Honorary doctorate for acclaimed composer
Internationally acclaimed New Zealand composer Gillian
Karawe Whitehead is to receive an honorary doctorate from
Victoria University.
Ms Whitehead will receive an
honorary Doctor of Music degree at the University's
graduation ceremonies later this year.
Born in Hamilton,
Ms Whitehead studied at Auckland University before
graduating from Victoria University with an Honours degree
in Music in 1964. She then studied composition at the
University of Sydney where she graduated with a Master of
Music degree in 1966 before moving to Britain where she
worked as a composer.
In 1981, she returned to
Australasia to join the staff of the Composition School at
the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and was for four years
Head of Composition before taking early retirement in 1996.
She now divides her time as a free-lance composer between
Sydney and Dunedin.
In 1999, her opera, Outrageous
Fortune, won the SOUNZ Contemporary Award and she was made a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 2000, she
became one of the inaugural Artist Laureates of the New
Zealand Arts Foundation. During 2000 and 2001 she was
Composer in Residence at the Auckland Philharmonia. In 2001,
her piece, The Improbable Ordered Dance, won the SOUNZ
Contemporary Award.
Ms Whitehead, who is the President
of the Composers' Association of New Zealand, has written a
wide range of music including works for solo, chamber,
choral, orchestral and operatic forces, most of them direct
commissions from performers and funding organisations. A
number of her works have been recorded for commercial
release. Ms Whitehead is of Ngâi te Rangi and Tuhoe descent
and her heritage and the New Zealand landscape are strong
influences on her work.
She has also remained in contact
with Victoria, being a frequent guest contributor to
composition workshops, and encouraging and supporting the
development of composition students at the University by,
among other things, acting as an external
examiner.
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Professor
Stuart McCutcheon said the honorary doctorate was
recognition of Ms Whitehead's contribution to music both in
New Zealand and internationally.
"We're delighted to have
the opportunity to acknowledge Gillian Whitehead's exemplary
musical achievements with an honorary doctorate. She has not
only achieved at the highest levels but has also contributed
much to the University."
Ms Whitehead's website is:
www.artsfoundation.org.nz/whitehead.html
Issued by
Victoria University of Wellington Public Affairs
For
further information please contact
Antony.Paltridge@vuw.ac.nz or phone
+64-4-463-5873