Bringing a bit of NZ to contemporary music
university-of-waikato
Wed Apr 29 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Bringing a bit of NZ to contemporary music
Wednesday, 29 April 2009, 12:52 pm
Press Release: University of Waikato
Media Release
April 29, 2009
Bringing a bit of New Zealand to contemporary music festival
University of Waikato composition student Lizzie Dobson has won the chance to rub shoulders with an international who’s who of contemporary classical music – if she can raise $5,000 in time.
“I’ve been accepted into the Bang On A Can contemporary music festival in Massachusetts in July, for which I have to write a new seven-minute piece that will be workshopped, performed and recorded at the festival,” says Dobson, who’s studying for a Masters of Music, majoring in composition.
She’s one of just 35 young musicians chosen each year from around the world to take part in the three-week professional development residency programme for composers and performers.
“If I can raise the money to go, I’ll be absolutely immersed in contemporary classical music. Big names like Steve Reich will be there, and he’s huge in minimalist music. A lot of new commissions have come out of the previous years’ festivals, so I’m hoping it will open up truckloads of opportunities for networking and collaboration.”
As well as participating in seminars, workshops, rehearsals and performances, Dobson and the other festival fellows will work with leading contemporary musicians, culminating in a marathon six-hour concert.
To take up her place at the festival, Taranaki-born Dobson needs to raise funds for her flights to the United States, and another $2,000 in festival tuition and accommodation fees by mid-May.
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She’s got an impressive track record of musical achievements and has won a string of awards, including having an orchestral composition played by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in the 2008 NZSO/Todd Corporation Young Composer Awards. As well as composing, Dobson sings and plays piano, guitar and flute.
She’s also a Hillary Scholar at the University of Waikato. The Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship Programme awards scholarships to academic high achievers who show significant leadership qualities and also excel in sport or in the creative and performing arts.
Dobson has already started working on her composition for Bang On A Can – “I like percussion, and I really love the big loud stuff, but this piece will be quite soundscapey and very New Zealand – quiet and textural.” She has to compose for two flutes, clarinet, cello, vibraphone and a percussionist, “and a whole heap of ethnic musicians from Kazakhstan”.
“I’ve only been able to find out about the instruments they play through YouTube,” she says. “There are big bamboo recorder-type instruments, and cute little flutes. And there’s one instrument that’s a bit like the Maori koauau (flute), so I’m going to bring that into my composition as a bit of New Zealand.”
Offers of financial support can be made through Dobson’s website, www.ejdobson.com
ends
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