Tag Archives: dunedin

Albums, Concerts and a Speech.

Posted on by

Lots of things going on… still working away on some galactic music for a project… in the meantime here is a quick update on things that have been going on.

Penny Black (an independent feature film) had it’s official premiere at the Arohanui Film Festival on Friday evening to a sold-out house! (Also Lapwing and Breakery featured in the festival!) To coincide with that, the score album is now available. You can get it from these places:

Bandcamp:

Itunes and Spotify

spotify:album:5ZjLDQgUmONoFfIrFAE8GJ

 

My piece “Fourteen Moments for Three” was selected as one of the winners in the NZTrio Composers competition, and was performed in concert in Auckland and Wellington.

Check out the concert below (my piece starts at 1:11:43) and read a review here.

NZTrio Composing Competition 2015: Winners’ Concert from SOUNZ on Vimeo.

 

Finally, I am putting together a retrospective concert of work composed during my time as Mozart Fellow on Nov.15 in Allen Hall Theatre… a few world premieres, some earlier stuff, lots of collaborators.. should be a fun concert. The poster by Dan Inglis is below:

 

And finally, a couple of weeks ago I graduated with my PhD from Waikato University. I was asked to be the student speaker, and I put together some words about creativity, collaboration, and connections… you can hear them here:

 

Concerts, Albums and Scores

Posted on by

The end of last week got kind of manic with a range of projects reaching finishing points.

– sending scores, parts, backing tracks and other performance details for the performers of a new multimedia chamber work “Flutter”.

– submitting full score and parts for a new orchestral piece “convoluted” for the NZSO SOUNZ Recordings in February next year (alas I won’t get to hear it live because I will be in Nepal)

– A fun concert at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Audience relaxed on beanbags, a great big reverberant space, acoustic piano drenched in electronics – All good things. Here are a few pics from the concert.

The setup for the concert.

The Grand Foyer space (top floor) in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery

 

PLUS! on the weekend we also released the Scorelocks Collective Album “A Collection of Cues – Vol.1”. It is available on bandcamp now!

Live in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery

Posted on by

I will be performing a live concert of ambient music for piano and electronics at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery on Saturday 25th October.

poster

 

Along with the live performance there will be a number of sonic art installations I have created for you to become immersed in.

Entry by donation to the Himalayan Trust – as part of my fundraising for the Step Higher Award.

Here is a pic of my practice setup for this concert:

image

Sound and Light

Posted on by

On August 7th and 8th I am presenting a showcase concert of new multimedia work called “SOUND AND LIGHT”

This performance will feature a number of premieres of new works I have composed throughout my time as the Mozart Fellow.
Including:
– Signature Asymmetry – for percussion and backing track. Performed by Robbie Craigie
– Flare – an experimental dance film by Dan Inglis with dance by Dujon Cullingford
– L.O.Q.Shun – a recorded work for voice featuring Julia Booth
– Dark Matter – a sound and light piece in collaboration with Martyn Roberts
– Whakaika Nei – a video dance piece with Louise Potiki Bryant
And a couple of other treats.

There will be an opportunity for an informal Q & A Session following the evening performance.

The performance coincides with the release of my new abum ‘Imaginary Communicaton’ – a suite of pieces for piano and electronics. This will be available for download on a pay-as-you-like basis, with all proceeds going to Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust.

Sound and Light: A Mozart Fellow Showcase
When: Thursday 7th August 2014 at 1pm and 7.30pm, Friday 8th August 2014 at 1pm
Where: Allen Hall, University of Otago
Price: $5 (waged) / $3 (unwaged)

Poster FINAL

Recording in Nature

Posted on by

Still busily working away on various projects… a couple of experimental films, an album of instrumental music, an orchestral piece, a couple of multimedia/theatre pieces and anything else life throws my way! It is an exciting time – loving the creative work.

On the past weekend I spent a lot of time out in the beautiful landscape of the lower South Island recording sounds. The first stop was a trip to Invercargill to meet phenomenal musician and all-around great guy Adam Page.

It was great to spend the day with Adam talking about making music, performing, creativity, meditation, beards and other general fun stories! The day even included a quick visit out to Demolition World with writer Duncan Sarkies. This place is something else. If you ever find yourself in Invercargill go and check it out.

We eventually ended up heading out to the Seaward Bush Reserve to do some recording. It was great to get a performer like Adam into nature and capture the sound of his playing alongside the birds and other creatures living in these amazing places. It was a great opportunity and will result in some great music that I can’t wait to share!

                      

The next morning I went out along the Otago Peninsula toward Taiaroa Head and back to Otakou to record some of the sounds and wildlife of that area. I got near Taiaroa Head at sunrise and got some sounds, and the made stops at various points along the way to capture other interesting elements. These sounds will become part of a couple of new pieces I am working on – including a new dance film project with Caroline Plummer Community Dance Fellow and choreographer Louise Potiki Bryant. Again, more to be shared later!

It was a beautiful chance to see more of this area, and to be inspired by this place, and my time here in creating a range of new works.

I am loving this opportunity as the Mozart Fellow. I can not express my gratitude enough.

The first couple of weeks.

Posted on by

So, I am now into the second week as the Mozart Fellow. My time so far has been pretty hectic with tripping back up to Hamilton to be the celebrant at some weddings!
But in amongst all that I have managed to wander around the university a little bit, met a bunch of the awesome staff in the department, and got my office all set up for work!

office spaceDunedin is a beautiful place. Lots to see and explore. Even the walk to catch the bus this morning was a scenic pleasure.

Walking to work

Now that I have my gear set up and am in the flow of writing music again, I thought I would share the first little piece I have put together here.

“Imaginary Communication no.1” for piano and electronics.

Mozart Fellowship 2014

Posted on by

It has now been officially announced and I can share with everyone that I have been appointed the University of Otago Mozart Fellowship for 2014.

You can read about it here: http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago053784.html

This is such an exciting opportunity! Live in Dunedin for a year, have an office space at the uni, and get to focus completely on composition! So many exciting possibilities for projects and hopefully for collaborations.

Now we start the process of sorting everything out for the move, and I need to knuckle down and get this PhD done!

Back to work.