Jessie Leov has received a composition commission from the SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music.
The result of the commission is a collaboration between Jessie and The Nelson Bays Harmony Chorus. They’ll be singing the piece written by Jessie for a cappella SSAA choir (a choir composed of two distinct Soprano sections and two distinct Alto sections.
“I’m very grateful to have been selected for the SOUNZ Community Commission,” says Jessie.
The community-based commission was established in 1999 and set up to bring composers and community groups together in creating and performing a new piece of work. Jessie, who is from Nelson but now lives in Auckland, was excited to be able to work with a community group from home for this commission.
Her proposal was for a women-only choir with no instruments.
“I went to the choir and asked if they were keen, and thankfully they said ‘sounds great, let’s do it,’” she says.
Together, they’ve created a work that is accessible to, and can be performed by, the majority of women’s community choirs in New Zealand, which is an expectation of the commission.
The Nelson Bays Harmony Chorus are from all over the Nelson Tasman area and amass a total of 50 female singers.
The choir sings a range of different styles of vocal music and has singers of all backgrounds and skill levels.
“The choir is open to being explorative, both creatively and musically,” Jessie says.
The SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music, which administers the commission, is provided with funding by an anonymous donor which is paid out to the composer and the choir.
With the funding the choir receives they are to put on a public performance within one year of the commission being awarded.
The choir will be performing in June at the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts.