The New Zealand School of Music invites applications for the Creative New Zealand/Jack C. Richards Composer-in-Residence at the New Zealand School of Music 2014–2015. The appointment is jointly funded by Creative New Zealand and private donor Dr Jack C. Richards, with the New Zealand School of Music acting as host organisation. It has been created to foster New Zealand musical composition by providing the appointee with the opportunity to write full-time for the period of tenure.
Applicants should be composers of proven merit and be New Zealand citizens or hold New Zealand residency. Applicants may not be employees of, or have been employed by, the New Zealand School of Music (NZSM), Victoria University or Massey University in the twelve months prior to the closing date. Students working towards the completion of a tertiary qualification (in the year of the residency) are also ineligible. Individuals who have been a composer-in-residence in a Creative New Zealand financially supported composer residency within the previous twelve months are not normally eligible. In extenuating circumstances, the panel may waive this restriction. Applicants may not be on salary or paid leave during the period of the residency, and must demonstrate that they will not be receiving any other salaried income during the residency.
The Orchestra Wellington has also agreed in principle to offer the successful applicant a nominal position as Orchestra Wellington Composer-in-Residence, providing a guaranteed performance of a new orchestral work written during the term of the residency.
Tenure and Terms
The appointment will be for twelve months from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. The appointee must be resident in Wellington for the full term of employment (with absences to be negotiated with the Programme Leader (Composition) of the NZSM). While there is no obligation of formal teaching at the NZSM, some contribution is expected to be made to the NZSM’s cultural and academic life, in a manner appropriate to the personal strengths and preferences of the appointee, in agreement with the Programme Leader (Composition) of the NZSM.
The successful applicant’s work proposal should include: 1) a solo piece suitable for student performance (for example, as part of performance exam or competition); 2) a statement of agreement that one or more of the works written during the residency will be recorded, as a means to publicise the residency and to add to the residency archive. Indication should given as to which proposed work(s) will be suitable for recording. The NZSM will be responsible for making a high-quality recording of at least one work written during the residency and will provide the recording free-of-charge to the composer for non-commercial purposes. The NZSM reserves the right to use the recording as it sees fit. The successful applicant will be hired as an NZSM employee, and will be provided with access to administrative, library and other facilities upon request.
The appointee is required to submit a written report to the Programme Leader (Composition) within one month of the end of the tenure, which is submitted to Creative New Zealand in accordance with their residency regulations. The gross annual salary for the position will be NZ$50,000 for the twelve-month period, which includes 8% holiday pay to be paid when the term of appointment ends. Neither the NZSM nor Creative New Zealand can provide living accommodation, but the Lilburn Residence Trust has agreed in principle to offer the former home of Douglas Lilburn at 22 Ascot St, Thorndon to the appointee at a modest rental for the term of the residency.
Application process
A selection committee will comprise at least 3 members of the composition staff of the NZSM. Further enquiries may be made to Dugal McKinnon, Programme Leader (Composition), NZSM. Email: dugal.mckinnon@nzsm.ac.nz; Ph: (04) 463 6448. Electronic applications (in MS Word or PDF format) and support material (in MP3 and/or PDF files) should be sent via email to HR Coordinator, NZSM (recruit@nzsm.ac.nz). Applications may also be posted to: HR Coordinator, New Zealand School of Music, PO Box 2332, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
The following information must be submitted with applications:
(a) A current CV, which must include your qualifications, compositional experience, current employment status and a list of selected compositional output
(b) No more than 4 representative works. For notated works, please submit both scores (PDFs) and recordings (MP3s); for works with a visual component, please submit links to online videos (such as Youtube or Vimeo).
(c) A work proposal document for the tenure (see below), including details of any external funding for intended projects
(d) Confirmation that you are a New Zealand citizen or that you hold New Zealand residency
The work proposal document must include an outline of the works you intend to compose during the period of the residency.
In order to develop relationships between Wellington musicians and the composer-in-residence, applicants are encouraged to write for specific Wellington-based performers and ensembles selected from a list available for download from the following URL: http://www.nzsm.ac.nz/downloads/compreslist.pdf. Although the purpose of this partnership is for the mutual benefit of both composer and performer/ensemble, neither composer nor performer(s) is bound contractually in any legal sense.
Deadline: 5pm, Friday 22 November 2013.