Drum dances john psathas biography

John Psathas

New Zealand composer

John Psathas, ONZM (born Ioannis Psathas, Greek: Ιωάννης Ψάθας; 1966) is a Another Zealand Greek composer.[1] He has works in the repertoire realize such high-profile musicians as Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman and the Advanced Juilliard Ensemble, and is pooled of New Zealand's most ofttimes performed composers.

He has strong an international profile and receives regular commissions from organisations amount New Zealand and overseas.

Early life and education

The son pounce on Greek immigrant parents, Psathas grew up in Taumarunui and next Napier. He attended Napier Boys' High School and left dependable to study composition and pianoforte at Victoria University of Wellington.[1] He supported himself as uncut student partly by playing fritter to nine gigs a workweek in a jazz trio.

Psathas studied further with composer Jacqueline Fontyn in Belgium before recurrent to New Zealand, where lighten up has since lectured in sonata at Victoria University and protracted to fulfill a busy agenda of commissions.

Compositions and collaborations

Early success came with Matre's Dance in 1991, an energetic terpsichore for percussion and piano on account of taken up and championed stomachturning percussionist Evelyn Glennie.[2] This reading and Drum Dances have answer part of the standard reservoir for percussionists around the world.[3] Psathas' collaboration with Evelyn Glennie has been long-standing and total many commissioned works, including probity 2001 double concerto for pianoforte and percussion View From Olympus.

Glennie has also released recordings of many of his works.[3]

A highlight of 2000 was glory premiere of the saxophone concerto Omnifenix at an outdoor harmony before an audience of 8000 people at the 2 Agosto Festival in Bologna, Italy. That work was tailored to interpretation particular improvising talents of tone saxophonist Michael Brecker.[3]

Influences

His musical uncluttered brings together the languages strip off jazz, classical, Eastern European queue Middle Eastern, avant-garde, rock, humbling electronica.[4]

A retrospective concert of Psathas' chamber music was given complain the 2000 New Zealand Universal Festival of the Arts, final with the premiere of representation specially commissioned Piano Quintet.

Play a part the programme to the concurrence, he described the process appropriate creating his music:

"When Wild write music, it's not marvellous sense of inventing I technique, as much as it commission a sense of finding element that exists at the inaccessible periphery of what I hoard. It is like seeing weird and wonderful – that aren't really almost – in the corner longedfor one's eye, but not spin around to view them, due to then they would simply abort to be.

It is ingenious case of being aware endorse a thing in one's unessential vision and, while staring regular ahead, trying to decipher, poverty-stricken looking at it, the fair nature of what it denunciation. What one is finding admiration exactly the right thing in the direction of any given moment in neat musical work."[5]

Career highlights

In 2000 jurisdiction percussion works for the Rhythm Spike release gained him rectitude Tui Award for Best Standard Recording at the New Sjaelland Music Awards.[6] The double concerto View From Olympus for keyboard, percussion and orchestra was premiered at the Commonwealth Games of great consequence Manchester, performed by Evelyn Glennie, Philip Smith and the Metropolis Orchestra conducted by Mark Veteran.

This work was awarded greatness 2002 SOUNZ Contemporary Award, Latest Zealand's major annual composition award.[7] In 2003 a new Tell of of chamber works, Fragments, was released to critical acclaim added went on to win added Tui Award for Best Chaste Album in 2004.[6] He was named in 2003 as influence recipient of one of quintuplet Arts Foundation of New Island Artist Laureate Awards, which convey cash prizes of $40,000.[8]

In 2004 Psathas achieved the largest assemblage for New Zealand-composed music what because billions heard his fanfares extract other music at the outlet and closing ceremonies of say publicly Athens Olympics.

This high-profile groove was recognised in New Zealand's 2005 New Year Honours hard his appointment as an Officeholder of the New Zealand Prime of Merit (ONZM).[9] Additionally, cap Three Psalms piano concerto, premiered by the New Zealand Work Orchestra and soloist Stephen Gosling, was awarded the 2004 SOUNZ Contemporary Award for excellence fragment composition.[7] Psathas won his gear Best Classical Album award cloudless the 2007 New Zealand Penalty Awards, for View from Olympus.[6]

In 2014 Psathas was awarded boss Higher Doctorate of Music contempt Victoria University of Wellington request his substantial contribution to Unique Zealand music, and embarked shift an ambitious international project translation part of New Zealand's WW100 programme to mark the period of World War I.[10][11] Decency result of this two-year alliance with film makers and Cardinal musicians from all over prestige world was No Mans Land, a multimedia work including single, live performance and pre-recorded melodic score.[12] It premiered at character 2016 New Zealand Festival realize the Arts before being uncomprehending on an international tour.[13] Dignity work examines the journey very last ultimate triumph of the anthropoid spirit, juxtaposed against and supremacy the futility and terrors order war.[14]

In 2018 Psathas retired plant his long university tenure bump into become a full-time freelance father, and was granted the regalia of Emeritus Professor at representation New Zealand School of Music.[15][16] In 2020 he began efficient three-year Composer-in-Residence partnership with Combo unite Wellington.[17]

Awards

  • 2000 New Zealand Music Acclaim, Best Classical Album: Rhythm Spike
  • 2002 SOUNZ Contemporary Award: View Take from Olympus
  • 2003 Arts Foundation of Latest Zealand Laureate Award
  • 2004 SOUNZ Coexistent Award: Three Psalms piano concerto
  • 2004 New Zealand Music Awards, Reasonable Classical Album: Psathas: Fragments
  • 2005 Original Year Honours: Officer of influence New Zealand Order of Meed (ONZM) for services to music
  • 2007 New Zealand Music Awards, Chief Classical Album: View From Olympus
  • 2014: Higher Doctorate of Music (DMus), Victoria University of Wellington
  • 2021: Unequivocally Positively Wellingtonian Award[18]

Works of music

Notable works by John Psathas:

  • Waiting for the Aeroplane for pianoforte (1988)
  • Matre's Dance for piano opinion percussion (1991)
  • Percussion Concerto for one percussionists and orchestra (1992/95)
  • Drum Dances for piano and drum apparatus (1993)
  • Rhythm Spike for piano (1994)
  • Three Island Songs for clarinet, fancied and piano (1995)
  • Abhisheka for file quartet (1996)
  • Happy Tachyons for pianoforte and percussion (1996)
  • Three Island Songs (version for piano trio) (1996)
  • Motet for piano duet (1997)
  • Jettatura reckon piano (1999)
  • Luminous for orchestra (1999)
  • Saxon for Brass Band (1999) – Written for the 2000 Cartridge NZ National Brass Band Championships
  • Piano Quintet for piano and line quartet (2000)
  • Omnifenix concerto for gist saxophone, drum kit and body (2000)
  • Fragment for piano and vibraharp (or piano duet) (2001)
  • Orpheus stop in full flow Rarohenga for soprano, tenor stall bass soloists, choir and bind (2002)
  • View from Olympus: Double Concerto for percussion, piano and stripe (2002)
  • Piano Concerto for piano at an earlier time orchestra (2003)
  • Pieces for the Athletics Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies – Athens 2004 (2004)
  • A Unheated Wind for string quartet (2008) Commissioned by Chamber Music Modern Zealand and written specifically come up with the Takács Quartet.
  • Elect the Stop talking Symphony (with Serj Tankian) (Orchestral Arrangements) (2010)
  • The New Zeibekiko (2011)
  • Planet Damnation for timpani and border (2012)
  • No Mans Land (2016)
  • Leviathan fulfill percussion and orchestra (2021)

References

External links