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Michael Norris (composer)

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Michael Norris (born 1973) is a New Zealand composer, music theorist and Senior Lecturer in composition at Victoria University of Wellington.

Early life and education

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Norris was born in 1973.[1] He attended Logan Park High School and the University of Otago.[2] He gained a BMus (Hons) from Victoria University and an MMus from the City, University of London in 1997.[3][4]

Career

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Norris teaches composition, sonic art and post-tonal music theory at Victoria University.[5] In addition to his compositions Norris is a software developer and music theorist and has authored several papers on harmonic theory.[5] In the mid-90s Norris belonged to a group called the 1995ers whose "compositional reference point seems to have been the 1950s and ’60s avant-garde, with all of the political baggage that comes with this movement."[6]

Norris, with other musicians and conductor Hamish McKeich, established the contemporary music ensemble Stroma in 2000.[7] He was the University of Otago’s Mozart Fellow in composition in 2002.[2]

In the 1990s Norris began to study taonga pūoro (traditional Māori instruments) with Richard Nunns.[8] Mātauranga (Rerenga) was commissioned by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra to mark the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's landfall in New Zealand.[9] The orchestra, taonga pūoro and electronic music are woven together to symbolise the mixing of Māori culture and traditional knowledge with western culture.[9][10]

Norris's compositions have been played by New Zealand performers and internationally with his work Sgraffito premiered at the Donaueschingen Festival in Germany in 2010.[3][5]

Awards

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In 2003, Norris won the composition competition The Lilburn Prize, named in memory of composer Douglas Lilburn[11][5] and the Composers Association of New Zealand Trust Fund award in 2011.[12]

Norris has won the SOUNZ Contemporary Award at the APRA New Zealand music awards four times: in 2014 for Inner Phases, in 2018 for Sygyt, in 2019 for the Violin Concerto Sama and in 2020 for Mātauranga (Rerenga).[2][13] He donated his prize money in 2020 to Haumanu, a group dedicated to the revival of taonga pūoro and performing.[8]

Selected works

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Compositions

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  • Chrysalis (1996) – for flute and tape
  • Scintilla (2002) – for large chamber ensemble
  • Rays of the sun, shards of the moon (2003) – for symphony orchestra
  • 14 islands (2005) – for flute/bass flute, prepared harp and unpitched percussion
  • From the lonely margins of the sea (2005) – for piano and small orchestra
  • Volti (2006) – for piano and orchestra
  • Icons and artifice (2007) – for bass clarinet duo, ensemble and live electronics
  • Sgraffito (2010)
  • Inner Phases (2014) – for string quartet and Chinese instrument ensemble
  • Piccled (2014) – for vocalising piccolo player
  • Deep field: III (2016) – for flute and live electronics
  • Sygyt (2017) – for orchestra, throat singer and optional live electronics
  • Violin Concerto Sama (2018)
  • Mātauranga (Rerenga) (2019) – for orchestra, taonga pūoro and live electronics

Selected publications

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  • Norris, M., & Young, J. (2001). Half-heard sounds in the summer air: electroacoustic music in Wellington and the South Island of New Zealand. Organised Sound, 6(1), 21–28. doi:10.1017/S1355771801001042
  • Norris, M. (2003). Only in Wellington. New Zealand Listener, 4 Oct 2003; v.190 n.3308, 62.
  • Norris, M. (2004). Working at the rock-face - Chris Watson. Canzona, v.25 n.46, 24–28.
  • Norris, M. (2006). Tessellations and enumerations : generalising chromatic theories. Canzona, v.26 n.48, 87–95.
  • Norris, Michael, & Adams, Christopher. (2006). Composition & pedagogy : a discussion. Canzona, v.26 n.48, 96–101.
  • Norris, M. (2007). Tonal desires. Canzona, v.28 n.49, 58–67.
  • Norris, Michael. Guidelines for Organising a Composition Competition. Composers Association of New Zealand

References

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  1. ^ "Norris, Michael, 1973-". tiaki.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, John (31 October 2020). "Former Dunedinite's 'sound-world' awarded". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Michael Norris". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Michael Norris". The Conversation. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "Resound: Michael Norris". RNZ. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  6. ^ Watson, Chris (2007). "Set theory : cliques in New Zealand composition". Canzona. 28 (49): 76–79.
  7. ^ "Stroma". Symphony Quarterly. 25: 27. July–September 2000. ISSN 1173-0676.
  8. ^ a b "Michael Norris wins contemporary music award". scoop.co.nz. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Michael NORRIS: Mātauranga (Rerenga) (première)". RNZ. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  10. ^ Betts, Richard (13 July 2019). "NZ Symphony Orchestra promises something old, something new". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  11. ^ "The Lilburn Prize". douglaslilburn.org. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Awards – CANZ". Composers Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  13. ^ "Composer Michael Norris wins third SOUNZ Contemporary Award in a row". Victoria University of Wellington. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2025.

Further reading

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  • Smith, Charmian. (2001). Love for sound of music. Otago Daily Times, 2 Aug 2001, 20.
  • Smith, Charmian. (2002). Harmony from the wilderness. Otago Daily Times, 13 Jun 2002, 33.
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