Susan Rhind Award in Composition
Information
History or background of award
The awards were established in 2014 following a generous bequest made to Victoria University of Wellington by the late Susan Mary Rhind, a former student of the Victoria University Music Department. Funds generated by the endowment are used to support the creation of substantial creative outputs/works from composition students who demonstrate exceptional talent in writing ‘serious' music. The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī administers these awards and offers opportunities for the public presentation of the newly composed works. A proportion of each award may be used to facilitate the public performance of the work (for instance, by paying a fee for professional performers).
Selection criteria
Recipients must be enrolled in a PGDipMus, BMusHons, MFA(CP), MMA, MMus, DMA or PhD, majoring in Composition/Sonic Art, on 1 March of the year of award. GDipMus students may also be eligible if they are enrolled in NZSM401 in the year of the award. Students enrolled in a Diploma, Honours or Masters degrees will be eligible to receive the award no more than once during the period of their enrolment — for Diploma and Honours students, this will be in the year in which they are enrolled in NZSM401. Doctoral students are eligible to receive the award no more than three times during the period of their enrolment. Students in the final 6 months of their enrolment on 1 March are normally excluded, unless a strong case can be made that it will enable an impending public presentation of a new work to occur that has not already received funding from the Susan Rhind Award. Recipients must be 18 or older and must have been for a period of five years immediately preceding the making of the award a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand. Students must submit a written work proposal to the Programme Director (Composition) outlining the creative output(s) for which they wish to be considered, by the end of week 2 of Trimester 1. The work(s) must have some kind of public presentation (i.e. performance, exhibition, screening, recording or public release), and must form part of the student’s postgraduate portfolio/thesis/creative project. The public event/exhibition must be scheduled to occur within 12 months of the award being made. Previous recipients are not disqualified from receiving an award in subsequent years, although consideration may be given to the benefits of making awards to a range of different composers. All applications will be vetted by staff members of the Composition Programme of the NZSM, with the final decisions made at the discretion of the Programme Director (Composition).
Number of awards offered
To be determined by the NZSM Scholarships Committee.
Value
Between $1,000 and $5,000 per award, to be determined by the NZSM Scholarships Committee based on the available funds and number of awards made in a given year.
Duration of the award
One year.
Decision makers
The NZSM Scholarships Committee determines the awards, having received recommendations from the Programme Director (Composition) and the academic staff of the Composition Programme, on the basis of work proposals submitted by eligible students by the end of the first week of Trimester 1. Decisions are made in early-to-mid March.
What conditions are attached to acceptance of this award?
The recipient must produce a new substantial creative output/work, of a scope specified in a work proposal submitted to the NZSM's Programme Director (Composition) by the end of the first week of Trimester 1. The output/work must be presented at a public event/exhibition in the 12 months following the award, and may be included as part of the student's thesis/portfolio. Any materials, scores, parts, etc, are to be arranged by the recipient.
The awards were established in 2014 following a generous bequest made to Victoria University of Wellington by the late Susan Mary Rhind, a former student of the Victoria University Music Department. Funds generated by the endowment are used to support the creation of substantial creative outputs/works from composition students who demonstrate exceptional talent in writing ‘serious' music. The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī administers these awards and offers opportunities for the public presentation of the newly composed works. A proportion of each award may be used to facilitate the public performance of the work (for instance, by paying a fee for professional performers).
Selection criteria
Recipients must be enrolled in a PGDipMus, BMusHons, MFA(CP), MMA, MMus, DMA or PhD, majoring in Composition/Sonic Art, on 1 March of the year of award. GDipMus students may also be eligible if they are enrolled in NZSM401 in the year of the award. Students enrolled in a Diploma, Honours or Masters degrees will be eligible to receive the award no more than once during the period of their enrolment — for Diploma and Honours students, this will be in the year in which they are enrolled in NZSM401. Doctoral students are eligible to receive the award no more than three times during the period of their enrolment. Students in the final 6 months of their enrolment on 1 March are normally excluded, unless a strong case can be made that it will enable an impending public presentation of a new work to occur that has not already received funding from the Susan Rhind Award. Recipients must be 18 or older and must have been for a period of five years immediately preceding the making of the award a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand. Students must submit a written work proposal to the Programme Director (Composition) outlining the creative output(s) for which they wish to be considered, by the end of week 2 of Trimester 1. The work(s) must have some kind of public presentation (i.e. performance, exhibition, screening, recording or public release), and must form part of the student’s postgraduate portfolio/thesis/creative project. The public event/exhibition must be scheduled to occur within 12 months of the award being made. Previous recipients are not disqualified from receiving an award in subsequent years, although consideration may be given to the benefits of making awards to a range of different composers. All applications will be vetted by staff members of the Composition Programme of the NZSM, with the final decisions made at the discretion of the Programme Director (Composition).
Number of awards offered
To be determined by the NZSM Scholarships Committee.
Value
Between $1,000 and $5,000 per award, to be determined by the NZSM Scholarships Committee based on the available funds and number of awards made in a given year.
Duration of the award
One year.
Decision makers
The NZSM Scholarships Committee determines the awards, having received recommendations from the Programme Director (Composition) and the academic staff of the Composition Programme, on the basis of work proposals submitted by eligible students by the end of the first week of Trimester 1. Decisions are made in early-to-mid March.
What conditions are attached to acceptance of this award?
The recipient must produce a new substantial creative output/work, of a scope specified in a work proposal submitted to the NZSM's Programme Director (Composition) by the end of the first week of Trimester 1. The output/work must be presented at a public event/exhibition in the 12 months following the award, and may be included as part of the student's thesis/portfolio. Any materials, scores, parts, etc, are to be arranged by the recipient.