Composer

Biography

Kit Powell was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1937. While studying in Europe in 1966/67 he met Brigitte, his Swiss wife. Since 1984 the Powell family have lived in Switzerland. Both children are musicians: Philip, a trombonist and Fiona, a soprano. Kit Powell has an MSc (in maths) from Victoria University of Wellington and a B Mus (Hons) from Canterbury University. He taught maths and music at Linwood High School, Christchurch from 1962 until 1975 when he joined the staff of the Christchurch Teachers College. He was also active teaching courses for New Music and for Creative Music with children. Since living in Switzerland he teaches Music Theory at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Zurich and English privately. In 2003 he retired from music teaching but still has some English classes. His works include compositions in all fields of music: choral (sung and spoken), orchestral, chamber music, brass band, percussion, music theatre, electroacoustic. . . His special interests in composition include the use of chance techniques and also music with found objects (stone, metal, wood, etc.) c.f.: Musik mit gefundenen Gegenstaenden (Pan Verlag). Some of his more important works are: two Violin Concertos, a Percussion Concerto, The Evercircling Light for large choir and percussion ensemble, Hubert the Clockmaker for brass band and speaker, Galgenlieder for sung and spoken choir (Pan Verlag, Zurich), Christophorus a Christmas Cantata, Piece of 4 for four musician-actors, Koauau for flute ensemble (8 players: piccolo to subcontrabass flute), Home Thoughts from Abroad for symphony orchestra, and two comic operas: The Fisherman and his Wife, and Hauptsache, man geht zusammen hin. Also a series of works in collaboration with the poet, Michael Harlow: Devotion to the Small (Waitiata Music Press), Nothing but Switzerland and Lemonade (for soprano and instrumental trio), Poem then, for love (for soprano, baritone and percussionist), Father’s Telescope (for baritone, speaker and tape), The Green Man (for solo percussion), Les Episodes (for soprano, baritone and orchestra) and After Babel (for soprano, brass quartet and piano) and Today is the Piano’s Birthday (for soprano and piano). Since living in Switzerland and through his friendship with the composer, Gerald Bennett, he has trained in Computer Music (Zurich and Paris – UPIC). The more important works with computer-generated tapes include: Nelson Songs (baritone and tape), Chinese Songs (soprano and tape), WHALE (trombone and tape), Floetenspieler und Fledermause (flute and tape), Innere Stimmen von Robert Schumann (choir and tape) and Clara Schumann (soprano, piano and tape), Dapple Metal and Contrasts. Several of his more recent works have been written for his two children, for example the Sonata for Trombone and Piano and WHALE for Trombone and Tape and Concerto for Trombone, Tuba and Orchestra for his son Philip, and for his daughter Fiona: Amselbaum and Ophelia Songs, song cycles for soprano and piano, Clara Schumann for soprano, piano and tape and Dies irae for soprano, men�s chorus and instrumental ensemble. (June 2007)