eSOUNZ August 2012

eSOUNZ update - September 2012

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Upcoming Events:

Len Lye the Opera - Eve de Castro-Robinson
Auckland 5 - 8 September

Including music, poetry, theatre, dance and film this opera is bound to be as colourful as the man and his work, especially when the music is written by Eve de Castro Robinson. Her jazz-influenced score accompanies a libretto written by Len Lye's biographer Roger Horrocks.
To watch an interview with Eve (and hear some snippets of the opera), click here and go to the Media tab.

Triple Concerto - Chris Gendall
Masterton - 31 August and Wellington - 1 September

This new concerto - to be premiered by NZTrio and the Vector Wellington Orchestra - is the result of Chris' 2011 residency with the orchestra. The five movements are variously described as “processional, frantic, virtuosic, exhilarating, gnarly and even soft and bubbly!”

The Necessary Rain - David Hamilton
Auckland - 25 August

“David has written us a very special piece – a moving tribute to the Erebus victims,” says music director Uwe Grodd. “The poetry (by Bill Sewell) is beautifully set and the addition of a Lux aeterna text makes for a brilliant counterpoint between contemporary words and traditional Latin – a plea for rest."

SOUNZ Contemporary Award

Three very different works have been named as finalists for the 2012 SOUNZ Contemporary Award, presented in collaboration with APRA.

Four Questions, No Answers by Kenneth Young

 was written for Brisbane-based Southern Cross Soloists. “All the movements seem to me to have a questioning quality to them … This is in no way programme music and I would merely like for the listener to perhaps reflect on questions in their own lives, whatever they may be.” (Kenneth Young)



Alex Taylor’s [inner] is described as a ‘mini viola concerto’. Alex was awarded the Young Composer Award, and the Orchestra’s Choice Award during the NZSO Todd Foundation Young Composer programme on the strength of this work. “I always try to write music that is challenging to both performer and audience, without being alienating or purely intellectual.” (Alex Taylor)



An opera with electroacoustic elements, The Juniper Passion with music by Michael Williams and libretto by John Davies is set in the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944. “..the opera was to be a philosophical interrogation of the three forces impacting upon Cassino… To see all of us in this light of what we share, rather than what we hold separate, is the purpose of this work.” (John Davies)

More information can be found online here > 
This page will be updated regularly leading up to the Silver Scroll Awards, where the winner will be announced!

Festivals and Finales

This is the time of year to be inspired by the enthusiasm and talent of young New Zealanders.  At the National Final of the NZCT Chamber Music Contest we presented two composition section awards and the Statham Award for Best Performance of a New Zealand Work.  George Wang's string quartet netted him the junior composition prize, and the senior prize went to Marcus Jackson - who also won the award in 2011.  Marcus’s ensemble The Dreamscapes Quartet were awarded the national Statham Award for their committed performance of his winning composition.  Marcus has achieved further accolades this year, by achieving the highest distinction in this year's Big Sing Composition section.

From left to right: George Wang, Marcus Jackson, Julie Sperring

Hidden Treasure

New Zealand Choral Music CD   View online here >
The continuing success of the Big Sing is evidence of New Zealanders' love for choral music, so this Hidden Treasure is a CD from 1998 featuring the University of Auckland Festival Choir directed by Peter Godfrey. This is a collection that showcases the strength and diversity of New Zealand choral writing and performance.

Audio samples available online

SOUNZ Quiz