Lyell Cresswell
Biographie Lyell Cresswell
Lyell Cresswell
was born in Wellington, New Zealand, 1944. He studied at Victoria University of Wellington, Toronto University (Commonwealth Scholarship), and the University of Aberdeen followed by further study at the Institute of Sonology, Utrecht (Dutch Government Bursary 1974–75) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Scottish Arts Council Bursary, 1982). From 1978–80 he was Music Organiser at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff; from 1980–82 he was Forman Fellow in Composition at Edinburgh University; and from 1982–85 Cramb Fellow in Composition at Glasgow University. Since then he has been a full-time composer based in Edinburgh. He was artistic director of the ecat (Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust) "New Zealand, New Music" festivals in Edinburgh in 1998 and 2001.
Lyell Cresswell's music is widely performed and broadcast, and has featured in many festivals around the world — London, Tokyo, Edinburgh, Warsaw, Bologna, Wellington, etc. He has written works in most genres: for orchestra, large and small ensembles, operas, choral music, solo instruments, and works for solo voice. His clarinet concerto, Llanto (commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra), and his second piano concerto (commissioned by Michael Houstoun) were premiered in 2017.
The numerous awards he has received include recommendations by the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers, the Ian Whyte Award, a Scottish Arts Council Creative Scotland Award, an honorary D.Mus from Victoria University of Wellington, the inaugural Elgar Bursary, and the Sounz Contemporary Award for his first piano concerto. In 2016 he received a New Zealand Arts Laureate Award.
Stephen De Pledge
New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge has given concerto performances with the Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras, and performed internationally from London to New York, Tokyo and Shanghai. His discography for Naxos, Champs Hill Records, Quartz, Black Box, and others includes the first recordings of works by Bliss, Gorecki, and Arvo Pärt, for whom he made the world premiere recording of the piano sonatinas.
In addition to his solo recordings Stephen’s discography includes song cycles by Ned Rorem and Samuel Barber, chamber music of Messiaen, Shostakovich and Schnittke and the premiere recording of Cresswell’s piano concerto. Stephen has broadcast for Radio 3 and Classic FM in the UK, on radio in USA, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden, and for BBC Television. Since 2010 Stephen has taught piano at the School of Music, University of Auckland.
Christopher Bowen
Originally from Christchurch, Christopher Bowen lives and works in London where he performs a broad array of music from medieval to modern: from Daniel in the 13th century Play of Daniel to Rawley Beaunes in Alasdair Nicolson's The Iris Murder.
Christopher is a member of the BBC Singers. Their performances, broadcasts and workshops routinely feature contemporary music from composers such as Boulez, Birtwistle, MacMillan and Pärt. Appearing as an oratorio soloist, Christopher sang Britten's War Requiem at the New Zealand National Airforce Museum. He has performed David Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion with Theatre of Voices, Stravinksy’s Renard with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and was the tenor evangelist for the City of London Sinfonia’s Reformation Day Prom. Christopher premiered Lyell Cresswell’s Old Mick as part of the Douglas Lilburn centenary in 2015.
Jennifer Maybee
Born and raised in New Zealand, Jennifer studied at Auckland University and The Banff Centre in Canada. Based in London for 25 years, she sang throughout Europe and Canada with leading conductors on the opera and concert stage, in the recording studio, and, for many years, with London Voices. She was particularly sought after as The Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Despina (Così fan Tutti) and Violetta (La Traviata).
Since returning to New Zealand she has built up a large teaching practice in Auckland and Wellington, and is much in demand performing both new works and standard repertoire. She recently performed the NZ
premieres of George Crumb’s Apparition and Messiaen’s Chants de Terre et de Ciel, plus many new works by New Zealand composers including Lyell Cresswell, David Taylor, Louise Webster, and Gillian Whitehead.
