De Castro-Robinson flies banner for women composers

The Lilburn Lecture 2018:

De Castro-Robinson flies banner for women composers

Women composers’ contributions to New Zealand music are celebrated at the National Library this Friday on 2 November.

Acclaimed composer Eve de Castro-Robinson, will give the annual Lilburn Lecture for 2018 at the National Library of New Zealand.

In Wide Blows Our Banner, de Castro-Robinson will consider her own journey as a female composer from the 1980s onwards, reflecting on changes in New Zealand’s social, political and musical landscape over the intervening decades.

In a year during which New Zealand celebrates 125 years since Suffrage, de Castro-Robinson asks: how much progress have women composers in New Zealand made since the granting of equal voting rights in 1893?

De Castro-Robinson is a highly respected composer, teacher, presenter and advocate for New Zealand music. The recipient of numerous musical commissions, her work is widely performed in New Zealand and internationally, garnering several awards. She is currently Associate Professor in Composition at the University of Auckland.

“The Lilburn Lectures are a means for the Alexander Turnbull Library to support discussion and debate about New Zealand music,’’ says Dr Michael Brown, Curator of Music at Alexander Turnbull Library.

“In addition to Suffrage125, this year marks the centenary of Alexander Turnbull’s original bequest,” says Brown. “Our collections relating to New Zealand music have grown many times over during the last 100 years and the Lilburn Lectures help raise awareness of the musical heritage preserved by the Library.”

The Lilburn Lecture takes place on 2 November, the birthday of composer Douglas Lilburn, founder of the Archive of New Zealand Music at the Alexander Turnbull Library. The event is free.

Ends

Background:

Eve de Castro-Robinson is a composer, teacher, presenter and advocate for New Zealand music. As well as receiving many musical commissions, her work has been widely performed in New Zealand and internationally, garnering several awards. The record labels Rattle and Atoll have each released solo CDs of her work. She had held residencies at the Atlantic Centre for the Arts, Florida, the Banff Centre Canada, and at Brisons Veor, Cornwall. She is currently Associate Professor in Composition at the University of Auckland and Deputy Chair of SOUNZ Centre of New Zealand Music.

http://www.creative.auckland.ac.nz/people/e-decastro

https://www.sounz.org.nz/contributors/1001

The Lilburn Trust: The late composer Douglas Lilburn helped establish the Archive of New Zealand Music, which is part of the Library’s collections, in 1974. He donated his own collection of scores, papers and recordings, and served as an honorary curator. Lilburn also established the Lilburn Trust in 1984, which is administered by Alexander Turnbull Library. The Lilburn Trust supports many New Zealand music projects including the annual Lilburn Lecture. The Lecture has been held since 2013: previous speakers have been Charles Royal, Jenny McLeod, Chris Bourke, William Dart and Philip Norman. http://www.douglaslilburn.org/

https://natlib.govt.nz/collections/a-z/archive-of-new-zealand-music

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