08 May 2012
Maori legend, the pillage and pollution of Canterbury rivers and the need to create a 'Pixar meets Ben Stiller' film score are among the reasons and inspiration behind orchestral works being rehearsed, played and recorded in the 17th NZSO-SOUNZ Readings.
The NZSO-SOUNZ Readings are a collaborative project of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and SOUNZ, the Centre for New Zealand Music. "These sessions are a rare opportunity for an audience to witness the re-creative process of rehearsal and performance of a complex musical work," says Stephen Gibbs, marketing coordinator at SOUNZ. "Five really interesting works which may not have been performed much before will be heard and considered for future concert programmes or broadcasts."
The works from five New Zealand composers will be rehearsed and played by the NZSO in the Michael Fowler Centre on Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th September. The orchestra will be conducted by Ben Northey, Principal Conductor of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and who has directed orchestras in London, Salzburg, Stuttgart and Taipei. "It is great that an Australian conductor has the chance to get to know some of the work that our Kiwi composers have created," Gibbs comments,"as that can only help tour aim of encouraging overseas performance opportunities for these works."
Te Ika a Maui by Kit Powell is a programmatic work in which solo clarinettist Phil Green will personify the legendary Maori hero. Powell, who now lives in Switzerland, is flying in for the occasion. Noel Sanders, a Kiwi composer living in Sydney, is also 'crossing the ditch' to listen to the NZSO rehearse his work Shirty while Wellington-based Karlo Margetic's Xylophone Concerto will be performed by soloist Brent Stewart. Film and television composer Tom McLeod wrote A Hero's Tale 'backwards - usually he is creating music for a film which already exists, but in this case it was his music that was first required for a film-maker's competition. Fonterra's Mad(rigal) is a 'protest' piece by Chris Adams, his response to the 'negative impact of unsustainable farming practices and over-extraction of water' from New Zealand rivers, particularly in Canterbury.
Observers are welcome to all sessions, especially the play-through of the works each afternoon which will be recorded for the composers by Radio New Zealand Concert. A forum will follow the final session on Friday in which ideas, observations and perspectives surrounding the programming and performance of New Zealand orchestral works will be discussed and shared. A more detailed schedule for the Readings can be downloaded from the SOUNZ website here (webpage no lonfer exists).
More information on the NZSO-SOUNZ Readings project can be found here (webpage deleted).
SOUNZ , the Centre for New Zealand Music (Toi te Arapuoru) is managed by a charitable trust. It is dedicated to providing and promoting the music of New Zealand composers and is a member of the International Association of Music Information Centres (IAMIC). SOUNZ receives major funding from Creative new Zealand, APRA and through PPNZ. SOUNZ holds the vision: created in New Zealand, heard around the world. Find out more on the SOUNZ website.
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