Abstract:
The inspiration for the four compositions in this Master of Music in Composition portfolio is my Taiwanese and Chinese musical background. My aim was to fuse this cultural difference with my knowledge of Western music and culture, in order to create a personal musical language. The four works are: Formosa Incident for orchestra, Wu Xing for piano duet, PaSta’ya for string quartet and electronic track, and Taiwan Morning Street Market for SATB choir. Formosa Incident represents Taiwan s political history and evolution into democracy. This work was selected for the 2016 NZSO Todd Corporation Young Composers Award residency where it will be recorded by the NZSO (unfortunately too late for the purposes of this submission). Wu Xing reveals the ancient Chinese belief in the five elements, with earth, water, wood, metal, and fire describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. This work was selected and performed in the 2015 University of Auckland Llewelyn Jones Piano Composition Competition. PaSta’ya is dedicated to Saisiyat, the Taiwanese aboriginal people. The PaSta’ya is a ceremony held twice a year where the Saisiyat seek to calm and impress the spirit world. This work was a commission for the Taiwan Formosa Quartet, winners of the London International String Quartet Competition in 2006, for a performance in 2017. Taiwan Morning Street Market is an attempt to represent Taiwanese daily life. In 2015, this work was awarded the University of Auckland Douglas Mews Prize for Choral Composition. The four works have been written over the course of one year full time study. Without the wisdom and encouragement of my supervisor, Associate Professor Eve de Castro-Robinson, Head of Composition at the University of Auckland, these pieces would never have germinated into the fully-fledged works they have become. Dr John Coulter, whose knowledge of electronic music was invaluable, provided further advice and assistance. Thanks also go to my proofreader, Loena Wilson McCormack.