NZSM is able to offer the new residencies thanks to $122,840 of funding from Creative New Zealand. This offering triples the number of residencies provided by the University.
The three Creative New Zealand/New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī residencies are:
Composer-in-Residence. A 10-month residency running from 28 February–18 December 2022, which is open to practitioners working in any musical/sound-based discipline.
Jazz Composer-in-Residence. A six-month residency running from 27 June–18 December 2022, which is open to jazz composers working towards the production of an album of original work. The residency also includes a grant towards album recording expenses.
Sound Artist-in-Residence. A three-month residency running 26 September–18 December 2022, which is open to sonic artists working towards a presentation of sound art works at Toi Pōneke Arts Centre.
A Composer-in-Residence position has been offered previously at the NZSM, but both the jazz and sound artist residencies are new for 2022. The Composer-in-Residence scheme has resulted in over 50 new compositions—from works for full symphony orchestra, to others involving musical robots—and is renowned for bringing New Zealand composers back from around the world to take up the residency opportunity.
“Our fifteen-year history of composer residencies has proved extremely productive for the NZSM and for New Zealand music in general, generating dozens of hallmark works, many of which now serve as international flagships for our composer and performer compatriots,” says Professor Sally Jane Norman, Director of the School.
“These works cover a remarkably diverse range of musical disciplines, including classical and jazz composition, sonic arts, composition for film and television, as well as games and online media, opera and music theatre, taonga puoro, and other forms specific to our Asia–Pacific region.
“In the last few decades, we have seen a steady decline in opportunities in New Zealand for composers, dwindling from about six residencies in the 1990s down to just one in 2021. It is fantastic that, in partnership with Creative NZ, we have been able to introduce not just one, but three opportunities to support our composing whānau,” says Associate Professor Norris.
“These residencies firmly place our creative capital on the map of new music communities and constitute an exciting, timely vector for this joint endeavour linking the NZSM and Creative NZ,” says Professor Norman.
The residencies are funded as part of the Annual Arts Grants from Creative New Zealand. In addition, the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation is currently raising funds to contribute to an endowed fund, which will help ensure that the residents' salaries are able to match or exceed the rate of inflation, ensuring they continue in perpetuity.
Applications for the first two residencies will open in late 2021, with the third opening in 2022.
Find out more about residencies at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī
Donations to the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation Composer-in-Residence Fund can be made online.