Kia ora koutou, and welcome to what is going to be an action-packed month of events and end of year recital/assignment prep for all of us here at Te Kōkī. 

We're still buzzing from Jon Hunter's incredible 'Eat Your Heart Out' opera production that was held earlier in September, pictured above. Not only did the students present three performances in the Adam Concert Room, but they also traveled up to perform it at Nukuhau Pā in Taupo. Check out the video below to see some of the Taupo performance.

We kick off Aotearoa Audio Arts tomorrow evening, which has been a very exciting 'first' for us to put together. Come along if you want a glimpse into the ground-breaking contemporary music, sound and media at the forefront of international arts scenes right now - there are still a few (rapidly disappearing!) tickets. 

Don't miss our Music From Her festival, our final orchestra concert of the year, the NZSO meets NZSM concert, and much, much more. Details below! 

EVENTS

AOTEAROA AUDIO ARTS

When: 27-29 Sep
Where: City Gallery Adam Auditorium and Potocki Paterson Gallery

NZSM presents Aotearoa Audio Arts; this first festival of its kind in New Zealand encompasses live performances, showings of audiovisual works and sound art installations across genres from kinetic, mechanical, and robotic art, to glitch, noise, experimental acoustic and electronic music. Myriam Bleau, pictured above, plays 'Act II' at 7:30pm on Friday evening. If you want a nice overview of the festival, check out this interview with Dugal McKinnon on RNZ here.

NZSM ORCHESTRA: THREE CENTURIES

When: 2 October 7.30pm
Where: St Andrews on the Terrace

The NZSM Orchestra is proud to present ‘Three Centuries’ featuring our 2018 Concerto Competition winner, Claudia Tarrant-Matthews, one of the School’s star violinists. Claudia’s win at the competition saw her perform Béla Bartok’s Violin Concerto #2, one of the works central to this program, which includes works written in three different centuries. Bartok’s contribution is accompanied by works from Anton Bruckner and the NZSM’s very own Michael Norris, who has recently been nominated for the SOUNZ contemporary award. 

Programme:

Bartok Violin Concerto #2
Michael Norris Claro
Bruckner Finale (4th movement) from Symphony #8

Our Music From Her festival, held in mid-October, will celebrate, support and encourage diverse voices of women working in music in New Zealand, in the year of the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand. We hope you can join us - we've made most events free or very low cost so that everyone can attend.

What: Sound Art Exhibition When: 9-14 October 10AM-4PM daily Where: Thistle Hall Gallery
What: Exhibition opening event When: 10 October 6PM Where: Thistle Hall Gallery
What: Panel Discussions When: 14 October 10.30AM-4PM Where: Thistle Hall
What: Suffrage Songs Recomposed When: 14 October 7.30pm Where: Hannah Playhouse

When: Sunday 14 October 7.30pm
Where: Hannah Playhouse
Tickets $10/$5

This concert sees nine female composers and songwriters take suffrage songs from the 1890s and haul them into the modern day. Various singers will be joined by instrumental, electronic and taonga puoro musicians to perform re-imaginings of these politically trailblazing texts. Our Lullaby Competition winner will also perform. More info...

NZSO MEETS NZSM - ZEPHYR CONCERT WITH TE KŌKĪ TRIO

When: Wednesday 17 October 7.30pm
Where: Adam Concert Room

Two of Wellington’s finest ensembles come together for this special performance. An assemblage of NZSO talent forms the renowned Zephyr Wind Quintet, who will be joined in the programme by NZSM’s very own Te Kōkī Trio. More info...

THE LILBURN TRUST COMPOSERS COMPETITION

When: Saturday 6 October 7pm
Where: Adam Concert Room

The Lilburn Trust NZSM Composers Competition is an annual event that features some of the best works written during the last year by students of the NZSM Composition and Sonic Arts programmes. The works selected for the finals showcase the breadth and excellence of creative work at the NZSM. The Lilburn Trust provides prize money for the placegetters, who will be chosen on the night by a jury of professional composers and performers.

FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

ABOUT TOWN

NEWS

CORY CHAMPION ANNOUNCED AS
TOI PŌNEKE / NZSM SOUND ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 2018-19

The residency offers an opportunity for Wellington sound artists to develop and present unique works over a 12-week period, culminating in an exhibition and public programmes.

Over the summer Champion will be developing a performance work that aims to dissolve and augment the drum set while abstracting the roles of the audience, participant, improviser, or performer.

Champion is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Music and works as a composer and performer. He also performs as Borrowed cs, writing and producing his own electronic music.

OPERA AT NUKUHAU PĀ​

After a successful season in Wellington, New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkῑ students had the unique opportunity of performing opera at Nukuhau Pā in Taupo recently. Student Emma Cronshaw says it was humbling how much the audience enjoyed the performance. “It felt electric. We got such a range of genuine responses from the audience both during and after the show.” Check out the wee video above of extracts from the performance, including the students singing NZSM's waiata at the end!

STUNNING RESULTS FOR SINGERS

In the final of the 2018 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, Pascale Orchard and Katherine McIndoe competed against three other contestants, winning three prizes each.

Pasquale was awarded the full fees scholarship of GBP 20,000 for study at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2019-2020. She was also awarded the Haas Award of AUD 2,500 travel expenses towards her study at the RNCM, and the David Harper Award of ten lessons with vocal coach and accompanist David Harper.

Katherine was awarded the Merenda Prize of AUD 8,000 for study of Italian language in Italy, the Nelly Apt Scholarship of AUD 7,000 to attend the Israeli Opera Young Artist Programme at the Meitar Opera Studio in Tel Aviv, and a scholarship to attend the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute’s summer programme. The latter includes the Pasqualina Lipari Prize of AUD 3,750 to cover other expenses. Read more...

SNIPPETS

Congrats to the group Sugandese of Swing who won the 2018 NZSM Combo Competition, supported by the Wellington Jazz Club. The group is made up of Frank Talbot, Nicholas Bauke-Maunsell, Jack Harre, George MacLaurin, George Prowse and Lennox Grootjans. 

NZSM Master of Musical Arts graduate Jake Church has won a Judith Clark Memorial Fellowship to develop his PhD proposal in Sweden under the aegis of Stefan Östersjö, Professor of Musical Performance at Luleå University, and Associate Professor of Artistic Research in Music at Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University. Jake’s project will focus on the interactions between Māori and New Zealand western art cultures through structured improvisation.

NZSM grad Salina Fisher has been spotted in New York with Jacinda Ardern. Salina is in New York on a Fulbright New Zealand scholarship studying a Master of Music in composition at the Manhattan School of Music, and managed to catch the PM after her appearance on the Today show.  

Support the musicians, composers and scholars of the future

For some of New Zealand's most talented musicians, the only thing that stands in the way of their dreams is the lack of funds to make them real. For further information on how you can provide support for students at the New Zealand School of Music, please contact either: