TAVAC

Year 2024 in Review

This year the TAVAC held its third music composition competition.
It was a privilege for TAVAC to host the competition again this year. Three new categories based on the number of instruments contained in the composition were created, allowing a more equitable assessment of entries. The examiners who kindly volunteered were Alison Armstrong (Music Teacher), Lee Cameron (Concert Pianist, Music Teacher LRSM), and Kassandra Wang (CANZ, Music Teacher). The descriptions of the composers and their compositions, in the composer's own words, follow.

Solo Category

The winners of the Solo competition category were: Tie First Place 'Dance of the Woodpeckers' (Richard Paull) and 'A single Breath' (Jessie Leov).

First Place Tie: Richard Paull with 'Dance of the Woodpeckers'

Richard Paull (b. 1995) is a musician and composer who is currently based in Taupo. He graduated from the University of Auckland with an honours degree in Music Composition and now spends his time teaching itinerant violin and developing the strings programme in the local community. He also plays Trumpet and performs as part of the Ska-Punk band Skarpakazoo. 'Dance of the Woodpeckers' was written for the intention of being a pizzicato & left hand exercise for one of his senior level violin students. Inspired by his experience of witnessing a woodpecker in its habitat while on a recent holiday to Europe, the piece is entirely pizzicato, and makes consistent use of left hand pizzicato to drive the rhythm forward. To mimic the sounds and characteristics of the woodpecker (such as its pointed bird calls and its iconic knocking noise), the piece has a very percussive and articulated feel to it, and aims to emulate the notion that it is always active and hard at work.

First Place Tie: Jessie Leov with 'A Single Breath'

Jessie Leov is a composer and musician currently based in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland. With a diverse practice as a music-maker, Jessie's work traverses both the classical and popular music space. She is passionate about exploring themes of climate change and the natural world in her work, drawing on personal experiences, and responding to other artistic forms such as poetry and visual art. 'a single breath' for solo piano is an exploration of the creative process as a meditative and regenerative experience. The performer is given agency to shape the ebb and flow of the music, guiding the listener through a journey of reflection, release, and renewal. The listener is invited to embrace a moment of stillness, connect with their breath, and be fully present, if only for a few minutes.

Duet Category

First Place: Luke (YuYang) Ding with 'Little Festive Rondo'

YuYang is a 16 year old student at Westlake Boys Highschool. Beginning with the piano from a young age, YuYang found an interest in improvisation and eventually led to him writing them down as his first compositions. He has written music for various ensembles across his school as well as finding success both nationally and overseas, notably being the winner of the 2023 NZCT chamber composition contest. Currently, YuYang maintains a wide interests in various musical fields and is keen to continue his contribution to the music world as a composer. Little Festive Rondo for Four Hands uses the diverse capabilities of piano duets to evoke a light hearted, cheerful soundscape with subtle moments of nostalgic reflections and a neo classical flavour. This piece is a product of YuYang's stylistic exploration of possibilities surrounding the diatonic scale in recent years, and how it can be altered in ways to produce tender dissonances.

Highly Commended Jacob Barrett - 'Dreaming of Spring'

Highly Commended James Burt - 'Roller Coaster'

Trio, Quartet, Quintet Category

The winners of the Trio, Quartet, Quintet competition category were: Tie First Place 'Larghetto' for Piano Quintet (Chris Artley) and 'Reflections on the Lake' (Madeline Butler).

First Place Tie: Chris Artley with 'Larghetto' for Piano Quintet

Chris Artley (b.1963) is a composer, music educator, accompanist, jazz pianist and conductor based in Auckland, New Zealand. He is regarded as one of New Zealand's leading composers of choral music and has won first prize in twenty-two international composing competitions. His works have been performed by: Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir, London Choral Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Amadeus Choir of Toronto, Metropolitan Chorus of Tokyo, The Graduate Choir of New Zealand, NZ Voices, NZ Youth Choir and NZ Secondary Schools Choir. Chris Artley is the composer of, On the Road of Life, the IFCM's official World Choral Anthem for 2022 and 2023. His Missa Brevis Akarana was declared favourite piece of the month in May 2022 by Musica International and his O Magnum Mysterium, was voted favourite piece by listeners of Radio NZ's Concert programme in 2023 Settling the Score. His composition Scherzo Seven was the joint first prize winner in the 2023 TAVAC Composition Competition. Larghetto for Piano Quintet combines Chris's love of writing and playing music in both a classical and jazz style. It was written for a recent informal play through of piano quintets, with Chris at the piano.

First Place Tie: Madeline Butler with 'Reflections on the Lake'

On particularly rainy night I was sitting out looking over a lake down in the south of Aotearoa, watching the reflection of the moon on the lake. There was an air of serenity and melancholy that hung over the scene. I wanted to try capture that moment; the sound of the rain pattering away on the roof, the nearly flat lake and the sharpness of the moon and clouds rolling over. The night progressed, and there was a relentless, yet calming energy to the whole place. I wanted to capture that scene in this piece. The shifting and flowing resonance of the night, the rain and the lake as the world turns over.
The composer, M. A. Butler, is a student of composition at the University of Canterbury. Having played piano since the age of eight, she is intimately familiar with the workings and music of the piano. However, her works also range from large orchestral arrangements to produced electronic music.