After a productive and challenging two years spent in Dunedin as the University of Otago’s Mozart Fellow, Chris has returned to Wellington to live.
As work progresses on a new piece for guitarist Dylan Lardelli and small ensemble, Chris has taken up the role of Co-ordinator of the Resound project at SOUNZ, the Centre for New Zealand Music.
Chris has realised a 42 minute documentary titled The Composers Association of New Zealand Nelson Composers Workshop: Inside the Incubator. The Workshop is an important annual gathering of emerging New Zealand composers and has been attended by a majority of NZ composers to have become established in the past quarter century.
In this, the first of many projected documentaries about NZ composers and their music under the moniker “dr watson docos”, two young composers (Alex Hay and Alex Taylor) are followed through the processes of rehearsal, performance and group critique at the 2008 CANZ Nelson Composers Workshop. Some of the country’s top composers, attending the Workshop as tutors, recount their experiences at the now 28 year old institution and the connections between Nelson and its precursor, the Cambridge Summer Schools (1946-1984), are examined.
The film’s premiere took place on the opening night of the 2009 CANZ Nelson Composers Workshop on July 5. Use the above player to watch the film via Vimeo, or contact Chris to order your copy on DVD (at a nominal cost).