Prize details

Susan Rhind Award in Composition

Value:

Between $1000 - $5000 per award based on the available funds and number of awards given in any year.

Closing date:

See below.

Eligibility

Recipients must be enrolled in a postgraduate degree at the New Zealand School of Music, majoring in Composition/Sonic Art, on 10 February of the year of award. To be eligible, students must be at the start of a postgraduate degree or be in the first three months of postgraduate study. Doctoral students in the first two years of study, however, are also eligible. Commissioned works must be completed within the calendar year of the award. Previous recipients are not disqualified from receiving an award in subsequent years, although consideration may be given to the benefits of making awards to a range of different composers. Recipients must be 18 or older and must have been for a period of five years immediately preceding the making of the award a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand.

Information

History or background of award
The awards were established in 2014 following a generous bequest made to Victoria University of Wellington by the late Susan Mary Rhind, a former student of the Victoria University Music Department. Funds generated by the endowment are used to commission works from composition students who demonstrate exceptional talent in writing ‘serious' music. Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music administers these commissions and offers public performance opportunities for the new works. A proportion of each award may be used to facilitate the public performance of the work (for instance, by paying a fee for professional performers).

Selection criteria
Recipients must be enrolled in a postgraduate degree at the New Zealand School of Music, majoring in Composition/Sonic Art, on 10 February of the year of award. To be eligible, students must be at the start of a postgraduate degree or be in the first three months of postgraduate study. Doctoral students in the first two years of study, however, are also eligible. Commissioned works must be completed within the calendar year of the award. Previous recipients are not disqualified from receiving an award in subsequent years, although consideration may be given to the benefits of making awards to a range of different composers. Recipients must be 18 or older and must have been for a period of five years immediately preceding the making of the award a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand.

Number of awards offered
To be determined by the NZSM Scholarships Committee.

Value
Between $1,000 and $5,000 per award, to be determined by the NZSM Scholarships Committee based on the available funds and number of awards made in a given year.

Duration of the award
One year.

Decision makers
The NZSM Scholarships Committee, chaired by the NZSM Director or her/his delegate, determines the awards, having received recommendations from the Programme Leader for Composition and the academic staff of the Composition Programme. Decisions are made in mid February.

What conditions are attached to acceptance of this award?
The recipient must produce a new work, of a scope to be negotiated with the NZSM's Programme Leader for Composition. The piece/work must be available for performance/installation at a public event/exhibition to be negotiated with the Programme Leader. Any materials, scores, parts, etc, are to be arranged by the recipient. Commissioned works may be included as part of the student's thesis/portfolio.