Rock singer Serj Tankian says a one-off show in New Zealand next year with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra will be "unique".

Tankian will present his 2007 debut solo album Elect the Dead with the APO on March 16 at Auckland's Town Hall.

The front man for rock group System of a Down told Stuff.co.nz the show would be a one-off and he had no plans to perform it anywhere else.

"I've been writing a lot of string arrangements for those songs from Elect the Dead because I want to present them in a different way with an orchestra," he said.

"There's not going to be a band with guitars and drums and stuff. It's not like the band up front and an orchestra down the back.

"It's going to be a complete orchestral arrangement for these songs. It's going to be unique."

Tankian - a New Zealand resident who owns a house in Auckland and spends around three months a year here - said the idea came up when a member of the orchestra got in touch with his friend, Kiwi singer Boh Runga.

"We made contact and started planning everything. We just pulled the trigger on it about a week ago."

The show would be used as inspiration for his follow-up album to Elect the Dead, he said.

"We're going to video the whole experience and use multiple-track audio and my idea is to use it for the next record.

"My next record will be jazz-orchestral so it will be a component of that record."

Tankian, who has recorded songs for both Bic and Boh Runga's next albums, will also perform with a full band at the 2009 Big Day Out.

He said System of a Down was on "permanent hiatus" and nothing had happened to change that.

"Every few months I am honoured to hear interesting rumours about whether the band is going to tour or break up permanently. I find them all to be very entertaining."

Tickets for the show with the APO are on sale from today.

Serj Tankian
January 16: Big Day Out, Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
March 16: Auckland Town Hall (With APO)

- © Fairfax NZ News