Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra grabs its Lonely Planet guide, clenches a rose between its teeth and heads to Auckland Town Hall for Qantas Presents Latin Fiesta, a celebration of sizzling music from Spain and South America.

The concert, on Thursday 15 March, showcases the work of some of the Latin world's most entertaining composers, notably tango master Astor Piazzolla, who is represented by four pieces.

Two of those pieces employ the bandone�n, the concertina-like instrument that was such a feature of Piazzolla's music. Taking the role of bandone�n soloist at Latin Fiesta is one of the world's leading exponents of the instrument, Per Arne Glorvigen, who was the last musician to study bandone�n with Piazzolla before the composer's death in 1992. Glorvigen plays the bandone�n concerto 'Aconcagua', and two movements from The 4 Seasons of Buenos Aires.

APO Music Director Eckehard Stier says that he's excited by the thought of working with one of Piazzolla's students.

"When someone has that sort of relationship with the composer you want to spend time with them and hear what they were being told about the music. It's important to maintain those connections and it's helpful for me to know more than I knew before. And Per Arne is amazing; he's one of the most charismatic people I've ever met."

For the remaining Piazzolla works, the APO is joined by two people well known to New Zealand audiences, Aaron Gilmore and Nerida Cortese, both of whom featured in the television show Dancing with the Stars. The pair will demonstrate the art of tango dancing.

Maestro Stier was required to have dancing lessons at school and by all accounts was accomplished on the parquet, but he has no intention of joining Gilmore and Cortese. "I'm a dancer on the podium," he says.

Other music performed on the night includes the suite from Ginastera's ballet Estancia, Turina's Danzas Fantasticas and, to open, the Cuban-inspired sway of Danzon No.2 by Mexican composer Arturo Marquez.

WHO: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, with special guests Per Arne Glorvigen (bandone�n), Aaron Gilmore and Nerida Cortese (dancers)

WHAT: Qantas Presents Latin Fiesta, with music by Piazzolla, Marquez, Turina and Ginastera

WHERE: Auckland Town Hall

WHEN: 8pm, Thursday 15 March

BOOKINGS: www.buytickets.co.nz, (09) 357 3355

Did you know?

Marquez's Danzon No.2 was famously performed at the 2007 BBC Proms concert by the Sim�n Bol�var Youth Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel. It was one of the concerts that made the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra a household name outside of his native Venezuela. Dudamel is the most famous graduate of Venezuela's El Sistema programme. New Zealand's first Sistema programme, Sistema Aotearoa, was initiated in Otara by the APO and the Ministry for Culture & Heritage in 2011.