repertoire including Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Holst's The Planets, and Mahler's Symphony No. 1.
Brent's repertoire has expanded to include contemporary and cross-cultural collaborations. He conducted Synthony, a fusion of electronic dance music and symphony orchestra, with performances at New Zealand's largest music festival, Electric Avenue, and on a floating platform at Marina Bay, Singapore. He also recently conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra alongside pop sensation Benee for Benee Live with the NZSO. Another continuing project is Mana Moana, an energetic and emotional fusion of orchestra and songs of the Pacific with Signature Choir, combining traditional and contemporary music from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Niue, Tokelau, and the Cook Islands. Brent conducted the live performances with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra alongside Signature Choir directors Helen Tupai and Jadrah Tupai, including the award-winning recording, now available on all major platforms. His musical directorship highlights also include productions of Beauty and the Beast, Cavalleria Rusticana, Chicago, Les Misérables, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, and West Side Story.
Brent's contributions to music education are equally significant. He was the Head of Music at Wellington East Girls' College from 2010 to 2020, leading the school choir, Cantala, to international success, including a first-place win at the Summa Cum Laude Youth International Music Festival in Vienna. Brent continues to engage in educational projects, including workshops, mentoring, and adjudicating the New Zealand Choral Federation’s The Big Sing Finale in 2023 and the regionals in 2025.
In demand as a percussionist/timpanist, Brent is Orchestra Wellington's Section Principal Timpanist. He has undertaken casual percussion work with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In January 2024, he travelled to Tokyo for his third season of The Phantom of the Opera in Japan.
Also in demand as a pianist, Brent has been the assistant director and pianist for the New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir since 2013. Since that time, the choir, auditioned every two years, has produced five albums and toured throughout New Zealand and overseas, including Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and China. Brent has also accompanied at the Gisborne International Music Competition and the National Concerto Competition in Christchurch with the award-winning marimba soloist Yoshiko Tsuruta.
Beyond the podium, Brent is also a producer and arranger. He recently worked as an orchestral recording producer on Nickelodeon’s Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, and arranged music for the New Zealand feature film Tinā.
Professional Associations
