Chris Gendall named Composer in Residence

Chris Gendall named Vector Wellington Orchestra Composer in Residence

Vector Wellington Orchestra musical director Marc Taddei has named Chris Gendall as the 2011 Composer in Residence. The residency will culminate in a major commission to be performed by the VWO in our 2012 season.

“Chris’ work on the commission is already underway. The result, to be performed next year, will be a triple concerto, written expressly for the VWO and the NZTRIO,” Taddei said at a reception held after the orchestra’s September 11 concert.

“The VWO already has a strong commitment to performing New Zealand music. The trio is an ensemble with a sterling record of support for the composers of New Zealand and it has showcased the work of Chris to audiences around the world. So it’s a natural match,” he said.

“I am particularly pleased to announce this appointment as I have been an admirer of Chris’ works for a decade and I have looked for the opportunity to promote this major talent among the young generation of New Zealand composers.”

In addition to his composing for the VWO, Gendall will also assist with preconcert lectures and advise on artistic matters.

Gendall said he was “delighted” to be in residence with the VWO “The orchestra play beautifully, and I've admired Marc Taddei's approach to programming and performing (new music in particular) for many years. Being a Wellingtonian since my youth, the Orchestra represents (for me) a source of civic pride – it's great to be a part of it!”

Chris Gendall Biography

Chris Gendall was born in Hamilton, New Zealand and began to develop as a composer in 1999 while studying at Victoria University of Wellington and more recently completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts at Cornell University in New York State. His influences include the art music of the twentieth century, as well as jazz and funk. Gendall has won several awards, including the 2008 SOUNZ Contemporary Award for his work Wax Lyrical and in 2010 was appointed as the Creative New Zealand / Jack C Richards Composer in Residence at the New Zealand School of Music.

In 2006 Chris won an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, as well as the inaugural New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Todd Young Composer Award in 2005 for his orchestral work So It Goes. He has been involved with three Asian Composers League Festivals, including being the New Zealand entrant and prizewinner for the Young Composers Competition in Israel. As well as prizes in 2001 and 2002 he was placed first in the 2003 Lilburn Trust Awards, and was awarded the 2002 Wellington City Council Prize for Music. He received the 2008 SOUNZ Contemporary Award for his work Wax Lyrical.

He was awarded an Edwin Carr Scholarship in 2009 enabling him to further his composition studies in Europe and Canada and is the Creative New Zealand-Jack C Richards Composer in Residence at the New Zealand School of Music in 2010/2011.

Chris has been actively involved in a number of festivals and conferences, including the 2009 Britten-Pears Contemporary Composition course, the Wellesley Composers Conference, the Aldeburgh Festival, and the Royaumont Voix Nouvelles course. Select works are published by the Waiteata Music Press and Peer Music Hamburg, and recorded on Atoll Records.

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