APRA Professional Development Awards – bigger and better!

APRA has announced that the Professional Development Award for NZ has extended from one scholarship to three. Each winner is given $12,000 and a Gibson guitar, thanks to the support of Gibson.

The 2009 NZ PDA programme will be for the following categories:
Pop contemporary
Film/Television
Classical

The Professional Development Award offers cash, travel, education and recognition to emerging music writers, with outstanding ability, who need a little help to make their dreams a reality.

APRA members – it’s very simple: you tell us what your professional development goal is, and if you are a winning applicant you get $12,000 to make that professional development happen.

Applications are due by Monday 1 December 2008.

Application details will be available from the APRA website soon and please contact Petrina George for more information.

SOUNZ Contemporary Award winner announced

Wax Lyrical, a work written by young New Zealand composer Chris Gendall for an octet of flute, clarinet, harp, piano, and string quartet, has won the 2008 SOUNZ Contemporary Award, the most prestigious annual award for ‘contemporary classical’ composition in New Zealand.

Chris is the youngest composer to win the prestigious award since it was instituted in 1998. The announcement was made and award presented to the composer as part of the APRA-hosted event in Auckland Town Hall which included announcement of the 2008 Maioha and 2008 APRA Silver Scroll Awards.

He was commissioned to write Wax Lyrical by American ensemble Brave New Works with funding from the Mellon Foundation and it was first performed by the ensemble in a series of concerts across New York State in April this year. “The title ‘wax lyrical’ refers to an exuberant and energetic sensibility in the work,” Chris told us.

Gendall returned from his studies in the United States for the Auckland occasion. He is currently completing a DMA at Cornell University, New York. “A DMA is essentially a PhD but specific to practical musicians.  It has allowed me to balance composerly pursuits with academic ones. The entire experience has been great: working intensely on my music; teaching and studying for greater academic rigour; and living in the northeast USA – which has been an education in itself! I think I’m yet to become an ‘ex-pat’ composer, although my international experience has certainly broadened my concept of who I am as a musician.”

Cobra at the NZSM

As part of the Sonic Arts third year workshop at NZSM, the students will be performing improvisations based on John Zorn’s Cobra. The performers will play a range of instruments, from traditional instruments to radios, synthesisers, noise makers and hacked electronics. Entry is free, 3:00 – 4:30pm, Adam Concert Room, NZSM Kelburn campus, next Monday 15th September

CANZ/NZSM Composers Conference: REGISTRATIONS OPEN

Registrations are now open for the CANZ/NZSM NZ Composer Conference being held 27-28 September 2008 at the NZSM, Kelburn Campus, Wellington.

Please note that you will need to register by MONDAY 8 SEPTEMBER. Registration is free, but as we have limited space in our lecture rooms and limited funding, attendees who do not register by 8 September are not guaranteed to be able to attend and are not guaranteed catering. (Registration guarantees you entrance to all events and catering for morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea.)

Registration and attendance at all Conference Events, including the special concert, are free to all CANZ Members. For non-CANZ Members, you may pay an annual subscription fee to CANZ to get into the conference & concert, or you may pay a flat registration fee of $50.

All Registration Fees can be paid during the Registration period, 9-10am on Saturday 27 Sept at the School of Music foyer, NZSM Kelburn Campus.

Full details, including paper abstracts, schedule, etc, are available here: http://www.canz.net.nz/conference/

Many thanks
Michael Norris
Organiser, CANZ/NZSM Conference 2008

Asian Composers League Young Composers Competition

CALL FOR SCORES: 2009 ASIAN COMPOSERS LEAGUE YOUNG COMPOSERS COMPETITION

New Zealand has a proud history of success at the ACL Young Composers Competition. We have had numerous first placings, including four in the last six festivals.

We are now seeking entries for the 2009 festival, from composers born after 30 November 1978, to represent New Zealand at the Asian Composers League Young Composers Competition being held in Tongyeong, Korea on 9 March 2009. The selected composer will be sent to Korea courtesy of CANZ and Creative New Zealand, and have their accommodation and some meals covered by the Asian Composers League. The overall winner from all selected countries will receive US$1000 as well as an additional (non-paid) commission for a future festival. Second and third placings also receive smaller cash prizes.

ENTRY DETAILS:
Duration: Pieces must be less than 8 minutes in duration. [This is a crucial measurement: pieces that last over 8 minutes in performance may be disqualified[
Forces: from the following maximum instrumentation: fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, perc, pf, 2 vn, va, vc, db
Submission format: A single copy of the full score, bound and double-sided are preferred. If selected, parts will need to be prepared by early November.
CANZ Membership: Entrants should be members of CANZ, or include a CANZ membership form and fee with their submissions (see http://www.canz.net.nz/joincanz.html for details)

DEADLINE:
Postmarked no later than 12 October 2008.

SEND TO:
ACL Young Composers Competition, CANZ, PO BOX 4065, WELLINGTON
A jury of 3 CANZ members will decide on the selected composer by the last week of October.