Newsletter #14 - Pompeii, Pianos, and Plotting a New Year
Kia ora everyone,
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas and a relaxing New Year period.
I’ve been a little quiet lately because I’ve been quite busy! There was the Shortland Street Christmas cliffhanger (more on that later!), followed by some travelling with my partner Ele and my brother Lachie. We pottered around Pompeii, and listened to Vivaldi in Venice.
Now, I've arrive back home, I am reflecting on the year that’s been and looking ahead to the year to come.
What’s Coming Up?
Dazzlehands Returns!
The children’s ballet I composed for the Royal New Zealand Ballet is making a return! This year, it’ll play for a few nights in Wellington, Kāpiti, and Upper Hutt, starting from the 12th of April.
This is incredibly exciting—when Dazzlehands premiered last year, I didn’t expect it to return. Having it performed at the St. James Theatre will be amazing!
You can listen to the music from the show and dance along at home here.
A New Season of Shortland Street
We’ve already started work on the new season of Shorty. The show will have a slightly different feel and structure this year, with episodes airing just three nights a week.
The new season kicks off in two weeks, on the 10th of February!
Furniture Trio
After a series of fun concerts—including performances at the famous Lilburn House and Moon Bar in Newtown—we recorded several of our Furniture Trio compositions in the living room of my old music teacher, Bernard Wells.
We’re currently editing the recordings and footage from that session. Soon, you’ll be able to enjoy the Furniture Trio from the safety and comfort of your own living room—while sitting on your own furniture!
What’s Been?
Etaoin for Soprano Soloist and Choir
The biggest late surprise last year was my piece Etaoin winning the Open Category in the Compose Aotearoa! competition hosted by Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand.
I initially wrote this piece as an exercise in compositional development. After mentioning to my friend and vocalist Kassandra Wang that I’d never seriously written for choir, she generously offered to workshop a piece with a few of her choir colleagues and provide feedback—so long as I wrote something!
In 2024, during a rare week when Shortland Street episodes were delayed, I put something together and checked in with Kassandra to see if she was serious. She ended up organising an incredible workshop and gave me invaluable feedback.
When the Compose Aotearoa! competition came around, I submitted the piece on a whim, not expecting much. I was thrilled when Choirs Aotearoa responded so positively to it!
I’d love for the piece to be sung in concert or recorded—so if you know of any choirs looking for repertoire, please let me know.
As a result of this win, I had a lovely interview with Jesse Mulligan on RNZ Afternoons, which you can listen to here.
New Music Video Release
My incredibly talented friend Dominykas has created a stunning video for my piano piece A Child Dreams of Being Brave.
Dominykas and I have worked together many times before—he previously made a beautiful video for my piece Sparrow. In 2024, he reached out, saying he had some new lenses he wanted to experiment with and was thinking of creating a music video. This was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate again.
I’m so grateful to Dominykas and everyone involved in bringing this vision to life, and I’m thrilled with how he captured the heart of this piece so beautifully.
I hope you’re all doing well! Thanks so much for reading!
Ngā mihi
