Canterbury University Press book a finalist

Canterbury University Press book a finalist in Montana NZ Book Awards

The biography of a pioneering Kiwi composer published by Canterbury University Press has been named a finalist in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards 2007.

Douglas Lilburn: His Life and Music by Christchurch composer and musicologist Philip Norman has been named one of three finalists in the biography category of the prestigious awards. It is also a finalist in the New Zealand Society of Authors Best First Book Awards.

The winners will be announced on 30 July.

Dr Norman, who is the current Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at Canterbury University, said it was an honour to make it onto the list of finalists.

“It came as a great surprise. This writing game is all still quite new and strange to me so it’s a source of pride to have made the list of finalists. I feel very happy about it.”

Douglas Lilburn is a 21-chapter salute to the man regarded as "the father of New Zealand composition" and offers insights into the world of New Zealand music, literature and fine art through the eyes and ears of one of the country's most creative sons.

The book blends meticulous research with human-interest revelations from Lilburn's personal papers. It is written for a popular audience, with appendices for music historians.

Since its publication last April, Dr Norman's Lilburn biography has received rave reviews, including being heralded as “biography of the year” by Warwick Roger in North and South magazine.

Dr Norman was encouraged to write Lilburn's biography following the premier composer's death in 2001 and Dr Norman’s PhD on Lilburn's music, conferred by the University of Canterbury in 1984, basically formed the first draft of the book.

"What wasn't included in that was the personal material, but after his death all his papers were deposited in the Turnbull Library. He was a closet diarist and kept copies of all his correspondence which helped fill in the gaps about the private life of this complex and extraordinary man."

Lilburn, who studied for a Diploma in Music at Canterbury University College between 1934 and 1936, spent his most prolific decade as a composer in Christchurch in the 1940s.

He taught at Victoria University of Wellington for 30 years and a number of his former students are now leading composers and teachers. His work was recognised with many honours, including a personal chair in composition and the rare Order of New Zealand, New Zealand's highest award.
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