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.”

Announcement & Call for Score for Music Theatre/Operatic work

First, it is my great pleasure to announce the formation of a new opera company in central Kentucky called the Bluegrass Opera. We bring together a talented and versatile team of professional singer-actors whose musical training and experience include not only Opera and Musical Theatre, but also Jazz, Pop, Blues, Gospel, and a number of other styles.

Our mission is to bring musical works for the stage (including opera, musical theatre, and everything in between) to a new, younger, and more diverse audience. We do this by:
(1) Performing ONLY new works see our call for scores below!),
(2) reaching out to audiences that normally wouldn’t be caught dead at an “opera”, and
(3) Moving beyond the stereotypes that many associate with “opera” by embracing a wide range of musical and dramatic idioms.

Second, we are planning a number of different performances over the next several months – these include both fully-staged productions of complete works and staged concerts of excerpts, sketches, and scenes. That brings me to our call for scores — here are the guidelines:

– All composers, regardless of age, are welcome to submit works for performance.
– Composers may submit as many works as they wish; there is no fee.
– The principal language of the work(s) submitted must be English.
– Works must not have had any prior performances (workshops are fine).
– The work(s) can be of any style, size, and scope within the realm of theatrical music
(examples include full-length operas, musicals, one-acts, scenes, arias, ensemble pieces)
– Excerpts from works-in-progress are welcome.
– Our instrumentation is flexible; however, we can not accommodate live electronics at this time (pre-recorded sounds are fine).
– We ask that you submit:
(1) a piano/vocal score of each piece with the creator(s) clearly identified,
(2) a separate sheet containing:
(a) a brief synopsis or description of each work submitted,
(b) a short composer bio (including address, phone number, and email).
(c) the instrumentation for the work
(3) an audio recording is highly encouraged (MIDI is fine).

– Please include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage if you would like your materials returned. Otherwise, we will be happy to keep them and consider them for future performance.

– Please send materials to:
Bluegrass Opera
c/o Lorne Dechtenberg
P.O. Box 910527
Lexington, KY 40591

– The receipt deadline for sketches, excerpts, numbers, or scenes is August 5, 2008.
– The receipt deadline for large works is August 31, 2008 (works received by August 5 will be considered for inclusion in programs of excerpts as well).

Materials may also be submitted via email to bluegrassopera@yahoo.com
(scores in PDF format only please).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at this address, or visit our temporary website — http://www.geocities.com/bluegrassopera

Sincerely,
Lorne Dechtenberg
Artistic Director, Bluegrass Opera

Composers Conference deadline extended

In light of a number of potential submitters who require a little more time to put together their abstracts and/or scores, the deadline for the CANZ/NZSM Composers Conference in September has been extended until 11 July.

Arts funding in the 2008 Budget

Music related announcements include:

* $4.4 million extra baseline funding over four years for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

* extra baseline funding of $4.8 million over four years for the NZ Music Commission.

* $10.9 million extra over four years for Radio New Zealand to maintain its core services.

Music notation software study results available.

In 2004, many CANZ members took part in a survey conducted by then Victoria University PhD student Chris Watson.  Chris was looking at the effects of music notation software on compositional practices and outcomes and received data in the form of completed questionnaires from some 106 active New Zealand composers.  Chris has now graduated and, as promised, his analysis of the questionnaire data is now available for composers to view, by visiting the following URL: 

http://www.chriswatsoncomposer.com/phd.htm

Here, you will have the option of downloading Chris’s complete thesis, or just the chapter dealing with the results of the questionnaire.

Chris would like to thank members of the composition community for their time and effort in completing his questionnaire and hopes that its findings are of benefit. 

Tabea Squire wins NYO Residency

The NZSO National Youth Orchestra (NYO) is delighted to announce that Wellington composer, Tabea Squire, has been named the winner of the 4th NYO Composer-in-Residence Award 2008. The award was granted to Tabea for her work Feverdream.

Tabea, currently studying at the New Zealand School of Music, has been a violinist with the NYO since 2005 so will now be unable to play in this year’s season. However, on hearing of the award she said, “The conflict of emotions is surprisingly strong, but above all I’m overjoyed and honoured that the piece I worked on so hard and long has been acknowledged by such a prestigious panel. It is fantastic!”

In addition to having the winning work performed at each of the four NYO concerts, Tabea will receive guidance from 2008 NZSO NYO conductor Jacques Lacombe and mentor Ross Harris. The composer prize also includes Sibelius music writing software, version V5, with free training from MusiTech Ltd as well as a subscription to CANZ.

The 2008 jury panel consisted of Pietari Inkinen (NZSO Music Director), Hamish McKeich (former NZSO contrabassoon and associate conductor), John Psathas (composer and Associate Professor in Composition at the New Zealand School of Music), Ross Harris (Creative New Zealand/Jack C. Richards Composer-in-Residence at the New Zealand School of Music 2007-8) and Jacques Lacombe (International Guest Conductor).

Tabea will be in Wellington when the NYO meets in August to participate in rehearsals of Feverdream and will attend the public concert performances in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Napier.

Tabea was selected from more than a dozen promising applicants, ranging in age from 17 to 24, from Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Wellington, who submitted works of a maximum of 5 minutes. The project was conceived four years ago in order to find new compositional talent, while challenging the composers to complement the wider music strategy of the NZSO.

Commenting on the award, NZSO Music Director, Pietari Inkinen said: “It is fantastic that the NZSO supports a scheme as such as the Composer-in-Residence Award. It has a direct impact on forming the young composers of tomorrow – an educational focus crucial to the development of creativity in this country.”

Tabea’s mentor Ross Harris describes the competition as “a unique opportunity for a young composer to work with excellent young players and an established New Zealand composer.”

Pascale Parenteau, manager of the NZSO National Youth Orchestra said: “It is gratifying to see the standard of entry increasing each year. Tabea’s work will certainly be a highlight of this year’s concerts.”

Principal co-sponsors of the NZSO NYO Composer-in-Residence Award 2008 are MusiTech Ltd (NZ) and Sibelius (UK), supported by APRA, Radio New Zealand Concert, CANZ and SOUNZ.

Samuel Holloway wins ACL Young Composer Competition

Samuel Holloway’s piano trio Stapes has won the Asian Composer’s League Young Composer’s Competition in Hong Kong.

This was the work chosen to represent New Zealand in the competition and continues an outstanding trend. In the last six competitions, the works from Kiwi composers have won four times, been placed third once and once received a High Commendation.

Chris Watson won in 2002 with Derailleurs for mixed ensemble. Dylan Lardelli took the top prize in 2003 with Four Fragments for large chamber ensemble and Chris Gendall was placed third in 2004 with Sweet Nothing for clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Alison Grant won in Bangkok, Thailand with her octet Fission . This is the second ACL Festival for 2007. In February New Zealand hosted the Asia-Pacific Festival that included the ACL Conference and in the Young Composer’s Competition Robin Toan’s Le Marteau du Destin was awarded a Highly Commended.

It is also the second ACL award for Samuel this year. Also at the February event he was awarded the Irino Prize for the best work presented at the Festival by a composer from the host country. His orchestral work Fault was part of the NZSO’s Pacific Dreaming concert.
(Courtesy of SOUNZ, the Centre for New Zealand Music)