NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

New Zealand's most performed local composer David Hamilton on being versatile

By Richard Betts
NZ Herald·
18 Jun, 2019 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

David Hamilton may well be the most performed New Zealand composer.

David Hamilton may well be the most performed New Zealand composer.

Who is the most performed New Zealand composer?

Douglas Lilburn gets a regular run-out; John Psathas and Gareth Farr have strong international followings. If you want to place a bet, though, try putting your money on David Hamilton.

A prominent figure in Auckland music circles for close to 40 years, Hamilton is particularly known for his choral works and he notes that about one-third of the 200-plus choirs participating in the annual Big Sing schools' competition perform one of his pieces.

"It probably says more about how many other New Zealand composers are writing for choirs than that I'm particularly prolific," he jokes.

But Hamilton is prolific, incredibly so. SOUNZ, the centre for New Zealand music, has 615 of his works in its catalogue.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"And I keep running across works we do not have," says SOUNZ's Jonathan Engle.

Most of those works were written for choirs, which by Hamilton's own admission has left him pigeonholed as a choral composer. Does he think his instrumental music is overlooked?

"I probably do to some extent," he says. "Not to the point that it desperately worries me."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hamilton's none the less delighted that Auckland Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is dedicating a full concert to his works for various instrumental ensembles, as part of its essential Composer Portrait series showcasing New Zealand music.

Hamilton and ACO music director Peter Scholes go back a long way. They were contemporaries at Auckland University in the 1970s and Scholes performed some of Hamilton's early chamber pieces. It's perhaps for this reason that when Scholes presented Hamilton with a suggested programme, it was full of old works.

Discover more

Entertainment

Kiwi singer Paddy Echo on his anthemic new single

16 Jun 07:00 PM
Entertainment

True story behind Madonna's iconic Vogue music video

15 Jun 05:00 PM
Entertainment

Theatre review: A Fine Balance reminds us not to forget our recent past

16 Jun 05:00 PM
Entertainment

Lorde confirms third album is 'in the oven'

16 Jun 07:05 PM

"I emailed back and said it'd be nice to have something a little more recent," Hamilton says. "I sent him an alternative, there was a little back and forth, and we came up with a suitable range."

One early work survived the toing and froing, Nix Olympica, written in the mid-1980s. Hamilton was initially reluctant to include something that, to him, is so old.

"I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it being included in the concert," he says. "It comes from a period when I was exploring minimalism and the influence is all too obvious. But it's a significant work in terms of where my style was going at that time and Peter had played in the premiere, so I thought that was a nice point of contact."

The concert's most recent composition, The Ghosts of Wreck Bay, brings us up-to-date, having enjoyed its first performance in May. Hamilton has even managed to smuggle in a couple of pieces that feature soprano Helen Acheson. None of the works is receiving its debut at the concert. In New Zealand, that's something of a triumph.

"I was at composer John Rimmer's 80th birthday concert recently and someone made the comment that the most important performance is the second one. That's very true, because you often get a first performance and then it's shelved. That's frustrating."

Hamilton's luckier than most in that regard. Many of his pieces have received multiple airings, which he credits in part to his willingness to compose for specific purposes or people. It's an approach that has kept him fully employed as a composer and part-time teacher since 2001, when he left his position of head of music at Epsom Girls Grammar.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I'm very rarely sitting around with nobody wanting something from me and I'm more than happy to write for anything from primary schools to professional orchestras," he says. "That perhaps sets me apart from a lot of composers who'd turn their noses up at writing for a school group but I enjoy that aspect of the work."

Writing for kids was, after all, good enough for Britten and Vivaldi and Hamilton rejects the notion that composing for amateurs results in simplistic music. His Concertino for Oboe and Strings was written for an Epsom Girls Grammar student but is sophisticated enough that Auckland Philharmonia principal oboist Bede Hanley will play it at the ACO concert.

"At the top end of school groups, I can write some challenging and interesting music but for me that's not necessarily the point of composition," he says. "It's about fulfilling a need. It's nice to occasionally do something that's a little more out there but I guess I'm one of those composers who'd prefer to be performed now rather than in 100 years, or discovered after I'm dead."

Lowdown
What: Auckland Chamber Orchestra, Composer Portrait: David Hamilton
Where & When: Raye Freedman Arts Centre, 5pm, Sunday, June 23.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Entertainment

EntertainmentUpdated

The reason behind Hilary Barry's absence from Seven Sharp

02 Jul 04:35 AM
Entertainment

Lorde's new see-through CDs 'won't play' music, fans claim

02 Jul 12:46 AM
Entertainment

Country music is booming in New Zealand, and are Jaffas actually any good?

Sponsored: Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

The reason behind Hilary Barry's absence from Seven Sharp

The reason behind Hilary Barry's absence from Seven Sharp

02 Jul 04:35 AM

The presenter is said to be recuperating well.

Lorde's new see-through CDs 'won't play' music, fans claim

Lorde's new see-through CDs 'won't play' music, fans claim

02 Jul 12:46 AM
Country music is booming in New Zealand, and are Jaffas actually any good?

Country music is booming in New Zealand, and are Jaffas actually any good?

Jury reaches partial verdict in Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial

Jury reaches partial verdict in Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial

01 Jul 09:10 PM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP