Contemporary Award Finalists Announced   18 Sep 2014

2014 SOUNZ Contemporary Award Finalists Announced

SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music and APRA AMCOS have announced the finalists for the 2014 SOUNZ Contemporary Award, celebrating excellence in contemporary composition. The following works by New Zealand composers were selected:

Leonie Holmes: Aquae Sulis - for orchestra of winds, strings, harp and percussion
Michael Norris: Inner Phases - for Chinese instrument ensemble and string quartet
Celeste Oram: macropsia - for orchestra

This year's jury was “...impressed and delighted by the quality of the music, the technical assurance, imagination and formal cohesion of not just the finalists, but of many of the entrants. The three finalists, writing in very different styles, have produced outstanding, moving and original pieces.”

“The styles and media of the music submitted for the award illustrates how NZ composers are willing to experiment with different combinations and collaborations to achieve unique and original sound worlds with a diverse range of compositional styles.”

The winner of the 2014 SOUNZ Contemporary Award will be announced at the APRA Silver Scrolls Awards event at TSB Arena in Wellington on Thursday 30 October. The winner will receive an award, consisting of a trophy and cash prize.

Celeste Oram, one of the three finalists said, “New Zealand's community of composers, and the work they create, is rich with creativity and integrity. That artistic spirit - and the thought that my own work might in some way contribute to it - are among the most energizing things for me as a composer. Receiving this nomination from that community is therefore immensely encouraging: it gives the courage to keep going, keep making, keep discovering."

Australasian Performing Right Association Limited (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited (AMCOS) also announced the finalists for the annual APRA Silver Scroll Award, and the awards recognising the achievements in Maori, Film and Screen music. In addition APRA AMCOS inducts significant creators to the New Zealand Music Hall Of Fame. The APRA Silver Scroll Awards are one of the most prestigious evenings on the New Zealand music calendar and this year, for the first time, the NZ Herald will stream the full ceremony live.

The SOUNZ Contemporary Award, presented in partnership with APRA, has been awarded since 1998, recognising New Zealand compositions that demonstrate outstanding levels of creativity and inspiration. Composers who are members of APRA are invited to enter up to two works, which have been premiered in the previous year publicly, recorded for radio broadcast or by a recognised recording label for distribution, or performed by a professional orchestra in a professional development situation. The works can be for solo, chamber, ensemble, choral, opera, orchestral, electro-acoustic or any combination of these.

Read more about the SOUNZ Contemporary Award and the past recipients here.
http://sounz.org.nz/distinctions/show/2

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