Creative New Zealand : Music news feed

New Zealanders support for the arts is strong: survey results revealed

Mon, 28 May 2012 22:52:52 +1200

New Zealanders continue to enjoy and support the arts despite the difficult economic environment, according to Creative New Zealand’s latest survey.

Most New Zealanders (80%) agree the arts help define who we are as New Zealanders. Engagement in the arts also remains strong, with 85% of New Zealanders attending or being actively involved in the arts in the past 12 months.

The results are included in Creative New Zealand’s triennial survey, New Zealanders and the Arts: Attitudes, Attendance and Participation in 2011.

‘’As a nation we continue to value the arts highly and young New Zealanders, in particular, gain a strong sense of wellbeing from being creative,’’ says Creative New Zealand’s Chief Executive, Stephen Wainwright.

‘’This is despite the devastating Christchurch earthquakes and the difficult economic climate, both creating challenges for the arts sector.’’

The triennial survey also revealed some new findings:

Young New Zealanders are increasingly involved in the arts: four out of five young Kiwis (80%) like to do at least one creative arts activity in their spare time. And the arts makes them feel good about themselves, with nearly half (46%) saying they feel “brilliant” when being creative and a further third (38%) saying they feel “really good”.
Young New Zealanders rate being creative as a favourite pastime (80%), ahead of playing computer or video games (77%) and alongside watching TV and DVDs (80%).
Online engagement with the arts has grown significantly. In 2011, 51% of New Zealanders watched a performance or looked at art online, compared to 38% in 2008. This had a flow-on effect for attendance at live events, with 23% of online arts viewers attending the live event as a result, compared to just 15% in 2008.
Māori and Pacific arts events appeal to a broad range of New Zealanders. Almost three-quarters (74%) of those who attended a Māori arts event in the past 12 months did not identify as Māori and 88% of people who attended a Pacific arts event did not identify as from a Pacific Island ethnic group. “This strong interest in Māori and Pacific arts reflects both our changing demographics and who we are as a nation,’’ said Mr Wainwright.

New Zealanders and the Arts: Attitudes, Attendance and Participation in 2011 aims to provide insights that help the arts community and its supporters identify new trends in a changing environment and take up new opportunities. The research was conducted by independent research company Colmar Brunton and involved just over 3300 New Zealanders. It builds on previous research in 2005 and 2008.

More facts and figures:

The market for arts and culture in New Zealand is large, with 95% of those surveyed saying that they have been to at least one cultural event within the last three years – compared to 87% in Australia and 85% in the United Kingdom according to similar surveys in those countries.
Attendance at arts events in Christchurch has been severely affected by the earthquakes, with two-thirds of Christchurch residents saying they attend the arts less frequently.
Ninety percent of Christchurch people agree that arts and culture are vital to the re-building of the city, and 94% agree it is important for the city to be recognised for excellence in the arts.

A full report of the national results is available now at:

www.creativenz.govt.nz/nzersandthearts2011

The 2008 report is also available.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Rebecca Lancashire
Senior Communications Adviser
Creative New Zealand|
04 498 0725
027 677 8070
Rebecca.Lancashire@creativenz.govt.nz

Watch the launch video

Vodafone Foundation Canterbury Fund

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:18:35 +1200

What’s it all about?

The Vodafone Foundation Canterbury Fund was established in partnership with the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust in 2011, to support the rebuilding of Christchurch. The aim is to make a positive, long term difference within Christchurch communities and be agile and flexible as needs emerge. Supporting youth is a major theme of the fund.

The Fund totals $4 million dollars with the first $1 million contributed by the Vodafone Group Foundation, the second $1 million contributed by the Vodafone NZ business and $2 million matched by the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust.

Small Grants

In 2012 grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 will be made available for youth focused projects and capital/infrastructure projects.

more information

More about eligibility and how to apply on the vodafone website.

Vector Wellington Orchestra's Baby Pops

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:12:43 +1200

Vector Wellington Orchestra is performing its popular annual concert for children aged two to six years, in Masterton, Palmerston North and Wellington, between June 14 – 17.

This year’s theme is all about counting and alphabet rhymes. Children and their caregivers will sing and act along with classics such as Do-Re-Mi and ABC, keep time to Grandfather's Clock, and thrill to big orchestral numbers such as Sabre Dance and the Star Wars theme.

Even the youngest listeners will love learning to conduct and count in the musicians. The big finale, as always, is a march right through the middle of the orchestra, with a chance to get up close to the musicians as they play.

Vector Wellington's story this year is the Maori legend of Tongariro’s fight with Taranaki. Set to music by VWO Education Composer-in-Residence Thomas Goss, The Battle of the Mountains features some spectacular percussion.

Multi-talented master of ceremonies Kevin Keyes will tell the story as cymbals, gongs and drums of all kinds help the orchestra depict the mighty mountains’ struggle.

Thursday 14 June, 10.15am
Wairarapa College

Regent on Broadway
Friday 15 June 10.15am

Michael Fowler Centre
Sunday 17 June 3.00pm

For more information or images:
Erica Challis
Publicist, Vector Wellington Orchestra
04 971 1853 / 021 102 6932
echallis@clear.net.nz

New Zealand composer orchestrates Queen’s Jubilee celebrations

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:10:48 +1200

New Zealand composer Ewan Clark helped orchestrate the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations at a gala dinner for the world’s sovereign monarchs hosted by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on Friday 18 May.

After the dinner the Philharmonia Orchestra entertained the guests, and three of the concert pieces were orchestrated by the London-based New Zealander.

“I am very honoured to have been given this wonderful opportunity to partake in the celebrations of the Queen's Jubilee,” he said.

Mr Clark is studying at the Royal College of Music with support from Creative New Zealand and the Edwin Carr Foundation Scholarship.

“Were it not for Creative New Zealand and the Edwin Carr Foundation Scholarship, I would not be in London as a student…and opportunities such orchestrations for the Philharmonia would be much further from my reach.”

I am very grateful that the financial assistance of Creative New Zealand is liberating me to pursue my dream career.

More at www.ewanclarkmusic.com/news

APO Counts Bars and Beats for NZ Music Month

Wed, 09 May 2012 11:18:05 +1200

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra brings New Zealand Music Month to a dynamic close with a concert that unites the worlds of orchestral music and hip-hop.

The 31 May concert, dubbed ‘Remix the Orchestra: Full Orchestra Meets Hip-Hop’, is the culmination of five years of collaboration between the APO and leading hip-hop musicians who have worked together to mentor young artists, and who now appear together on one stage for the first time.

Joining the orchestra for the Auckland Town Hall concert are several of New Zealand’s leading hip-hop acts: Tyree (Smashproof), Frisko (aka Alphrisk, Deceptikonz) and hip-hop legend Ermehn (OMC, etc), one of the most respected artists on the local urban music scene. The three each perform a track from their impressive catalogues.

Spinning decks throughout is DJCXL (Ill Semantics), a former NZ DMC Champion whose new album Represent recently spent time in the national top 40 and reached as high as #4 on the NZ artists’ album chart.

Leading proceedings from the podium is the respected conductor, composer and music educator Kenneth Young. Mr Young also arranged the orchestral scores, and in the past has played a prominent mentoring role in the Remix programme.

To complement the guest artists, five senior APO musicians take roles as soloists: Miranda Adams (Assistant Concertmaster), Brent Grapes (Principal Trumpet), Ingrid Hagan (Principal Bassoon), Annabella Leslie (Associate Principal Bass) and Eric Renick (Principal Percussion).

It’s not the first time members of the APO have performed with hip-hop artists. The orchestra has been running week-long Remix workshops for some years, pairing talented young urban musicians and at-risk youth with mentors from the orchestra and the hip-hop world. The workshops have resulted in several CDs, and as well as established hip-hop stars, the Town Hall concert showcases some of the leading music and musicians from earlier Remix projects.

“We wanted to celebrate the fifth year of our Remix programme with something different,” explains APO Chief Executive Barbara Glaser. “Previously we’ve had small groups of APO musicians working with rappers at Otara Music Arts Centre [OMAC]. This time the urban musicians are backed by a full symphony orchestra playing on the Auckland Town Hall main stage. Nothing like this has ever been done in New Zealand on this scale.”

The concert reaches beyond music, featuring dancers and graffiti crew FDKNS. The latter will create their art on tablet computers, with the work being projected on to screens.

“Remix the Orchestra is as much a cultural collaboration as a musical one,” says the concert’s music director, Anonymouz (Matthew Faiumu Salapu), a classically trained hip-hop producer who has been involved with Remix since it began.

“Hip-hop and classical have obvious differences, not just musically but also in terms of things like dress and concert protocols. Hip-hop audiences are part of the performance; there’s often a call and response between artist and crowd. Orchestral audiences show their appreciation by listening intently and clapping at the end. This concert aims to bridge those sorts of gaps.”

“Sometimes we focus too much on differences,” adds Ms Glaser. “What’s great about this concert is that it brings people together to celebrate something we know for sure they all have in common: a love of music.”

WHO: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra with special guests DJCXL, Tyree, Frisko, Ermehn and conductor/composer Kenneth Young.

WHAT: Remix the Orchestra: Full Orchestra Meets Hip-Hop

WHERE: Auckland Town Hall

WHEN: 8pm, Thursday 31 May

TICKETS: $20/$30, www.buytickets.co.nz, (09) 357 3355

Quick Facts

- Anonymouz is a member of urban music collective The Hypnotics, whose new album, Give it Time, is available now. Members of The Hypnotics also appear at Remix on 31 May

- Anonymouz will also perform a track from his forthcoming solo EP, featuring JEM from The Hypnotics

- Mike Taii, aka Laybaq, also performs at Remix. He is the first recipient of an APO Remix scholarship, and released his debut EP, Loungin’, in March 2012. It can be downloaded free of charge from the Anonymouz website: www.anonymouz.co.nz

New Zealand songwriters scoop US Awards

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:40:31 +1200

New Zealand songwriters have scooped the prizes at the US International Songwriting Competition (ISC), the world's foremost global songwriting event, this week.

The ISC's Grand Prize for 2011 was awarded to New Zealand artist Kimbra for her song Cameo Lover, entered in the Pop/Top 40 category.

Kimbra is the third New Zealander to win the overall Grand Prize, which ties New Zealand with America for the most ISC Grand Prize award-winning artists: Moana Maniapoto was the recipient in 2003 and Gin Wigmore in 2004. The Grand Prize winner takes home $US25,000 and an additional $25,000 in merchandise and services.

Out of more than 16,000 international entries, New Zealand artists Annah Mac, Ruby Frost, and Massad were awarded first, second, and third place in their respective categories. Many other New Zealand artists also received honorable mentions in the competition.

Called “the songwriting competition to take note of,” by the New York Times, ISC was established in 2002 and awards more than $150,000 in cash and prizes to amateur and professional songwriters around the globe. Winners were selected from over 16,000 songs submitted from 112 countries worldwide.

Judges included Tom Waits, Jeff Beck, McCoy Tyner, Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monae, Ozzy Osbourne, Lucinda Williams and Tori Amos. The roster of judges also included five record label presidents as well as other industry leaders.

Founder and Director of ISC, Candace Avery, says of Kimbra: “As an artist, she brings her songs to life with her unique vocal styling and compelling stage presence. We are proud to have her as our 2011 Grand Prize winner.”

Many other New Zealand songwriters won their respective categories in ISC 2011. They include: First Place Winner, Adult Album Alternative (AAA), Anna Heiberg MacDonald (Annah Mac); Second Place Winner, World Music, Opetaia Foa'i (Te Vaka); Third Place Winner, Pop/Top 40, Jane de Jong (Ruby Frost).

Honorable mentions went to Free Amy McFarlane, Brent McFarlane (Reckless Mack); The Singing Bush, Eddie Rayner (RBR) and Forget About Me, Massad Barakat-Devine (Massad).

For a complete list of all 2011 ISC winners and to hear the winning songs, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners

Opera in Paradise anyone? Gifted voices, lush gardens, cool island breeze...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:47:41 +1200

You are invited to an intimate and distinguished event creating a fine union of true Cook Islands atmosphere and style, Opera in Paradise Cook Islands.

2012 sees New Zealand's finest sopranos, Mere Boynton and Deborah Kapohe taking the stage at Crown Beach Resort and Spa’s Oceans restaurant where Motone Productions and the Crown Beach team will transform the venue into a performance setting framed with lush tropical gardens and a turquoise lagoon at sunset. Your Opera house for the evening promises fine cuisine and stunning Opera performance.

Talented sopranos Mere and Deborah have toured internationally and performed on a variety of stages including the Royal Albert Hall in London, ‘Opera in the Pa’ Rotorua, Te Papa- New Zealand’s National Museum and more recently the New Zealand Rugby World Cup stage.

Both Mere and Deborah have careers that celebrate their many skills. Mere is well known for her supporting roles in the acclaimed New Zealand Films “ Once Were Warriors” and “ The Maori Merchant of Venice”. Mere has collaborated with leading New Zealand percussionist and composer Gareth Farr and is well respected for her ability to cross genres from Opera to light Jazz always including her love for waiata Maori. Having performed throughout New Zealand and Europe Mere brings a confidence and skill to Opera in Paradise Cook Islands that will surprise and delight.

Deborah has most recently performed in the critically acclaimed “Hohepa” presented at the 2012 New Zealand Festival of the Arts by the NBR New Zealand Opera. She has worked in Australia, China, South Africa and the UK and has an Opera performance resume that includes the traditional favourites of Carmen, The Pearl Fishers, The Marriage of Figaro, La Boheme, The Magic Flute to name a few. To add to that Deborah has been requested to perform for touring royalty to New Zealand and performed at the both the Beijing and Sydney Olympics Arts festivals. With her wealth of experience Deborah’s performance will leave you applauding for more.

Opera in Paradise Cook Islands takes place May 25-26 2012. For more information about the show and how to buy tickets, contact VIBE PACIFIC – Hiria Rae 0274521521.

For those in the Cook Islands, contact Glenda Tuaine email glenda@motone.biz +682 21077

Call for applications from top NZ music managers for AWME and WOMEX 2012

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:26:10 +1200

Creative New Zealand is calling for applications from top New Zealand music managers to be involved in this year's Australasian World Music Expo (AWME) in Melbourne, Australia and WOMEX in Thessaloniki, Greece.

There are four opportunities available:

· Showcase at the Australasian World Music Expo (AWME)

This expo is held in Melbourne in November 2012 and is attended by hundreds of international delegates and artists for four days of showcases, discussion panels and events by artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. New Zealand musicians, bands and traditional groups may apply to showcase their work.

· Be a delegate at the World Music Expo (WOMEX)

Creative New Zealand is looking for New Zealand music managers who represent an international-level New Zealand artist/group to be delegates at WOMEX, Thessaloniki, Greece in October 2012.

· Be a delegate at AWME

Creative New Zealand is looking for New Zealand music managers who represent an international-level New Zealand artist/group to be delegates at AWME 2012.

· Have a track included on a promotional compilation CD

Creative New Zealand produces a promotional sampler CD to take to AWME, WOMEX and our incoming visitors programme, Te Manu Ka Tau. It’s given to interested international buyers and presenters.

Applications for all opportunities close 5pm on Monday, 30 April 2012.

Application forms and further information can be found on the Creative New Zealand website

Creative New Zealand will assess all applications received and notify successful applicants by the end of July 2012.

For further enquiries please contact:

Ana Sciascia, International Adviser
04 473 0194

ana.sciascia@creativenz.govt.nz

Do you know how well your online marketing is doing?

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:11:54 +1300

**"I know half my advertising isn't working, I just don't know which half." Lord Leverhulme**

Marketers in the cultural sector are hungry for advice and data that guides them in how to set relevant targets and evaluate their marketing success, or otherwise.

Responses to scoping research conducted last year for Optimise – Creative New Zealand’s online marketing capability building programme showed that:

almost half of respondents were not yet tracking online marketing activity
fewer than 20% of organisations were using the available data to make marketing decisions that might improve RoI or effectiveness

To improve online marketing practice, Creative New Zealand is inviting you to be part of a groundbreaking project, Optimiser, that will give you tangible information about your current online marketing activity’s success. Optimiser will provide you with the data and evidence to make smart decisions about your marketing investments.

Optimiser is a pilot project that will collect online marketing data for the arts sector and develop benchmarks to allow you to compare your results against other New Zealand arts organisations for the first time. Optimiser will be led by respected arts marketing consultants Vicki Allpress Hill of The Audience Connection and Tim Roberts of ARTS Australia and will use real data from organisations to answer six burning questions heard regularly from New Zealand arts managers:

ARE WE OPTIMISED? Are we doing as well online as we should or could be?
WHAT SELLS TICKETS?Which online activity results in the most ticket sales?
COMMENCING A RELATIONSHIP:What should my acquisition activity look like?
GOING MOBILE:How should we adapt to mobile trends?
WHAT’S MY EMAIL RoI?Is my email marketing hitting the mark?

6. BEYOND SALES:How valuable is our social media activity?

Project Leader, Vicki Allpress Hill of the Audience Connection, says that “We consistently see a desire for comparative benchmarks expressed at workshops and seminars within the sector in New Zealand. Online marketing benchmarks, and the lack of them, remain a key issue for the cultural sector in New Zealand.”

Issues include:

limited knowledge within arts organisations of how to use analytics tools to extract meaningful data upon which to base decisions
confusion around how to evaluate success
a lack of standardisation of online analytics tools being used across the sector

Optimiser is a pilot online marketing benchmarking study – the first of its kind in the arts sector in New Zealand. An extension of the ongoing Optimise programme, the study offers an opportunity for fine-tuning of online marketing in the arts to enhance drivers and reduce barriers to attendance.

New Zealandarts organizations and venues are invited to be an Optimiser. Project participants will receive a number of benefits that will help them to be a better online marketer:

We’ll check that your online analytics are set up correctly to measure your activity.
You’ll receive a tailored report about your online marketing results and how they compare to the sector. Your data will remain confidential. It will go into an aggregated pool and be segmented to be included in comparisons relevant to your business.
We’ll run a free Facebook advertising campaign for you
You’ll learn how to read, interpret and act on your online marketing analytics.

To participate you must meet the simple criteria outlined at Optimiser and complete the easy online sign-up form no later than Monday 2 April 2012. Participants will be accepted in order of application, so the sooner you apply, the more chance you have of being a part of the project.

This is an internationally unique project and is the first time we will have sector-wide benchmarks specifically relevant to New Zealand arts organisations. Don’t miss this opportunity to be included and have access to real online measures you can use.

Smart talk - Why Give? The Art of Philanthropy

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:24:17 +1300

Why Give? is an opportunity to hear directly from three Aucklanders who have shown generosity to our city that will last beyond their lifetimes.

Leading current affairs journalist Mark Crysell will facilitate a conversation with arts patron and philanthropist Dayle Mace, visual arts charitable trustee Sue Gardiner and education benefactor Gretchen Goldwater about philanthropy, its challenges and the immense satisfaction that comes from their giving.

The evening will also provide a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes with Museum curators to see how bequests and philanthropic giving have shaped the Museum.

GALS choir will perform and light refreshments will be served.

The Museum Circle and Philanthropy New Zealand are proud to partner this event.

Please RSVP rsvp@aucklandmuseum.com or phone 306 7031

Read about other events at the Auckland Museum

A daring new production of Rigoletto

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:16:38 +1300

“Any production of Rigoletto that is not daring is not doing its job. It’s not that I’m out to shock but to honestly present a good argument about the piece. I listen to the music, look at the work from the audience’s point of view and try to take them along and propel them out at the end of the night with something.” [Lindy Hume, Director]

The NBR New Zealand Opera’s new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, being performed in Wellington (19–26 May) and Auckland (7–17 June), is a fine example of the company’s policy of bringing old war horses to life again.

Verdi’s heart-breaking tale of love and deception has been a popular favourite of the operatic repertoire ever since its première in 1851, and amid its gorgeous music, it features one of the most recognisable arias in all opera, ‘La donna è mobile’.

On programming this popular work, Aidan Lang, General Director of The NBR New Zealand Opera, decided to bring in Lindy Hume, whose 2007 Lucia di Lammermoor so thrilled its audiences, to direct a new production and inject new life into the opera.

“This Rigoletto will be bracing and fresh,” Lang says. “Lindy is essentially giving the opera an acid bath – she’s removing the trappings of the traditional look of Rigoletto and being true to the heart of the story and what the composer sought to project.

“By engaging the characters and drama in a much more dynamic and meaningful way, Lindy will force an active rather than a passive experience for the audience – they won’t just get a pretty costume drama.”

The core issues at the heart of Rigoletto are as pertinent today as they were in Verdi’s time, so it’s fitting that this production, with its stunning design by Richard Roberts, is set in a contemporary environment, in a world the audience will recognise, if not always like.

Hume has a reputation for productions that are intelligent and well thought out theatrically, and her approach enables her to achieve exemplary performances from her singers. This production will be no exception.

RIGOLETTO

by Giuseppe Verdi

Sung in Italian with English surtitles

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor WYN DAVIES

Director LINDY HUME

Production Designer RICHARD ROBERTS

Lighting Designer JASON MORPHETT

CAST

Rigoletto WARWICK FYFE

Duke of Mantua RAFAEL ROJAS

Gilda EMMA PEARSON

Sparafucile ASHRAF SEWAILAM

Maddalena KRISTIN DARRAGH

Count Monterone RODNEY MACANN

Count Ceprano JAMES CLAYTON

Matteo Borsa DEREK HILL

Cavaliere Marullo MATTHEW LANDRETH

Countess Ceprano EMMA FRASER

Giovanna WENDY DOYLE

The Usher MOSES MACKAY

Accompanied by the Vector Wellington Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra

With the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus

WELLINGTON – St James Theatre

Sat 19, Thu 24 & Sat 26 May – 7.30pm, Tue 22 May – 6pm

AUCKLAND – ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre

Thu 7, Sat 9, Wed 13 & Fri 15 June – 7:30pm, Sun 17 June – 2:30pm

Single Tickets: $49.50 to $189.50. Concessions available for benefactors, senior citizens, students and group bookings. Service fees apply.

Bookings: NZ Opera Box Office, Tel (09) 379 4068 or (04) 499 8343, or:

Wellington: Ticketek, Tel 0800 TICKETEK (0800 842 538) or www.ticketek.co.nz

Auckland: The Edge, Tel 0800 BUYTICKETS (0800 289 842) or www.the-edge.co.nz

Further information: www.nzopera.com

A Really Big Sing: Beethoven's Missa Solemnis

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:55:10 +1300

On April 29, the Vector Wellington Orchestra and Orpheus Choir will perform Beethoven’s monumental Missa Solemnis.

If you could compare concerts to sporting fixtures, this one would have to be the All Blacks versus the Springboks. Every performer in this huge work will need to draw on their entire reserve of skill, strength and stamina.

The Missa Solemnis stands alongside the Bach B minor mass as one of the pinnacles of Western sacred music. It took Beethoven, then at the height of his powers, four years to write. He said that out of all his works, this was the one closest to his heart.

VWO music director Marc Taddei says it was a deeply personal work to Beethoven. “So much so that he delayed the composition of his great Ninth Symphony to finish this, in terrible circumstances, including total deafness,” Taddei says.

The Latin text of the Solemn Mass demands music that can convey joy, strength, fear, awe, suffering, pity, redemption, mercy, and forgiveness. Beethoven created an incredible range of music whose constantly shifting textures and harmonies support the words with powerfully emotional force.

VWO conductor Marc Taddei recalls first hearing it performed at the famous Tanglewood festival when he was still a student.

“I have wanted to immerse myself in its splendour ever since,” Taddei says.

The solo vocal parts will be performed by four fresh young talents in New Zealand’s opera scene. Emma Fraser, Bianca Andrew, Cameron Barclay and Kieran Rayner are friends who have performed together and separately in some of Wellington’s most innovative and talked-about productions.
They’ve starred in Days Bay Opera’s Marriage of Figaro, Alcina and The Voyage to Rheims, and the stunning New Zealand School of Music production of Benjamin Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

So the four are in a sense almost a ready-made ensemble, perfect for the vocal quartet of soloists in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. “We’re all really good friends,” says baritone Kieran Rayner.

Beethoven envisaged his soloists as a quartet of equals working as a unit. “I really like that sound, as the melodies of the four vocal soloists intertwine,” Rayner says.

Rayner describes the Missa Solemnis as an uplifting work.
“It’s a Solemn Mass. But it feels a lot more joyful than I expected. There are lots of uplifting parts, and it’s very beautiful.”

Mezzo soprano Bianca Andrew is especially drawn to the second half of the work, where it becomes more solemn. “It feels very human to me.”

The concert opens with a short, elegiac work by John Psathas, Luminous.

Vector Wellington Orchestra presents Missa Solemnis

John Psathas: Luminous
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis, Op. 123

Sunday 29 April
Wellington Town Hall 4.00 pm
Free pre-concert talk by Marc Taddei 3.00pm

Emma Fraser - Soprano
Bianca Andrew – Mezzo Soprano
Cameron Barclay – Tenor
Kieran Rayner – Baritone

Marc Taddei – Conductor
The Orpheus Choir

Tickets from Ticketek 0800 842 538,www.ticketek.co.nz Service fee will apply.

Heart Strings Guitar Auction Raises $111,000 for the Christchurch arts community

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:07:50 +1300

An incredible $111,000 was raised from the auction of the seven Heart Strings guitars in Christchurch last Friday night. All profits will go to the Christchurch arts community via Creative New Zealand’s Earthquake Emergency Assistance Grants.

“This is the first time in New Zealand that an online auction and live auction have been run simultaneously and it was a huge success,” said event organiser, Sheena Hemens of Go To Events.

Caption: winner of the Homebush Guitar, Terry Kearns, performed Dave Dobbyn’s “Loyal” on the guitar at the auction to rapturous applause and calls for encores.

Creative New Zealand Chief Executive, Stephen Wainwright thanked the Heart Strings creators, Bruce and Jason Pickering. “Their idea to create and auction the guitars was an innovative response to the earthquake by these Cantabrian artists. The money raised is a great contribution to our support of the arts community in Christchurch,” he said.

Throughout the evening the seven guitars were individually auctioned on Trade Me with live bids also taken from the floor in real time. Live bidders competed with Trade Me bidders and the result was highly addictive, watched with anticipation by the event audience as well as the many Trade Me viewers from around the world.

“Many of the owners of the destroyed buildings were present and this added to the emotion and significance of the event” said Sheena.

Five of the seven guitars were sold to people who attended the auction. Among the successful bidders were the owners of Christchurch’s Southern Blues Bar, Nigel Church and Leanna Christie whose iconic business was destroyed by the earthquakes. The very emotional couple successfully bid on the ‘Southern Blues’ guitar and plan to feature it in their new bar once it is rebuilt. Another couple, who wish to remain anonymous, bid successfully on two of the guitars; Ohinetahi, was sold for an amazing $21,000 and Gunyah for $19,000.

The final two guitars were won on Trade Me by a supporter of the Christchurch arts community from Queenstown. Their goal was to buy the Graduate guitar but they happily won the Chester as well.

All the new owners have agreed to allow their guitars to appear with their creators, Bruce and Jason Pickering, at a concert in Auckland at The Wharf on March 11^th. Mandy Pickering will be singing songs inspired by the Christchurch earthquake and these special guitars will be played in public for the last time.

In another wonderful story, winner of the Homebush Guitar, Terry Kearns, performed Dave Dobbyn’s “Loyal” on the guitar at the auction to rapturous applause and calls for encores. He was such a hit that he has been invitedHe was such a hit that he has been invited to perform during the interval at the concert in Auckland! See Event Finder.co.nz for tickets to what will be a memorable show.

About Heart Strings
The earthquake marked the end for many historic buildings in the Garden City and for Jason Pickering, a Christchurch musician and his father Bruce, it was the catalyst for an idea that was to become Heart Strings.

Music and The Arts have always formed part of the heart and soul of Christchurch, so Jason and Bruce thought it seemed fitting that a small piece of history that was "lost" be given life as a viable and beautiful musical instrument.

The wood was donated by the owners of many historic and iconic Christchurch buildings that fell in the earthquake. The seven guitars are each named after the building from where the wood came from and each guitar in the series tells its own story. "In many cases the timber itself dictated the story and each piece could be given a new life and an entirely new purpose" - Says Jason Pickering who was tasked with collecting the timber along with Linda Giles, a local identity.

BBANZ National Contest 2012

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:24:09 +1300

BBANZ is pleased to announce the 2012 National Brass Band Championships will be held in Timaru, 4 – 8 July 2012.

BBANZ recognises the good-will of the host association in taking over from the original appointee – Christchurch – at relatively short notice.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF TEST MUSIC 2012: 5 March 2012

CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES TO THE 2012 CONTEST: 4 May 2012

NEW EVENTS:

BBANZ is pleased to announce the trial of two new events for 2012: Amateur “all other instruments” and Open Slow Melody.

Amateur ‘all other instruments’ is an event open to players of any brass instrument OTHER THAN Bb Cornet, which already has its own division. Music for this trial event is the player’s own choice and will be limited to no more than 7 minutes performance time. Players who have been placed 1st, 2nd or 3rdin Championship events at contests in the past three years are not eligible to enter this event.

Open Slow Melody is an event open to players placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a similar event in any one of the seven District Contests. Music for this trial event is the player’s own choice and must be limited to no more than 5 minutes. Players who receive an invitation from BBANZ to compete in the prestigious “Invitation Slow Melody” event are not eligible to enter this contest. The winner of the Open Slow Melody event will be invited to play in the 2012 Invitation Slow Melody.

CONTEST TIMETABLE:

The Junior Champion of Champions will be held on the Wednesday (early evening) and the percussion events will also be held on the Wednesday. Junior solos and Open ensembles are usually held on this day, with the Open Solos and the junior ensembles being held on the Thursday. The Trial event (Open Slow Melody) will also be held on the Wednesday to allow the winner time to prepare for a performance at the Invitation Slow Melody in the evening. The Amateur “All other Instruments” event is likely to be held on the Thursday.

Band events are scheduled for Friday 6 and Saturday 7 July, with the “Entertainment Band of the Year” completing the programme on Sunday 8 July. The Street March will be held on Friday 6 July and the D Grade contest on Saturday 7.

PLEASE NOTE: The timetable cannot be confirmed until entries have been received.

Administrator and Accompanist of the Year:

The objective of this annual award is to acknowledge the year’s work of an outstanding Administrator and/or Accompanist, May 2011 – May 2012, from within the New Zealand Brass Band community.

David Dobson

General Manager/Contest Manager
Brass Band Association of New Zealand

NZ composer continues to excel in London thanks to the Edwin Carr Scholarship

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:51:51 +1300

New Zealand composer Ewan Clark (that is him under the 'H' of Showcase in the picture) continues to make his mark while studying at the Royal College of Music with the recent debut screenings of two films he scored - El Tiempo de la Luz and The Outsider.

The 2011 Edwin Carr Scholarship recipient is currently studying towards a post graduate diploma in composition for screen at the college, condensing the two year course into 12 months.

This has capped off an extraordinary first term at the college where Ewan was awarded distinction for his re-scoring of an 11 minute excerpt from the BBC series The Passion as part of an exam. This involved composing the music, booking the orchestra players, conducting and recording the six minutes of music, mixing the score and submitting it all within a week – no mean feat!

He writes from London, “The standard of teaching here at the Royal College of Music continues to impress, with such a range of film composing expertise on offer from the various tutors.

"Perhaps the most useful aspect of the course has just begun and has surprisingly little to do with music, but everything to do with succeeding in the industry once we graduate. It is Business Studies for Screen Composers. It's a wonderful opportunity to learn how to promote and manage ourselves, budget a score and earn to our potential. Another recent highlight of the course was the opportunity to sit in the booth as the score was recorded for "Wrath of the Titans", a Hollywood blockbuster that is soon to be released. “

A winner of the 1998 New Zealand Young Composers’ Award, Ewan began his compositional study at the University of Otago before moving to Victoria University in 2001 to complete his Bachelor of Music and Graduate Diploma in Arts. As a composer, teacher and conductor he was accepted into the Royal College of Music having been ranked among the top percentile of all applicants at the RCM.

After completing his studies at the RCM, he intends to return to New Zealand to make a valuable musical contribution to NZ film and music.

The Edwin Carr Foundation Scholarship is open to New Zealand composers wanting to further their studies overseas. Up to $25,000 is available from the fund to support one or two composers per year. The Foundation was established in 2004 with interest from the estate of the late Edwin Carr.

Listen to Ewan’s music here www.ewanclark.net, this website promotes his screen music through audio samples and includes testimonials from directors.

Closing dates for the Edwin Carr Scholarship 2012 is Friday 2 March 2012.

Creative New Zealand honours the people of Canterbury

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:14:31 +1300

Kua taka te wā, kua huri te tau. Kei te tangi mātou o Toi Aotearoa ki ngā mate kua hinga i te rū whenua i Ōtautahi me ō rātou whānau e tangi haehae ana i te mamae i tēnei rā whakamaumahara. Kei te mōteatea ngā mahara mō rātau kua hinga rā, kua rere ki te kāhui rangatira, te kahui o Pūaka. Nā reira moe mai rā.

Creative New Zealand pays deep respect to the people of Canterbury on the anniversary of the earthquake that devastated its people, places and spirit.

Our immediate thoughts go to those who suffered great personal tragedy in the loss of loved ones, a year ago today.

During the months of slow and steady rebuild, we have seen many people fight to keep the arts alive. Communities throughout Canterbury have turned to the arts to express their grief and loss and to lift their spirits.

There have been many voices calling for a place for the arts in Christchurch’s future. Creative New Zealand stands firmly beside them and pledges its continued support to the arts community.

We commend and honour your spirit of resilience, especially on this day of remembrance.

Glastonbury Festival & Womad talent scouts seek NZ musicians

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:01:51 +1300

Sounds Aotearoa 2012 is proud to announce a power-packed line-up of festival bookers and presenters this year that will be in attendance at its 2 day “think tank / showcase” in New Plymouth.

Returning this year is Malcolm Haynes from Glastonbury Festival who has become a valuable champion of NZ music in the UK and this year brings with him Glastonbury Festival’s World Music Stage director, Derek Dodd. And for the first time, the powerhouse duo ofPaula Henderson and Chris Smith of Womad International will be in attendance.

Sounds Aotearoa has stacked up an impressive array of successes including 2011 attendees Electric Wire Hustle and Bella Kalolo performing at Glastonbury and The Big Chill in the UK. Maisey Rika has been able to travel to Hawaii and mainland U.S. and Moana and The Tribe, Batucada Sound Machine, Pacific Curls and 1814 have had opportunities across Asia-Pacific including Penang, Korea and across Australia.

Sounds Aotearoa is designed to expose NZ music to the global market and build capacity within the industry and to also expose the overseas delegates to some of NZ’s finest talent via performance showcases. With presenters from major festivals like Womad, Glastonbury, Vision Sound and Music (UK), Sziget Festival (Hungary) andDreaming Festival (Australia), Sounds Aotearoa gives NZ musicians valuable insight & the face to face connections they need to break into overseas markets.

The line-up of presenters also includes: Andrew Messingham from the Vision, Sound & Music Event(UK), and Min Kim from Ulsan World Music Festival (Korea). Simon Raynor (AWME Melbourne), Fruszina Szep (Sziget Festival, Hungary) andJordan Verzaar (Top Shelf Productions,Australia) are joined by local industry experts David McLaughlin (McLaughlin Law) and Jeffery Stothers (Southbound Music Distrubtion). Returning is Vicki Gordon (VGM Media, Australia), Sam Cook from Dreaming Festival (Australia) for the currently confirmed line-up.

Launched in 2010 by director Emere Wano (Tihi) in conjunction with the Taranaki Arts and Festival Trust (TAFT), Sounds Aotearoa deliberately precedes the ever popular Womad New Zealand festival so that international guests can take in both of these national events and experience five days of the best of national and international sounds and networking opportunities.

Sounds Aotearoa will take place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 March 2012 at TSB Showplace, 92 Devon St, New Plymouth, Taranaki.

Registrations for the conference aspect of the two-day event are open now via the official website www.soundsaotearoa.com

Te Waka Toi Scholarships available to emerging Māori artists

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:02:20 +1300

Māori who are studying the arts, or an arts related field, are encouraged to apply for this year’s Ngā Karahipi a Te Waka Toi, Te Waka Toi Scholarships.

Every year Te Waka Toi, the Māori Arts Board of Creative New Zealand, awards two scholarships to emerging artists who have talent, promise and commitment to the future of Māori arts. Each scholarship is worth $4000.

“The scholarships often identify future movers and shakers of the Māori art world. It is exciting to support the artists at such an early and crucial stage, then watch their careers flourish as time goes by” says Te Waka Toi Chair Darrin Haimona.

Ngā Karahipi a Te Waka Toi are open to students of all artforms; media arts, theatre, music, visual arts, dance as well as art-related areas such as curation, arts writing and conservation. Students must be studying at a formal place of learning including marae, or other institution such as an accredited university, polytechnic or whare wānanga.

All scholarship applications are assessed on leadership qualities, the applicant’s involvement with iwi and marae as well as their artistic, cultural and academic merit. Applicants need to submit quality examples of their work and two references from people who support them and their path of study. The applicant must also explain their reasons for wanting a career in Māori arts.

The 2011 scholarship winners were contemporary weaver Karangawai Marsh who is studying for her Masters in Māori Visual Arts at Massey University; and graphic designer and carver Tai Kerekere who runs his own graphic design business with his wife, in Wellington.

Te Waka Toi Scholarship recipients represent both heritage and contemporary artforms; they include Nigel Borell (kaiwhakahaere of Toi o Manukau, Auckland), Te Kohe Tuhaka (actor Shortland Street, Billy, Tama Tu), contemporary weaver Ngahina Hohaia, internationally exhibited visual artist Kelcy Taratoa and Taryn Beri (apprentice to tohunga tā moko Mark Kopua).

The 2012 Te Waka Toi Scholarships will be presented at an awards evening in September.

Applications for Ngā Karahipi a Te Waka Toi close at 5pm, Friday 30 March 2012.

All information can be found at www.creativenz.govt.nz/findfunding then select Māori arts.

For further information contact:

Tumarangai Sciascia, Māori Arts Advisor

04 4980705

tumarangai.sciascia@creativenz.govt.nz

Funding for groups to grow and retain Māori arts

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:56:07 +1300

Groups who want to see the arts thriving on their marae, are invited to apply for Toi Ake funding from Creative New Zealand.

Toi Ake supports iwi, hapū, whakapapa-based rōpu and māta waka to grow and retain Māori arts. Offered since 2005, Toi Ake projects usually focus on heritage arts including ngā mahi a Te Whare Pora, and te reo based arts including whaikōrero and whakapapa recitation; but contemporary arts projects are also supported. Toi Ake supports the artworks of new wharenui but does not include restoration projects.

“Toi Ake aims to restore the mana of the arts to marae communities around the country by supporting the transfer of knowledge and skill from our tohunga to the next generation, while also enriching whānau and hapū identity through the beauty of art,” said Darrin Haimona, Chair of Te Waka Toi, the Māori arts board of Creative New Zealand.

This year brings changes to Toi Ake. Now a single-stage funding programme, it focuses solely on putting arts projects into practice. Applicants must submit a current arts strategy, which outlines what is needed to cover the development of all aspects of their local arts. Applications can be made for up to $65,000.

Previously Toi Ake involved two application stages. Applicants developed an arts strategy and then the same group reapplied to undertake an arts project outlined in the strategy. While Toi Ake no longer funds the development of arts strategies, funding for such planning is now available through Creative New Zealand’s Quick Response grants.

Another change sees the net cast wider to include more groups. Mātā waka, or kinship groups living outside their traditional rohe/district, are also eligible to apply for funding.

Toi Ake is offered twice a year. The current funding round closes at 5pm, Monday 2 March 2012. The following roundcloses in early September 2012.

All information can be found at www.creativenz.govt.nz/findfunding and select Māori arts.

ENDS

For information about Toi Ake contact:

Tumarangai Sciascia, Māori Arts Adviser

04 4980705

tumarangai.sciascia@creativenz.govt.nz

Getting back to "pure music-making"

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:31:50 +1300

David Downes intends to “reset his creative compass” and get back to “pure music-making” during his tenure as the next Creative New Zealand/Jack C Richards Composer-in-Residence at Te Koki, New Zealand School of Music. The composer will take up the position from early July 2012.

Composer David Downes

"Following a decade of work in the 1990s composing mostly electronic scores for New Zealand dance and theatre projects, from 2000 on my focus shifted towards exploring smaller, more personal acoustic/electronic works for solo performers and chamber ensembles," David says. "During this time, my interest in animation and film-making also grew and I have become increasingly driven towards creating a fusion of sound and image. Although I see the mediums of moving image and music occupying a singular creative space, they do require a distinct division in terms of time, energy and critical assessment. I hope to use this residency as an opportunity to reset my creative compass somewhat, and focus more on pure music-making."

Professor Elizabeth Hudson, NZSM Director, is particularly looking forward to David's creative input to the School. "David has such a broad experience and expertise, especially in electronic music and sonic arts," she notes. "Both students and staff will have a wonderful opportunity to gain insight and inspiration from his work.

"One of the major advantages of this residency at NZSM is the proximity of so many world-class performing organisations and ensembles," Elizabeth continues, "both through the resources and staff of NZSM, and our colleagues in the wider Wellington performing arts community."

During the residency David will take up the opportunity to live in the former home of composer Douglas Lilburn, a Thorndon property maintained and managed by the Lilburn Residence Trust.

David's music has been commissioned and toured by groups such as The New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, NZTrio, Stroma (NZ), Defying Gravity (Australia), BackBeat (UK) and Strike (NZ). He has also worked alongside a number of notable New Zealand musicians and composers including Mahinarangi Tocker, Zane Te Wiremu Jarvis and NZSM lecturers John Psathas and Jack Body. With the former he co-composed and was part of the team that produced musical ‘soundtracks’ for hugely innovative The Wall and High Ride multimedia experiences featured in ‘OurSpace’ at Te Papa and he worked alongside the latter as music consultant and performer on the award-winning score for Vincent Ward’s acclaimed film Rain of the Children.

Other highlights include the highly acclaimed 1999 dance-opera Jerusalem with choreographer Michael Parmenter, and the production of several international award-winning films including the 2000 digital feature A Small Life and the 2004 animated short Generation. The latter has screened in more than 40 film and art festivals worldwide picking up several awards including ‘Best Music’ from Portuguese film festival ‘Cinanima’. Kingdom, a commission from NZTrio, was premiered at the 2010 New Zealand International Arts Festival. The work, which incorporates live performance and a projected animated film, stunned audiences and extended the piano trio repertoire in new directions.

Fascinated with the language of metaphor, and believing firmly in the expressive strength of the medium hybrid, Downes often looks to other disciplines in the process of creating and realising ideas. His interest in technology and engineering has led to an ongoing design of new instruments, noise devices and experiments such as cross-medium uses of motion capture data. For a year he also experimented with training a magpie for the specific purpose of performing an original composition.

About the Residency
The Creative New Zealand/Jack C Richards Composer-in-Residence at the New Zealand School of Music scheme offers a New Zealand composer the opportunity to pursue creative activities, hosted by NZSM, Wellington. The term of the residency is from July 1 to June 30 each year.

The Resident Composer receives a stipend thanks to grants from Creative New Zealand and Victoria University of Wellington, and generous private sponsorship from Dr Jack Richards. In most years, the Lilburn Residence Trust is able to offer, for a modest rental, Douglas Lilburn’s former home to the composer during his or her residency.

Former recipients of the residency include: James Gardner (2004-05), Gillian Whitehead (2005-06), Lyell Cresswell (2006-07), Ross Harris (2007-08), Helen Bowater (2008-09), John Rae (2009-10) and Chris Gendall (2010-11). The current composer in residence is Juliet Palmer (2011-12).
During the residence, there will be opportunities to present work at NZSM Composer Workshops and discuss musical matters with students, and the Composer in Residence will have access to facilities at the New Zealand School of Music.

New Zealand String Quartet’s 25th Anniversary: An All-Beethoven Celebration

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:16:48 +1300

The New Zealand String Quartet is celebrating its 25th anniversary with an old friend: Beethoven.

“BEETHOVEN! The Complete String Quartets”is a 27-concert tour of New Zealand during 2012. It starts with two Wellington concerts on the opening weekend of the New Zealand International Festival.

Named The Age of Enlightenment, the Wellington concerts present the first six string quartets Beethoven wrote, known as Opus 18. The title refers to the graceful, classical elegance of the Enlightenment in this music.

NZSQ second violinist Doug Beilman says the NZSQ began its 2012 rehearsals with these early quartets. The lively sense of fun in the music made for an ideal start to the year.

“There’s a joie de vivre in being back together. You understand that although the detailed work will come later, you are listening to each other and you instinctively know so much about how to play together,” Beilman says.

“We’re blessed to have played together so much.”

The quartet last played the entire Beethoven cycle in 2001. These days, the quartet talks less about technical issues, and more about the music’s meaning. “We can ask, ‘What are you saying there?’”

The quartet’s violist, Gillian Ansell, echoes this.

“There’s less stress about how we’re going to do things in a technical sense. These quartets are in our bloodstream now. There’s more freedom in being older and wiser now.”

“We were quite earnest about everything 10 years ago, trying to uncover every detail in great depth. Of course you have to do that the first time you play a Beethoven quartet. But now we see straight through to the heart of the character.”

For Beilman, these early quartets, influenced by Mozart and Haydn, convey a zest for life, but already hint at greater things to come.

“You see the humour of Haydn and the elegant structure of Mozart, but there’s also this real sense of fun. He knew that audiences wanted to be entertained, to be entranced.

“Yet already by the last quartet of this early period, he’s got the seeds of the full gamut of his expression: the epic, the heroic, the powerful. But at the same time, they’re incredibly entertaining.”

Programme information

Part One: The Age of Enlightenment;

Programme 1

When: Saturday 25 February, 6pm

Where: St Mary of the Angels, Boulcott St, Wellington

String Quartet No 3 in D major Opus 18 No 3
String Quartet No 2 in G major Opus 18 No 2
String Quartet No 1 in F major Opus 18 No 1

Programme 2

When: Sunday 26 February

Where: 7.30pm St Mary of the Angels, Boulcott St, Wellington

String Quartet No 4 in C minor Opus 18 No 4
String Quartet No 5 in A major Opus 18 No 5
String Quartet No 6 in B? major Opus 18 No 6

The NZSQ will be performing around the rest of the country. Find out when and where

Grants to improve access to arts events and venues

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:03:43 +1300

Arts organisations and venues will become more accessible this year, thanks to 11 grants provided by Creative New Zealand for projects ranging from sign language interpretations and audio described performances to music workshops and concerts for disabled children and young adults, and improved physical access.

Totalling $30,000, the one-off grants are being administered by Arts Access Aotearoa through its Arts For All Programme, a partnership programme with Creative New Zealand. The aim of this programme is to work with representatives from the disability sector to support arts organisations, venues and producers to improve their access.

Stephen Wainwright, Chief Executive, Creative New Zealand said the one-off grants signal the organisation’s commitment to supporting improved access to arts events for all New Zealanders. They complement the publication Arts for All: opening doors to disabled people and the annual Big ‘A’ Creative New Zealand Arts for All Award.

“It’s great to see the range of projects and the organisations’ enthusiasm to build new audiences by making performances, facilities and information more accessible to disabled people,” he said. “I look forward to seeing the long-term impact of this investment and of Arts Access Aotearoa’s Arts for All Programme.”

Richard Benge, Executive Director, Arts Access Aotearoa said the one-off grants build on the work being done through the Arts For All Programme. They have also prompted valuable discussions with the organisations.

“I am very pleased to see the level of commitment and creative ideas coming from the arts community to improve access for everyone wanting to engage in the arts,” he said.

The 11 grant recipients will also contribute their own funding to their projects.

The following is a complete list of grants:

$3000 to Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki to increase access to its programmes, provide disability awareness training for staff, and provide a series of signed talks about works in its collection in 2012
$3000 to the Auckland Theatre Company to install ramps in its premises and make its website more accessible to people with a visual impairment
$3000 to Capital E National Theatre for Children to provide signed performances of three different works in its 2012 programme
$3000 to Chamber Music New Zealand to present a workshop and concert in the Wellington Town Hall for disabled children and young adults so they can experience live music up close, and interact with musicians and their instruments
$3000 to Fortune Theatre, Dunedin to establish best practice methodologies for audio-described performances and present six audio-described performances in 2012
$3000 to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra to increase the number of its performances to students in special needs schools in Auckland
$1150 to Pablos Art Studios, Wellington to provide staff training for its tutors, enhancing their engagement with those studio’s artists who have visual, hearing or communication impairments
$3000 to Q Theatre, Auckland to develop an accessibility policy and action plan, promote its access to a wide audience, and provide disability awareness training for staff, board and management
$3000 to Silo Theatre, Auckland to provide signed performances of Tribes by Nina Raine, an award-winning work about the politics of communication for hearing, hearing impaired and Deaf people
$1850 to Studio2, Dunedin to display artwork by disabled artists to professional standards in its exhibition space
$3000 to the Theatre Royal Charitable Trust, Christchurch to contribute to the installation of an accessible lift, catering for disabled patrons, to the upper levels of the Isaac Theatre Royal.

For more information, please contact:

IonaMcNaughton, Communications Manager, Arts Access Aotearoa

(T: 04-802 4356 / 021 799 059 E: iona.mcnaughton@artsaccess.org.nz)

Free International Touring workshop opportunity

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:23:37 +1300

Creative New Zealand, in association with the Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ), is calling for registrations from managers, agents and self-managed artists to attend a free International Touring workshop on:

Wednesday 7 March 2012, 9am - 12.30pm,

Te Wharewaka,Wellington.

INTERNATIONAL TOURING WORKSHOP

This is a FREE half day workshop on international touring in Australia, North America, UK and Europe. It will be co-presented by three highly experienced, industry professionals: Fenn Gordon, Laura Colby and Jenny Vila.

The session will comprise a panel and a workshop and will cover key issues relating to touring performing arts off-shore. The content for the workshop will be determined by your suggestions in the registration form.

9:00-9:15am Arrival /registration

9:15-10:15am Panel

10:15-10:30am Morning tea

10:30 -12:30pm Workshops

Submitting Your Registration

For a registration form, please contact Ana Sciascia, International Adviser: ana.sciascia@creativenz.govt.nz, or call Ana on ph 04 4730194 for further information.

Numbers are limited – first in first served!

The deadline for registrations is Monday 13 February 2012.

PRESENTERS

Fenn Gordon, Chief Executive, Performing Lines – Sydney www.performinglines.org.au

Fenn Gordon was appointed CEO of Performing Lines in June 2011. She moved from New Zealand to Australia in 2007 to join Performing Lines as the producer responsible for international projects. From 2009 – 2011 she was the Director, Market Development of the Australia Council, responsible for implementing strategies to develop markets for Australian artists and organisations nationally and internationally. Before crossing the Tasman, Fenn worked as an independent producer in New Zealand for eighteen years, where she managed the national and international careers of independent artists like Douglas Wright, Flight of the Conchords and Miranda Harcourt. She has written and taught extensively about touring and producing in the performing arts.

Laura Colby

Director, Elsie Management – New York

www.elsieman.org

Laura Colby is the Director of Elsie Management, a New York-based artist management company. Now in its seventeenth year, Elsie Management offers a celebrated roster of performing artists for engagements to performing arts centres, venues of all shapes and sizes, festivals, and special event programming. Colby is dedicated to promoting exceptional, award-winning performing artists and companies with singular visions that scope the traditional and experimental gamut of the performing arts. A frequently invited speaker for panels, workshops, and educational sessions, Colby was President of NAPAMA in 2008 & 2009 and served on the board of Dance/USA. From Australia, she represents Strange Fruit, Polyglot Theatre, and the composer David Chisholm.

Jenny Vila

Producer/ Lighting Designer – Perth

www.jennyvilakarpe.com

A multi-lingual international arts producer, lighting designer and project manager, Jenny is currently based in Perth, Western Australia. From 2005 to 2010 she was the International Producer for the Norfolk & Norwich Festival during which time the festival grew to be the fourth largest festival in the UK. Between 1999 and 2005 Jenny produced outdoor shows for the National Theatre in London, was Technical Manager for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’sMusic Carousel Festival, Venue Director for the New York International Fringe Festival and Producer of the Festival Internacional de Teatre Visual i Titelles de Barcelona. In 2001 she was the founder director of Co-Coproductions, a company specialising in production and tour management for international arts projects.

PledgeMe re-launch

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:26:43 +1300

New Zealand’s first creative crowdfunding platform PledgeMe will re-launch this month with a brand spanking new website and celebratory party. The online initiative is the brainchild of Wellington-based entrepreneurs Anna Guenther and Camilo Borges, and offers Kiwi creatives alternative options in funding their projects.

In a similar vein to American crowdfunding giant kickstarter.com, users of pledgeme.co.nz can post project ideas online for people to help fund in return for a creative reward. Following its inception in 2011, more than $10,000 has been raised through the site, with Wellington band St Rupertsberg raising $1800 in seven days to fund the post-production work on their first album. The site has also helped secure funding for post-production work on a documentary featuring Kiwi artists living in Berlin.

PledgeMe founder Anna Guenther said “…All types of creatives can use PledgeMe - we’ve helped fund projects in film, music, art and journalism and there is potential for so much more. I believe what we’ve seen is just the tip of the iceberg...”

A refurbished version of pledgeme.co.nz will launch on January 25, followed by a shindig at Meow in Wellington on Friday, February 3. Entertainment will include live music from Jeremy Mason, Amy Bowie, Mangle and Gruff and more. Those that arrive before 8pm will get a dollar pledged to the PledgeMe project of their choice.

For more info see, http://www.pledgeme.co.nz

Call for Applications from the European Broadcasting Union

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:45:17 +1300

The International Forum of Young Performers (IFYP) is a European competition for young musicians organised by the European Broadcasting Union on behalf of the International Music Council (IMC). Since 2002 it has been called "New Talent".

As the New Zealand members of the International Music Council, SOUNZ is able to nominate two performers to take part in this competition. If anyone is interested, please contact SOUNZ for more details.

The "New Talent" competition aims to encourage and promote young musicians through radio, by the organisation of public concerts that are broadcast by Member organizations of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Candidacies from young musicians can be submitted either by EBU Member organizations or by any Members of the IMC or European Music Council (EMC).

With effect from 2003, the "New Talent" competition takes place in Bratislava (Slovakia) and is co- produced by Radio and Television of Slovakia, organizational unit Slovak Radio (hereinafter referred to as SKRTVS) and the Slovak Philharmonic-Bratislava Music Festival.

Please find a link to the EBU site: http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/2011/tcm_6-73310.php

A New Zealand opera for all New Zealanders

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:14:50 +1300

“Hōhepa’s long journey is a tale most of us are ignorant of. But, curiously, preparing for Hōhepa and bringing it to life is making me feel much more connected to being a New Zealander.”
[Sara Brodie, Director]

The NBR New Zealand Opera opens its 2012 season with Jenny McLeod’s ground-breaking new opera, Hōhepa. Premièring at the New Zealand International Arts Festival in Wellington in March, Hōhepa is the true story of the friendship between Maori chief Hōhepa and Pakeha settler Thomas Mason during the New Zealand Wars.

Jenny McLeod, widely respected as one of New Zealand’s foremost composers, took up the task of writing the libretto and music of Hōhepain the late ’90s, and since then her research has been extensive, based on recorded, personal and oral histories.

Theresult is a warm and at times humorous opera, epic yet very human at heart, and one New Zealanders will identify with.

The NBR New Zealand Opera has been connected with Hōhepa since its inception. Aidan Lang, General Director of the Company, says “The true story of Hōhepa Te Umuroa is remarkable and inspiring. It is crammed with interesting characters and is an ideal topic to shape an opera around. It’s exciting then, that what started out as a chamber opera is now, through the support of the New Zealand International Arts Festival, being presented on a much larger scale, to incorporate kapa haka performers, as well as a large cast of singers, and to do justice to the scope of this important New Zealand story.

“Along with Jenny McLeod’s distinctive New Zealand voice,” Lang adds, “we’re delighted to have fellow New Zealander Sara Brodie heading the creative team as director.”

“As the director of Hōhepa,” Brodie says, “my concern is that it stays connected to the bones from which it has come, and that in the whirlwind of the opera environment it doesn’t become as removed as Hōhepa was himself.

“Jenny’s writing doesn’t linger at any point and is cinematic in its cuts to changes of space. A combination of elegant design, transformative costuming and performers changing the environment are my means towards a production of slick transitions.”

Brodie has assembled an outstanding team around her: Tony de Goldi (set and costume designer), Louise Potiki-Bryant (video artist), Jeremy Fern (lighting designer), Taiaroa Royal (assistant director and choreographer), and Paraone Tai Tin (cultural advisor).

A high-calibre cast, comprising almost entirely New Zealand talent, will bring Hōhepato life on stage. Returning from the UK to sing the title role is The NBR New Zealand Opera’s PwC Dame Malvina Major Young Artist, Phillip Rhodes. Alongside him are fellow New Zealanders Jonathan Lemalu, Jenny Wollerman, Martin Snell, Deborah Wai Kapohe, Eddie Muliaumaseali'i and Robert Tucker. A further ten singers take the remaining roles and form the ensemble.

Hōhepais accompanied by players from the Vector Wellington Orchestra, conducted by Marc Taddei. It is sung in English and Maori.

“By turns jubilant, anxious, spooky, hilarious, heart-rending, brutal, quirky, touching and tragic, this is a Kiwi story covering nearly a century and a half, in which truth is ever stranger and richer than fiction.” [Jenny McLeod, Composer]

HŌHEPA

An NBR New Zealand Opera production
presented by The NBR New Zealand Opera and the New Zealand International Arts Festival

Thu 15, Sat 17 March – 7:30pm, Sun 18 March – 5:00pm

Opera House, Wellington

Tickets: $48:00 to $108:00. Concessions available for NBR NZ Opera Benefactors and Friends of the Festival. Booking fees apply.

Bookings: The NBR NZ Opera Box Office, Tel (09) 379 4068 or (04) 499 8343, bookings@nzopera.co.nzor: Ticketek, Tel 0800 TICKETEK (0800 842 538) or www.ticketek.co.nz

Further information: www.nzopera.com

The NBR New Zealand Opera receives core funding from Creative New Zealand and Auckland Council through the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act

Creative New Zealand announces further Earthquake Assistance Grants

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:10:26 +1300

In November and December 2011, Creative New Zealand approved a further $146,745 in grants from its Earthquake Emergency Response Fund to help re-establish an active arts scene in Christchurch.

“Our focus for the Earthquake Emergency Grants continues to be with the Christchurch artists and arts organisations directly affected. We have also supported New Zealand touring companies who have had to cancel performances because of the shortage of venues in the city, “ said Creative New Zealand Chief Executive Stephen Wainwright.

A range of Christchurch artists received funding to research and develop temporary venues, alongside funding for artists and organisations that have lost revenue due to cancelled performances.

Grants include $25,000 towards research, development and implementation of a mobile gallery model by Martin Trusttum; $6,120 towards rental costs for artists studios; $20,949 toward lost revenue and extra costs incurred by the National Theatre for Children following the cancellation of Christchurch hires and a performance; $10,359 to Christchurch musicians Pacific Underground to support the rebuilding of their company; and $25,000 to Chamber Music New Zealand for lost revenue and costs incurred following the cancellation of concerts.

In addition to the Earthquake Assistance Grants, Creative New Zealand has approved an extra $60,000 to the Christchurch City Council for the Creative Communities Scheme(CCS). This scheme provides financial support to communities to help them participate in and develop the arts.

To date a variety of community organisations have received CCS grants including the Chart Music Industry Trust which has been awarded $10,000 towards a temporary venue for music groups in Cashel Mall, the Dance & Physical Theatre Trust were awarded $5,000 towards ticket subsidies for school students for Body Festival, and the Te Taumatu Runanga Society$3,000 towards Te Atakura Kapahaka Festival.

Since September 2010, Creative New Zealand has provided nearly $1.8 million in grants to artists, arts practitioners, and arts organisations directly affected by the Christchurch earthquakes through its Earthquake Emergency Response Fund.

The fund was established in addition to Creative New Zealand’s existing funding programmes, including the Creative Communities Scheme.

Information about eligibility criteria for the Earthquake Emergency Response Fund and how to apply can be found on the Creative New Zealand website.

The next round of EAG assessments will be in February 2012.

List of EAG recipients, activity and amounts:

Chamber Music New ZealandLost revenue and extra costs incurred following the cancellation of Christchurch concerts, $25,000
National Theatre for Childrenlost revenue and extra costs incurred following the cancellation of Christchurch hires and a performance, $20,949
Pacific Undergroundsupport to rebuild their company, $10,359
Martin Trusttumtowards research, development and implementation of mobile gallery model, $ 25,000
Arts on Tour NZtowards storage of furniture, equipment and vehicle $3,577
Warren Feeney Towards rental costs for artists studios, $6,120
Strike PercussionLoss of incomedue to cancellation of concerts, $54,520
Maria Gobinet-Wattstowards leasing lockable space for tools/equipment at Latimer Square $1,220

New Artistic Director announced for the New Zealand International Arts Festival

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:01:05 +1300

New Zealand-born Shelagh Magadza will be the new Artistic Director of the New Zealand International Arts Festival for 2014 and beyond.

Ms Magadza was Artistic Director of the past four Perth International Arts Festivals. She was appointed after a highly competitive selection process involving high-calibre applicants from around the world, says Festival Executive Chair, Kerry Prendergast.

“Shelagh is exceptionally talented and her artistic leadership of the last four Perth Festivals has been characterised by bold and imaginative artistic leadership, an appetite for risk and a focus on reaching into the community. Her programming at Perth contributed to significant growth in audience numbers and box office success during her tenure,’’ says Ms Prendergast.

The Perth Festival is the longest running annual international arts festival in the southern hemisphere, with a strong international reputation. In addition to her position as Perth’s Artistic Director, Ms Magadza was previously the festival’s Assistant Director.

Born in New Zealand, Ms Magadza lived in Zimbabwe until she was 20, before returning to New Zealand. Moving to Wellington in 2012 to take up her new position “gives me the opportunity to re-engage with a place that is one of the most exciting cultural centres in the region”, she says.

Prior to moving to Perth in 2002, Shelagh Magadza had a long and successful relationship with the New Zealand International Arts Festival, working for five Festivals in a variety of roles. She has also held positions with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Harare International Arts Festival.

“Shelagh is a dynamic and inspiring arts sector leader who will bring an extraordinary combination of skills to her new role,” says Ms Prendergast. “She understands New Zealand audiences, she delivers programmes that are contemporary, inspiring and that take risks. She has a track record of attracting some of the world’s leading artists to her festivals and also commissioning new local works.’’

Ms Magadza will take up her new position in April next year, replacing the current New Zealand International Arts Festival Artistic Director, Lissa Twomey. Ms Twomey’s third and final New Zealand International Arts Festival opens on 24 February 2012.

Ms Prendergast said New Zealand International Arts Festival had been fortunate in attracting highly talented Artistic Directors and paid tribute to Ms Twomey’s programming since 2008. “Lissa’s three festivals have been characterised by exciting and lively programming. Her 2012 Festival is no exception and has already attracted huge interest and healthy ticket sales.’’

Winning the wild experience

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:20:04 +1300

DOC and Creative New Zealand have announced the three artists who will take up a Wild Creations residency in 2012. They are: Dave Armstrong from Wellington, and Lynn Kelly and Sally Ann McIntyre from Dunedin.

Playwright Dave Armstrong will spend his residency in Bannockburn, Central Otago where he will research and work on a play dealing with the impact of humans on the landscape and the history of the area.

Jeweller Lynn Kelly is also going to Bannockburn, to develop a new body of work inspired by the plants, reptiles, insect life and minerals specific to the local environment.

Sound and radio artist Sally Ann McIntyre is going to Kapiti Island to explore and pay homage to the unique sound-print of the island, specifically the sounds of New Zealand native birds, and to communicate it in a variety of ways.

The Wild Creations artists-in-residence programme is a partnership between DOC and Creative New Zealand which combines conservation and art. “Wild Creations’ artists spend six weeks in some of New Zealand’s best natural environments and historic places,” said DOC’s Wild Creations Co-ordinator, Elena Sedouch. “They’re inspired by the place they visit and share the story of its history and people through their art, while also developing their own arts practice.”

Creative New Zealand offers the artists a $5,000 stipend and up to $2,000 for travel and materials, and DOC provides accommodation and support for the artists on location.

NZ Arts Awards recipients announced

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:55:04 +1300

Ten prestigious awards totalling $360,000 were presented tonight to New Zealand artists at the inaugural Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand Arts Awards at the Viaduct Events Centre on Auckland's Waterfront.

The Arts Foundation awards included five $50,000 Laureate Awards, three $25,000 New Generation Awards, the $25,000 Marti Friedlander Photographic Award and the first $10,000 Mallinson Rendel Award for children's book illustrators.

Laureates announced include musician Whirimako Black, photographer Fiona Pardington, writer Emily Perkins, filmmaker Leanne Pooley and choreographer/director Lemi Ponifasio. Musician/artist Sam Hamilton, who is currently on tour with Lemi in Europe, received a New Generation Award alongside photographer Ben Cauchi and playwright Eli Kent. Fiona Pardington's brother Neil Pardinton received the Marti Friedlander Photographic Award and the inaugural recipient of the Mallinson Rendel Award is David Elliot.

The five hundred guests at the awards were greeted by a gallery of works by artists previously awarded by the Arts Foundation and artists who have been commissioned by the Arts Foundation for award trophies. Sculpture, paintings and photographs were joined by live theatre and digital sound art installation in an amazing display of New Zealand depth of artistic achievement. The ceremony concluded with 2010 New Generation Award recipient Anna Leese performing Zueignung by Richard Strauss. Anna sung as the curtains of the event centre were draw to reveal performers silhouetted by the nights sky surrounding the venue and then blasted by aviation search lights. The design of the extraordinary finish was donated by Marie Adams and Mike Mizrahi from Inside Out Productions.

Arts Foundation Chair, Fran Ricketts, said "the Arts Awards are an occasion for New Zealand to focus on the national and international achievements of our finest artists. She also said that the Awards were an opportunity to celebrate and grow philanthropic support for the arts. All of our awards are privately funded or secured. We expect to grow the amount of donations to artists presented at these awards through private partnerships and are already in discussion with a number of philanthropists about establishing new awards."

The Arts Foundation was a winner on the night. Ian Witters, Head of Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand, announced that in addition to naming rights to the New Zealand Arts Awards, Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand will be the Arts Foundation's Principal Partner. "The Arts Foundation's investment in talented New Zealanders and bringing us together as a nation, through these awards, is applauded by Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand," said Ian. "We are thrilled to be able to partner with the Foundation to show our commitment to New Zealand and the entrepreneurial spirit embraced by the arts."

In conjunction with the Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand Arts Awards the Foundation is producing a series of events on the Auckland Waterfront. The Wynyard Quarter Arts Series features a writers walk, outdoor cinema, a concert in silo park, a series of events in the Stoneleigh 'pop up' container bar an information hub where viewers can watch the TVNZ 7 series The Artists and there is a literary sandpit for children featuring the writing of Arts Foundation Icon, Margaret Mahy with illustrations by David Elliot. "The Series is introducing New Zealanders to our finest artists and ensuring public access to the celebration of the Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand Arts Awards", said Fran Ricketts.