Chris Blake wins Vodafone awards

Congratulations to Chris Blake and Wayne Laird of Atoll Records, whose recording Angel at Ahipara has won the KBB Best Classical Album category of the 2012 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. The other finalists were Eve de Castro Robinson for Releasing the Angel and Anthony Ritchie for A Bugle Will Do.

Angel at Ahipara features four works by Chris Blake, performed by the NZSO and conducted by Kenneth Young.

These works for string orchestra are based on four images from A Journey (1994) by Robin Morrison, a photographic presentation of Northland, New Zealand. The other works are Night Journey to Pawarenga, Christ at Whangape and Anthem on the Kaipara.

 Releasing the Angel features five works by Eve de Castro-Robinson, performed by the NZSO and conducted by Kenneth Young.

Releasing the Angel for cello and orchestra is the opening work on the CD, which also includes Peregrinations for piano and orchestra, Other echoes, These arms to hold you for children's voices and orchestra, and Len Dances."

 A Bugle Will Do features four works by Anthony Ritchie, performed by the NZSO and conducted by Tecwyn Evans.

The recording includes 'Symphony No.3' which appears on disk for the first time, along with works that the NZSO has commissioned from Anthony over a 15 year period: A Bugle Will Do, French Overture and Revelations.