Music News - 2005 Sounz Contemporary Award - Finalists Announced
19 August 2005 - 0 Comments
A tuba concerto, a percussion piece and a symphony have been chosen as the works vying for the 2005 SOUNZ Contemporary Award.
'Labyrinth for Tuba and Orchestra' by Ross Harris, 'Gu Ta' by Jeroen Speak, and Kenneth Young’s 'Symphony No. 2' were chosen as finalists from among 39 compositions submitted by 34 New Zealand composers. The annual SOUNZ Contemporary Award award is the major prize celebrating creative excellence by a New Zealand composer. It is a collaborative project between APRA and SOUNZ, the Centre for New Zealand Music. SOUNZ administers the award and convenes a jury of four music professionals to judge the entries.
“Once again the standard of the submissions was very high,” said Scilla Askew, executive director of SOUNZ, the Centre for New Zealand Music. “The jury found themselves with a large group of diverse works that were all strong contenders. In the end however, they were unanimous in selecting these three finalists.”
Ross Harris’ Labyrinth for Tuba and Orchestra is one of twelve works commissioned by the NZSO to showcase their principal players as soloists. It premiered in November 2004 with Andrew Jarvis as soloist. Members of the selection jury were impressed with the piece’s ‘unrelenting energy and ongoing momentum, as if controlling a volcano.’
“Ross has pulled off an amazing feat,” was one comment. “The tuba is not a traditional solo instrument, but he has made it sing in uncompromising musical language and opened a whole new world of tuba sound!”
Gu Ta by Jeroen Speak is a piece written for three players and thirty amplified, untuned percussion instruments. “The jury were impressed with the intellectual component that Jeroen brought to this piece,” Scilla Askew reports. “They felt that he had created and explored a detailed and subtle sound world.”
Kenneth Young’s Symphony No. 2 was also commissioned by the NZSO and first performed in their Made In NZ concert in May with the composer as conductor. “This was eloquent, beautiful writing,” the jury said. “Kenneth has found a wonderful balance between controlled and expansive passages. He writes brilliantly for orchestra and this piece stands well in the repertoire.”
The winner will be announced at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards in Auckland on Monday, 12 September at the Auckland Town Hall. Under the musical direction of composer Victoria Kelly the winner of the SOUNZ Contemporary Award will hear their composition reinterpreted by their peers in a live performance. The four other awards presented on the night are the APRA Silver Scroll Award, the APRA Maioha Award, the Most Performed Work Overseas and the Most Performed Work in New Zealand.
Thanks to www.apra.co.nz for this story.
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