The winning project for this year’s SOUNZ Community Commission will see composer Noel Meek work alongside a team of Christchurch librarians to create a new piece for performance in 2024.
The anonymous project donor selected the winning proposal by Noel, who said:
"How Libraries Think (2024) is an exploration of the Ōtautahi library system as a complex ecology of humans and non-humans. It delves into the relationships between librarians and other library staff, their collections, and the buildings that house them - focusing on the central library, Tūranga. A composition that works largely with untrained musicians, it asks how these varied relationships might be expressed musically.
Receiving this commission is a wonderful vote of confidence for my practice as a composer. My working methods are not traditional in their approach to music and composition, but commissions like this one convince me that they contribute strongly to Aotearoa's cultural landscape."
The SOUNZ Community Commission brings together New Zealand professional composers and community groups to create and perform a new work. It was established in 1999 and has resulted in works for diverse groups and ensembles such as a community group for young people with learning disabilities, community choirs, experimental sound artists, youth orchestras and children’s theatre.
