New NZSM Composer-in-Residence

New NZSM Composer-in-Residence

Toronto-based composer Juliet Palmer is coming full-circle in returning to her homeland in late July to take up the Creative New Zealand/Jack C. Richards Composer-in-Residence at the New Zealand School of Music.

Following a Master’s degree in composition and clarinet from Auckland University Juliet Palmer went to New York City in 1990 to work with interdisciplinary performance pioneer Meredith Monk. She completed her PhD at Princeton University in 1999 and has since spent most of her time as a freelance composer, performer and teacher based in Toronto, Canada. Her works have been performed across Canada, Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand.

“The New Zealand School of Music composer-in-residence position is a significant opportunity for me to rebuild creative connections with New Zealand, while offering my wealth of experience as a composer, collaborator and educator,” says Palmer.

“I also look forward to meeting New Zealand writers, choreographers, experimental filmmakers and other potential collaborators, to sow the seeds for the development of future large-scale international projects. As a curator and programmer, I aim to build bridges between New Zealand and Canadian communities through musical exchange.”

Her compositions range from works for solo instruments and chamber ensembles to symphonic works, and include many innovative compositions for voice. She co-directed and provided the soundtrack for Soaring, Roaring, Diving, winning ‘Best Experimental Film’ at Brooklyn International Film Festival in 2009. The film was also featured in the 2010 New Zealand International Film Festival.

“I was last in Wellington at the International Festival in 2002,” says Palmer. “It was the culmination of two years of collaboration with choreographer Douglas Wright on Inland. I have long admired the city’s rich musical life, and would treasure a year spent creating, teaching, listening and performing in New Zealand’s capital.”

New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) Director Professor Elizabeth Hudson, is delighted Palmer will be returning to the capital.

“One of the major advantages of the residency is the proximity of so many world-class performing organisations and ensembles,” she says, “both through the resources and staff of NZSM, and our colleagues in the wider Wellington performing arts community.

“Juliet Palmer has extensive international experience in collaboration between various performance art forms including chamber and orchestral music, world music and ethnic traditions, dance, opera, multimedia, film and theatre. She will be able both to share these experiences with us, and enjoy developing new ideas with the rich range of performers, students and fellow composers connected with the School.”

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