Kia ora koutou and welcome to the August edition of our newsletter. 

In his influential essay “A Search for Tradition” (1946), Douglas Lilburn called for ‘the necessity of having a music of our own, a living tradition of music created in this country, a music that will satisfy those parts of our being that cannot be satisfied by the music of other nations.’ In contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand such a call remains as vital and pressing as it was in 1946, but is being reworked, reflecting the cultural diversity that is our collective whakapapa. Our traditions are many and our modes of searching for these traditions are likewise diverse. They include the oldest musical traditions taught at the School, from Western art music, to Māori musical forms and their Pacific being, to Jazz and its Black heritage. Newer practices, which have grown deeply and quickly, are equally vital at the NZSM: electronic music, established in this country through the risky explorations Lilburn embarked on in the late 1950s, and music therapy, a young discipline which connects us to the grounding vitality of music and sound. In learning to listen empathetically and critically, as well as to compose and perform, we tune our ears and minds to the sounds and rhythms of abundant human cultures, past and present. The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, recently affirmed ‘its support for the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement, and its commitment to addressing systemic racism, injustice, and violence’, acknowledging that our music and heritage is manifold, and that not all voices have been equally supported within the chorus. Giving equal voice to all is the ethos of Te Kōkī – the dawn chorus.
- Dr Dugal McKinnon, Deputy Director of the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī

Events

NZSM Concerto Competition

When: Thursday 30 July, 7pm
Where: Adam Concert Room
Free entry More info

Join us tomorrow evening in the Adam Concert Room as three students compete for the chance to perform their concerto with the NZSM Orchestra later this year. Our adjudicators are conductor Vincent Hardaker, NZSM alumnus and first Assistant Conductor in Residence for professional orchestras of New Zealand, and Catherine Gibson, Chamber Music New Zealand's Chief Executive.
Our finalists this year are: 
Isabella Gregory (flute): Carl Reinecke—Flute Concerto
Lucas Baker (violin): Barber—Violin Concerto
Otis Prescott-Mason (piano): Saint-Saëns—Piano Concerto No. 2

The Collaborative Pianist: The Lost Ideals of Youth

When: Thursday 6 August, 6pm
Where: Hunter Council Chamber
Free entry

David Barnard is joined by fellow pianists Jian Liu and Hamish Robb in a programme of Mozart, Rachmaninov, Poulenc and Young. More info

Symphonic Winds

When: Tuesday 11 August, 7pm
Where: Hunter Council Chamber
Free entry

The NZSM Symphonic Wind Ensemble presents a special one-off concert in the Hunter Council Chamber. Conducted by Simon Brew, the ensemble will perform a varied programme - to be announced shortly. 

NZSM Combo Competition

When: Sunday 30 August, 5pm
Where: Meow
In Association with the Wellington Jazz Club

The Wellington Jazz Club hosts this year's NZSM Combo Competition, featuring a range of student combos, and $2,000 in prizes sponsored by the club. All welcome! More info

NZSQ Lecture-Recital

When: Sunday 30 August, 2pm
Where: Adam Concert Room

Join the New Zealand String Quartet for a lecture-recital exploring the fascinating music and context of Beethoven’s String Quartets. To celebrate 250 years since the composer’s birth, the NZSQ will perform his complete quartets in a six-concert series in Wellington in September.
See here for full details about the concerts. 

Open Day

When: Friday 21 August, 11:15am & 1:15pm
Where: Adam Concert Room

NZSM opens its doors to prospective students to come along and hear about our various programmes, courses on offer and opportunities outside the classroom.  More info

Friday Lunchtime Concerts

Composer Workshop

The NZSM Composition Programme presents Composer Workshop from 3:10–4:30 pm each Wednesday during the trimester, in the Adam Concert Room.

The varied programme includes guest presentations by established composers discussing their work and their ideas about composition and workshop performances of student compositions. Composition students from all levels attend these sessions, and they are also open to the University community and the general public. See the full programme here.

From the NZSM collection

This notched flute (called pao’bleeblabo and other names) is played in central and southern Vanuatu, and especially on Ambrym Island. Made from bamboo, with characteristic prongs carved from the distal end (the ‘mouth’), the flute is held vertically, played resting against the chin and blown against the small carved notch in the rim. The incised triangle motives with ovals (called malonsu) show interlocking faces. Players sound the melodies of well-known songs for entertainment, and the flute music was formally associated with gardening and the yam harvest. This instrument was acquired by Allan Thomas (1942–2010), former Senior Lecturer in ethnomusicology at Te Herenga Waka.      

Listen here for two short sound examples of the notched flute from Vanuatu.

NZSM students explore Pacific instruments in MUSC351 Music and Dance of Oceania, offered each year. 

News

Alumna Felicity Smith’s work published posthumously with the help of PhD student Kathleen Gerrard

Flutist Hannah Darroch commissions four fellow NZSM alumnae in new ‘lockdown’ project

Four NZSM alumnae—Sarah Ballard, Pieta Hextall, Gemma Peacocke and Jasmine Lovell-Smith—have been commissioned to write short works for flute and piano in a new project by Hannah Darroch and pianist Andrew Crooks. More

Year 13 student reaches the finals in the NZSM Concerto Competition 

New release by Mo H. Zareei

Mo H. Zareei, Lecturer in Sonic Arts at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, has recently released his second album, Function. 
"a perfect balance between the crisp granular qualities of the constituent sounds and the seductions of rhythm".
– The Wire Magazine

The album is available at: importantrecords.com (CD) and millihertz.bandcamp.com (digital download)

Anton Killin named as Lilburn Research Fellow 2021

New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī alumnus Dr Anton Killin has been awarded the 2021 Lilburn Research Fellowship to further his study of Indonesian gamelan in New Zealand composition. Read the full announcement here.

NZSM Sonic Arts presence at NIME conference

NZCT Chamber Music Contest

NZSM graduate Olivia Wilding in CMNZ's online Matariki project 

Artist teacher Jon Hunter and alumna Olivia Wilding feature in this new Chamber Music New Zealand family online event, Ngā Waiata o te Pō.

Scholarship Profile

Our profile this month is of Fisher Trumpet Scholarship winner Peter Brzozowski. The Fisher Trumpet Scholarship aims to support undergraduate music students at NZSM, Victoria University of Wellington who demonstrate excellence in trumpet performance. Peter is in his first year of a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance. 

Choosing to study a BMus, majoring in Jazz Performance is a decision I couldn't be more happy with. I love jazz, and over the last few years especially in 2019, my passion for it has grown immensely and I've come to really enjoy improvising, creating music in the moment. I also love playing in combos/big band with the other members of NZSM, they're all such amazing players and make it a really enjoyable time. 

My favorite musician would have to be Clifford Brown. His jazz trumpet playing is very inspiring, as well as his great technique, melodious solos and awesome musicianship. The fact that he managed to make his mark as one of the greatest trumpet players before he was  25 yrs old is quite motivational.

Winning this scholarship means a great lot to me. With winning the new trumpet, it's going to greatly assist me in my studies for the coming years. I have been playing the same trumpet since year 7, so now that I am able to have a new one, it is going to be awesome to play on it and will bring a new exciting touch to my practice and playing. I am extremely grateful to be the recipient of this scholarship, and look forward to reaping the benefits now and in the coming years. 

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: