Music education the focus of two inaugural Lilburn Research Awards

Providing New Zealand music resources to students and performers is the focus of two inaugural Lilburn Research Awards, granted to Mathew Hoyes and Michael Vinten.

The Lilburn Research Awards are a new joint initiative of the Alexander Turnbull Library and the Lilburn Trust, who are delighted to be able to support both these projects.

Mathew Hoyes, who teaches music at Porirua College, will receive a $20,000 grant to further his project, “Counting the Beat”, which aims to support New Zealand high school students sitting NCEA. “There is currently a lack of online resources about New Zealand music, especially when it comes to musical analysis,” Mr Hoyes says. His research will include examining scores and recordings of popular New Zealand songs, and an investigation of their historical context. The result will be a series of online videos and other resources.

“Working in high schools in New Zealand, I have always wanted to level the playing field for students who haven't had the same opportunities as others,” Mr Hoyes says. “The project will create an online space where students can connect with resources about New Zealand music aimed at New Zealand rangitahi.” He begins research in September 2020.

Michael Vinten, conductor and composer, has been granted a Lilburn Research Award of $15,000 to research and edit a collection of pre-1950 New Zealand Art Songs. “It concerns me that we know so little about our classical musical heritage pre-1950”, Mr Vinten says. His research seeks to uncover worthy material in the Archive of New Zealand Music and other Library music collections. “It is this material that I wish to track down and present both to a wider audience and performers.”

The outcome will be a printed album of songs for voice and piano with an accompanying CD. Mr Vinten will also take up his award in September 2020. “I very much enjoy researching and editing music, and receiving this award means that I can spend time doing it with a very practical and valuable outcome for performers.”

The Alexander Turnbull Library’s Music Curator, Dr Michael Brown, says that the Lilburn Research Award is an occasional award that has been introduced – alongside the biennial Lilburn Research Fellowship – to support other kinds of research projects.

“Mathew’s and Michael’s projects are both about connecting new generations and different communities with New Zealand’s musical heritage. It is exciting to see the resources of the Archive of New Zealand Music and other Turnbull collections being used to educate students and inspire new performances,” Dr Brown says.

The Lilburn Research Awards are funded by the Lilburn Trust, established by the composer Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001) to support New Zealand music. Lilburn also helped with the formation of the Archive of New Zealand Music at the Turnbull Library in 1974. The Turnbull is the pre-eminent institutional collector of New Zealand music, including published and unpublished material relating to all aspects of music in this country.

Alexander Turnbull Library is a division of the National Library of New Zealand, which is part of Te Tari Taiwhenua.

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Notes for editor

Mathew Hoyes — bio notes

Mr Hoyes received a Bachelor of Music from Otago University in 2007, and subsequently a Grad Dip Teaching and Post Grad Cert TESSOL from Victoria University. He has taught at high schools in South Auckland and in the Wellington region, and in Europe. He currently teaches music at Porirua College. Mr Hoyes also has experience as a soundtrack composer, sound engineer and musical performer.

Michael Vinten — bio notes

Mr Vinten has been Wellington Chorus Master and Associate Conductor for New Zealand Opera for twenty-eight years. He has worked extensively with youth orchestras. His professional activities also span composing, editing and arranging music. Michael completed a Bachelors Degree in Music at Victoria University, Wellington and a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting at Cincinnati University, Ohio.

The Douglas Lilburn Research Award and the Lilburn Trust

The Lilburn Research Award is an occasional award to support outstanding research proposals relating to New Zealand music. The awardee will be based at the National Library of New Zealand and use the music collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library.
The Award is funded by the Lilburn Trust, which was established by Douglas Lilburn in 1984. It is administered as a charitable trust under the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust.

Douglas Lilburn (1915 – 2001)

Douglas Lilburn was an influential composer and music teacher who inspired and promoted later generations of New Zealand composers.
The Alexander Turnbull Library Archive of New Zealand Music (which Lilburn helped establish) continues to preserve New Zealand's musical heritage and The Lilburn Trust continues to fund music related projects and offer annual composition awards.

Douglas Lilburn website

Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand — Douglas Lilburn biography