Inner Bellow, Chris Cree Brown’s work for solo clarinet and electronics, has won the 2010 SOUNZ Contemporary Award, the most prestigious annual award for ‘classical’ composition in New Zealand.

Inner Bellow, Chris Cree Brown’s work for solo clarinet and electronics, has won the 2010 SOUNZ Contemporary Award, the most prestigious annual award for ‘classical’ composition in New Zealand.

Inner Bellow was written for and premiered by Christchurch-based clarinetist Gretchen Dunsmore.

"It is everything I could hope for in a piece of music," Gretchen enthuses, "dramatic, energetic and virtuostic sections contrasted with moments of great lyricism and poignancy. I love to perform this work and have been absolutely delighted with the response from audiences. I am extremely grateful to Chris and am looking forward to my next performance of it. Inner Bellow is an extremely valuable addition to the clarinet repertoire and I'm sure it will become a great favourite of clarinettists and audiences alike."

The work involves unusual performance techniques including having the soloist play through a partly dismantled instrument! “This was a very canny way of ensuring reliable microtones,” the Award jury commented. “Inner Bellow was fantastically innovative revealing new tonal possibilities from the clarinet.”

The SOUNZ Contemporary Award is funded by APRA and facilitated by SOUNZ and the winner was announced at the APRA-hosted event in Auckland on September 8 along with the winners of the APRA Silver Scroll and Maioha Awards and a new induction into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. In a now much-anticipated tradition, the winning works were 're-interpreted' at the event by other artists. _Inner Bellow_ was treated to an idiosyncratic rendition by Disasteradio and jazz-legend Jim Langabeer.

Chris Cree Brown has previously been a finalist for the SOUNZ Contemporary Award three times with Memories Apart (2002), Icescape (2003) and Remote Presence (2008). He is an Associate Professor at the School of Music, University of Canterbury and his compositions cover a wide range of genres from full symphonic works to inter-media sonic installations and from intimate chamber works to electroacoustic and computer music, such as his Pilgrimage to Gallipoli – a recently completed 14 year radiophonic project commemorating the ANZAC campaign.

Inner Bellow was one of three finalist works for the SOUNZ Contemporary Award this year from 44 works submitted for the prestigious annual composition award.  The other two finalists were Rudiments for chamber ensemble by Chris Gendall and Violin Concerto No. 1 by Ross Harris.

Julie Sperring, Executive Director of SOUNZ, the Centre for New Zealand Music says: “The jury were hugely impressed by the standard of entries this year and only wished that they could have selected six or seven finalists. The SOUNZ Contemporary Award is awarded annually as part of the APRA Silver Scroll event to a work by a New Zealand composer which has been premiered in the last year. Funded by APRA and facilitated by SOUNZ the award consists of a $3000 prize and a distinctive trophy designed and made by Auckland sculptor Sarah Smuts Kennedy.”

The other awards presented at the APRA-hosted event were: 

• APRA Silver Scroll Award for 2010 is: Alisa Xayalith, Thom Powers & Aaron Short - The Naked & Famous Young Blood
• APRA Maioha Award - celebrating contemporary Maori music: Jamie Greenslade aka maitreya Sin City (feat. Awa)
• Inducted in the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame were: The Fourmyula - Wayne Mason, Carl Evenson, Martin Hope, Alistair Richardson & Chris Parry
• Most Performed Work in New Zealand (most played on radio and television in New Zealand): Cruel by Dane Rumble, Te Awanui Reeder & Samuel King
• Most Performed Work Overseas (most played on radio and television overseas): Don’t Dream it’s Over by Neil Finn