Welcome to the Dawn Chorus newsletter for August. We've had a few weeks of fantastic musical diversity recently, with China Crossing (pictured above), the Concerto Competition, and Puoro, a celebration of our Māori and Pasifika alumni and students. Coming up we're excited about An American in Wellington on 9 August at the Michael Fowler Centre - it will be a night of terrific music so come along! 

You can find our August events and news below, and as always keep an eye on our Facebook page for regular updates. 

REMEMBERING ROGER SELLERS

We were very saddened to hear that Roger Sellers, legendary jazz drummer and all-round inspiring person, passed away on Saturday 14 July. Roger taught at the Wellington Polytechnic, Massey Conservatorium of Music, and then the New Zealand School of Music - Te Kōkī for around 30 years, and was a key figure in the New Zealand jazz scene. There have been a huge number of tributes and personal stories on social media from those who knew Roger, and almost everyone who was taught by him has remarked on his warm and encouraging nature. The Roger Sellers Celebration will be August 26 (Sunday) 1 - 5pm at The Pines Houghton Bay Wellington. 

EVENTS

AN AMERICAN IN WELLINGTON

When: Thursday 9 August, 7:30pm 
Where: Michael Fowler Centre 

Top musicians from the New Zealand School of Music are joined by five-time Grammy nominated American pianist and composer Shelly Berg for a spine-tingling, swinging concert of Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Debussy and Bernstein.

Tickets start from just $5 - book now!

When: 4 & 5 August
Where: Student Union Building, Victoria University of Wellington

Calling all trombonists! Join us for a weekend of workshops and concerts for all ages and abilities. American trombonists Jim Pugh and Dr. Irvin Wagner join Rodger Fox (NZSM) and NZSO trombonists Matthew Allison, David Bremner and Shannon Pittaway to present a range of masterclasses, workshops and rehearsals.

Participants will perform on Saturday 4 August in room SU310, Student Union Building, at 6pm - all welcome.

As part of the fabulous Cellophonia and Chamber Music Festival, a number of public concerts are being held, all of which are free to attend.

Wednesday 29 August
Chamber Music Concert with Te Kōkī Trio, Brinton Averil Smith, Dr Paye Srinarong, Andrew Joyce, 7:30pm, Hunter Council Chamber

Thursday 30 August
String Ensemble Concert 8pm, Hunter Council Chamber

Friday 31 August
Rising Stars Lunchtime Concert for outstanding players 12–1pm, Adam Concert Room
Cellophonia Gala Concert, 7pm, Hunter Council Chamber

Sunday 2 September
Cellophonia Taster Concert 3pm, Hunter Council Chamber
Cellophonia Closing Concert 4pm, Hunter Council Chamber

STUDY AT VICTORIA OPEN DAY

When: Friday 31 August
Where: New Zealand School of Music

Get a taste of what you can expect as a NZSM student by coming along to our open day. More information here.

JAZZ AT THE BRISTOL

When: Thursday 23 August 8:30pm
Where: The Bristol
More info

MASTERCLASSES

FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

MUSIC FORUM

Music Forum is held on Wednesdays at 4:15pm in room 209 - all welcome

NEWS

'PAPA MINDS THE BABY' - NZSM ANNOUNCES LULLABY COMPETITION FOR THE PRIME MINISTER

The New Zealand School of Music is delighted to announce a lullaby competition, with the winning entry to be gifted to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

The competition is open to all New Zealanders, and in celebration of Suffrage 125 marking the 125th anniversary of women getting the vote in New Zealand, the music must be set to the poem, A Lullaby—a satirical text written by New Zealand poet Thomas Bracken in 1892.

The poem's theme of role reversal at that time was a source of much hilarity. The last laugh comes over a century later however; the words have turned to reality with the Prime Minister returning to work to ‘look after the Nation’, leaving her partner Clarke Gayford, to ‘mind the baby’.

A panel of NZSM experts will judge the entries and the winner will perform their winning composition at a concert on Sunday 14 October, as part of a week-long celebration of women and music in Aotearoa, hosted by the NZSM.

More information and an application form can be found here. 

JOE HADDOW THROUGH TO THE LEXUS SONG QUEST FINALS

We are thrilled that NZSM graduate Joe Haddow has been announced as one of the five finalists for the prestigious Lexus Song Quest. He is pictured above at the semi-finals with our superb Head of Voice Margaret Medlyn.

Esteemed international Head Judge Lisa Gasteen was highly impressed with the vocal quality and skills of the ten semi-finalists. “It’s been extremely difficult to pick a top five from such a skilled field of performers. I strongly believe these five finalists have what it takes to succeed in this competitive industry.”

The 2018 winner will be decided at the Lexus Song Quest Grand Final Gala on Saturday 28 July, where the five finalists will perform live with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra - competing for New Zealand’s most prestigious singing title and a share of $90,000 in prizes.

MO ZAREEI PREMIERE IN TEHRAN

NZSM's Mo Zareei (mHz) premieres a new audiovisual work at the SET X CTM festival in Tehran this Friday. The 5-day festival takes place 26-30 July 2018 in Tehran, and has been conceived and organized in close collaboration with Berlin’s CTM – the city’s leading festival and hub for experimental music and cutting-edge sound practice. We're hoping he'll show the work sometime soon in NZ! We hear he has an album coming out too... 

SOUND ART RESIDENCY -
APPLICATIONS CLOSING SOON

Submissions close on 30 July for the Toi Pōneke Arts Centre and the New Zealand School of Music Sound Art Residency 2018-2019. With support from Toi Pōneke and the New Zealand School of Music - Te Kōkī, the successful candidate will undertake a 12-week residency, culminating in a new work, along with an exhibition, performance or installation and a series of workshops or lectures, depending on the nature of the work. More information here. 

CONCERTO COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED

Congratulations to Claudia Tarrant-Matthews, winner of the NZSM Concerto Competition for 2018, judged by Diedre Irons. Claudia performed Bartok's Violin Concerto No. 2. Second and third place winners were Sophie Tarrant-Matthews and Grace Stainthorpe respectively. 

LISTENING TO YOURSELF LISTENING

NZSM PhD student Blake Johnston has this exhibition coming up at Toi Poneke Arts Centre. Blake has generated a series of new works that create metaperceptual experiences, inviting the audience to turn their attention back to themselves and meditate on their own subjective experience.

SOUNZ VIDEOS

SOUNZ has released three new Resound films from two senior composition students (one current, one former) at the New Zealand School of Music. 

Simon Eastwood is a doctoral candidate whose work ‘Triptych for Two’ was written in response to a call for scores from violinist Monique Lapins and percussionist Naoto Segawa.

Glen Downie is a recent Masters graduate. His ‘Gorzanis Frammenti’ is performed by co-collaborator Jake Church, and a piano work from 2014, ‘for Solo Piano’  is performed by Gabriela Glapska.

Audio was recorded by Jesse Austin-Stewart in the Adam Concert Room.

NZSQ TOUR

Watch this stunning live performance of Debussy's String Quartet in G minor by the New Zealand String Quartet, recorded earlier this year in the Adam Concert Room at one of our lunchtime concerts. 

The quartet are off on a nationwide tour in August/ September that sees them perform four carefully curated programmes of groundbreaking works. They're in Wellington on 25 and 26 August - book now. 

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

This month we profile two of our students ahead of the Orchestra and Big Band concert An American in Wellington. 

Louisa Williamson – saxophone - NZSM Big Band

What are you looking forward to about this concert? 
Working with the guest artist Shelly Berg! And I’m really excited about the sophisticated repertoire - George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Leonard Bernstein make up over half of the programme. The nostalgia factor will especially be high in this concert. It’s likely you, your parents, or your grandparents grew up listening to this jazz music. Tunes like “Fascinating Rhythm” and “Smile” were the pop tunes back then! I’m excited about this concert because it’s going to bring generations together through a mutual love of the music.

How is it different with the big band and orchestra playing together? 
We definitely have to be a bit more careful with volume… we can play a lot louder than them. It’s a little tricky as we can’t hear them as well as they project out the front, so it’s a good exercise for us in keeping our ears open! 

What do you enjoy about being a music student?
I feel extremely lucky to be able to study music and do what I love all day everyday. I love the little community that is created at music school too.

I don’t think anyone could imagine their life without music. I think a big part of why people love music is the escapism it can provide. It can make you feel better, make you feel sad, energize you, take you back to special times you’ve tucked away in your memory.

Patrick Hayes – violin - NZSM Orchestra

What are you looking forward to about this concert? 
I’m most looking forward to collaborating with the Big Band again this year. They have an incredible energy, and the acoustic of the Michael Fowler Centre will complement the rich sound. 

How is it different with the big band and orchestra playing together? 
One of the primary differences, and most apparent, is the difference in sound. Brass and winds with drums are so loud! Really looking forward to a new timbre.

What do you enjoy about being a music student?
I really love how passionate everyone is about the music! Also the collegiality is really inspiring and heartwarming

Music speaks to people in a way that can’t really describe. Because there are usually no words to evoke emotions, we are only able to evoke emotion through energy, and the raw energy of what we are doing is usually enough to move people.

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: