SOUNZ news December 2015

The year is coming to an end and what a year it has been to SOUNZ and New Zealand music. But there are still some stories to tell before signing off for Christmas, including some suggestions from SOUNZ staff for Santa's sack, so read on...

SOUNZ Christmas holiday closure
The SOUNZ office will be closed for Christmas from Thursday 24 December 12pm, and will reopen on Tuesday 5 January 2016. You can continue to make purchases online, though packaging & postage will be processed from 5 January and we will not be available for enquiries during the closure period.

In July this year, I stepped into the role of Executive Director of SOUNZ. I have been impressed at the level of engagement SOUNZ has with the community and the goodwill it shares with so many people and organisations. It demonstrates the strong place that New Zealand music has in our community... Read on for A look back at the year by Diana Marsh.

Earlier this year SOUNZ received a major donation from the New Zealand Music Operators’ Association. We are very grateful for this donation, which will help towards the work of improving our website and services to NZ music. We would like to thank Bruce Cunningham, Secretary of the New Zealand Music Operators’ Association, and Thom Houtman, President of the association, for their generosity.

Friends of SOUNZ
Did you know SOUNZ is a charitable trust? We rely on the financial support and advocacy of a wide range of individuals and organisations to carry out our work.

To help us champion NZ music, you can support by giving a donation or by becoming a Friend of SOUNZ. Read more here.

We'd like to hear from you
At the end of our first year as CNZ’s Toi Tōtara Haemata (Arts Leadership) organisation, we welcome your input as a user of SOUNZ's services. If you haven't filled in the questionnaire yet, please take a few minutes to answer the questions, which will help us to improve our services to all those interested in NZ music. You could also win a $50 SOUNZ voucher.

SOUNZ is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees, which is currently going through some changes. Long standing SOUNZ Trustee, and composer, Dame Gillian Whitehead resigned from her duties after more than ten years in last September.

There are also changes in the Composers' Advisory Panel, as the current Chair Eve de Castro-Robinson joins SOUNZ Board of Trustees, handing over the duties to Victoria Kelly.
Read more here...

Did you know we're celebrating five years of Resound project this year? The project, funded by NZ On Air and delivered by SOUNZ in partnership with RNZ Concert, is the first of its kind in documenting NZ art music by filming and audio recording existing and new works. SOUNZ hosted a film screening for invited guests, including industry representatives, SOUNZ’s funders, NZ composers and musicians. Read more here…

Congratulations!
SOUNZ would like to congratulate Jay Greenberg and Reuben Jelleyman, the joint winners (for the first time ever) of the NZSO TODD Corporation Young Composers Award. Greenberg was also named the winner of the Orchestra’s Choice Award, judged by NZSO players. More here...

Also congratulations to violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish, who won the best performance of a work by a New Zealand composer at this year’s Gisborne International Music Competition, for her performance of Salina Fisher’s Reflect. See all NZ works performed this year here...

Composer Samuel Holloway has recently been awarded a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, as the first New Zealander ever.
"I am excited about the opportunity this Fellowship presents to have genuinely ring-fenced composing time and creative exchange with other practitioners."

Karlo Margetić's piano concerto, Melting Furniture, was premiered by Orchestra Wellington in the beginning of December.

SOUNZ had an opportunity to talk to Karlo about his new concerto, working with pianist Michael Houston (Orchestra Wellington’s featured pianist this year, who was joined by Emma Sayers on a Quarter-tone Piano) and his future residency with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
Read the interview with Karlo here...

New Resources
Alex Taylor, the 2015 Caselberg Trust Creative Connections Resident, researched the life and music of Anthony Watson, the inaugural Mozart Fellow at the University of Otago. Watch an interview with Alex and concert recordings of his new music and poetry written during the residency.

Ross Harris celebrated his 70th birthday this year and Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington, organised a concert of Harris’s music in celebration of his birthday. Watch the concert here.

As the centenary year of Douglas Lilburn’s birth is coming to an end, the National Library of New Zealand has put together a "whistle-stop tour of Lilburn centennial offerings" from the past twelve months.

The SOUNZ website has listed a large selection of concerts featuring Lilburn's works.

SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music
E: info@sounz.org.nz P: +64 4 801 8602 www.sounz.org.nz

SOUNZ receives major funding from Creative New Zealand,
NZ On Air, the Lilburn Trust, APRA and through PPNZ.

You received this email because you've signed up to receive communications from SOUNZ.

Preferences | Unsubscribe