About CANZ

What is CANZ and what does it do?

The Composers Association of New Zealand is a non-profit organisation of mostly professional and amateur composers, as well as other supportive institutions.

  • We maintain contact with organisations such as SOUNZ (The Centre for NZ Music), the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Radio New Zealand Concert, RIANZ, Creative New Zealand, APRA and the Government.
  • We are members of international organisations, such as the Asian Composers League and the International Society for Contemporary Music. In this way we provide opportunities for international exposure to our members, and we ensure that there is a New Zealand presence at the festivals run by these organisations.
  • We make financial and administrative contributions to national events such as the Nelson Composers Workshop, with help from Creative New Zealand and APRA.
  • We help with specific one-off projects, such as the transfer of Douglas Lilburn’s electronic works to CD, or administering a New Zealand-Korea musical exchange.
  • We maintain a website of useful information for composers.
  • We publish Canzona, an annual yearbook, and Canzonetta, a bi-monthly newsletter.
  • We present two awards every year: the KBB Citation for Services to New Zealand Music, and the CANZ Trust Fund Award.
  • We also make contributions to the composition community through our “behind-the-scenes” work, such as mediating in disputes, writing letters of support for various projects and making submissions on items of policy (such as music curricula).
  • We provide a network of contacts for getting involved in the New Zealand composition community, as well as the wider international community of composers.

How is CANZ organised?

  • The committee is made up of nine members, three each from the Northern, Central, and Southern regions. The committee positions also include the President, Secretary and Treasurer. Elections for the committee are held at the Annual General Meeting, which usually occurs during March/April of each year.
  • The committee meets twice a year: once around the Annual General Meeting (the location rotating between a Northern, Southern and Central city), and once later in the year, usually August/September (in Wellington)
  • CANZ members are encouraged to vote for members of the committee at the AGM, either in person or by using the proxy form that comes with the February issue of Canzonetta.
  • CANZ members are also encouraged to put their name forward for consideration whenever vacancies on the committee are open.
  • The CANZ Constitution (current following amendments passed at the 2017 AGM) may be downloaded here.

How is CANZ funded?

Apart from our membership subscriptions, CANZ receives major funding from APRA, as well as project funding from Creative New Zealand (for the Nelson Composers Workshop and ACL Young Composer), the Lilburn Trust (for the Nelson Workshop) and KBB Music (for the KBB Citation).

CANZ is a non-profit organisation, registered with Charities Services. Donations can be made by cheque (to PO Box 4065, Wellington 6140), or by direct credit to account 38-9011-0486094-00. To obtain a receipt, please contact the treasurer: treasurer@canz.net.nz