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Leonie Holmes  

For Young Nick

Duration: 05' 30" Year: 2002, r. 2012
for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    2222;4231;timp;2 perc;piano;harp,strings
  • Programme Note

    As I listened to media reports on the ownership of Young Nick’s Head, I began to wonder about the life of the real ‘Young Nick’, who first sighted this land from the deck of the ship Endeavour. What was life like on board the ship for the young boy, and how did it feel to sight the land? Various images came to mind, including a silhouette of land in the early morning light, or a murky shape barely visible through grey storm spray, or a dark smudge on a bright blue horizon. This piece was written with these images in mind.

    For Young Nick was premiered by Wellington Youth Orchestra in 2003.

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Anthony Ritchie  

Rain

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 2008
for baritone and orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    (picc)21(cor)22; 4; perc; cl; string and baritone
  • Programme Note

    Rain is an iconic poem by Hone Tuwhare, describing beautifully a feature of the weather but also subtly ruminating on death. The setting is quiet and lyrical, with an optional part for a rainmaker (to be played by the singer). This setting for baritone and piano was written for Matt Landreth, and recorded by him. The recording and score were auctioned to raise funds for the Otago Hospice appeal in May 2008. The song was subsequently scored for orchestra and recorded by Matt Landreth and the Auckland Philharmonia.

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David Hamilton  

Taharoto

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 2004
for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    2221; 2310; timp., perc. (3-4 players), pf; strs
  • Programme Note

    This work was written for the Taharoto Orchestra – a group consisting of students from both Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys High Schools conducted by Liz Cable.

    The name ‘Taharoto’ is derived from two Maori words and is an approximation of the idea of ‘Westlake’. Literally it means ‘beside’ (taha) ‘lake’ (roto). The lake is Lake Pupuke on Auckland’s North Shore. A feature of the lake is the swans, and the symbol for Westlake Girls High School is the swan. I was asked to include ideas of the lake covered in mist and the swans taking flight, but also to include music which suggested aspects of the characters of the students at Westlake Girls High School: generous, assertive and energetic!

    Overall the music has a sense of spaciousness, building to an emphatic climax, and subsiding into silence again at the end. The music includes some ‘contemporary’ playing techniques for the string players, with some more challenging parts for the leading wind players.

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Yvette Audain  

Wake Road in the Rain

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 2006
for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    (1)1121; 2200; mba, vib.; strings
  • Programme Note

    This piece is inspired by the day of a private function I played at in Wake Road, Coatesville, north-west of Auckland. Needless to say it was a rainy day – but at times the rain abated; at times it grew more intense than before; at times it only served to illuminate the natural beauty of the scenery up in that area of Auckland. In this piece, I have tried to capture all of this. The more ‘flowing’ aspects of the piece were intended to capture the sometimes cathartic nature of rain, and the occasionally abrupt changes in feel, texture and tonality were inspired by the abrupt changes in weather that we in Auckland often experience!

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