Harps Aotearoa Foundation, together with the Margaret Neutze Memorial Fund and Perpetual Guardian, invite composers (under 30 years) to submit an entry for the Harp Composition Competition 2025.
Congratulations to all the young composers who entered!
Presenting our three prize winners...
'Winter is Almost Over' by Caoimhe Lane
Winter Is Almost Over is a composition that explores the feeling of winter blossoming into spring. It explores the blending of contrasting musical ideas, by moving major and minor tonalities, and between lively and tranquil moods.
Caoimhe Lane is a 25yo composition student specialising in film scoring at Victoria University. She began her music studies with a Jazz Performance degree and the University of Auckland, before coming to Wellington to pursue her love of film scoring. She has composed and performed all sorts of genres, from jazz, to folk, to classical, to pop, to bossa nova, and loves learning to play and write for new instruments.
'Waitomo' by Chris Everest
This piece is an abstract exploration of the Waitomo Caves through a 7/8 groove (3+2+2) and colourful harmony. Making use of the lever harps idiosyncrasies and ability to setting the accidentals each octave separately I wanted to experiment with different approaches to chromaticism and extended harmony - I was especially excited by the possibility of bar 120's polytonal arpeggio (enharmonically Fmajor/Absus). In addition to the harmony, I wanted to introduce this 'odd time' in a, hopefully, easy to digest way.
A honours graduate of classical guitar performance from the New Zealand School of Music, Christopher has an extensive performance background in both classical and contemporary guitar. After developing focal dystonia in his right hand during postgraduate studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2024, he began to reignite his passion for composition and arranging writing several works including a suite for classical guitar and flute ‘Dreams of Petka’ for Maja Radovanlija and Linda Chatterton to be premiered at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis later this year.
'Yume no Kaze/Wind of a Dream' by Yulara Oike
Yume no Kaze translates to the Wind of a Dream. Overall, the piece depicts that soft movement of a wind as it pulls you around in a dreamscape. Sometimes the wind is smooth and stable, while sometimes it can dance you around.
I am 18 years old; a first year student studying at Victoria University School of Music under a bachelor of music, double majoring in instrumental/vocal composition and digital music. I grew up in Auckland but have moved to Wellington for university. My main musical interests are in choral music and doing some song writing, but I strive to compose well for any instrument.
Check back in December for a video of the winning compositions.
Presenting our three prize winners...
'Winter is Almost Over' by Caoimhe Lane
Winter Is Almost Over is a composition that explores the feeling of winter blossoming into spring. It explores the blending of contrasting musical ideas, by moving major and minor tonalities, and between lively and tranquil moods.
Caoimhe Lane is a 25yo composition student specialising in film scoring at Victoria University. She began her music studies with a Jazz Performance degree and the University of Auckland, before coming to Wellington to pursue her love of film scoring. She has composed and performed all sorts of genres, from jazz, to folk, to classical, to pop, to bossa nova, and loves learning to play and write for new instruments.
'Waitomo' by Chris Everest
This piece is an abstract exploration of the Waitomo Caves through a 7/8 groove (3+2+2) and colourful harmony. Making use of the lever harps idiosyncrasies and ability to setting the accidentals each octave separately I wanted to experiment with different approaches to chromaticism and extended harmony - I was especially excited by the possibility of bar 120's polytonal arpeggio (enharmonically Fmajor/Absus). In addition to the harmony, I wanted to introduce this 'odd time' in a, hopefully, easy to digest way.
A honours graduate of classical guitar performance from the New Zealand School of Music, Christopher has an extensive performance background in both classical and contemporary guitar. After developing focal dystonia in his right hand during postgraduate studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2024, he began to reignite his passion for composition and arranging writing several works including a suite for classical guitar and flute ‘Dreams of Petka’ for Maja Radovanlija and Linda Chatterton to be premiered at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis later this year.
'Yume no Kaze/Wind of a Dream' by Yulara Oike
Yume no Kaze translates to the Wind of a Dream. Overall, the piece depicts that soft movement of a wind as it pulls you around in a dreamscape. Sometimes the wind is smooth and stable, while sometimes it can dance you around.
I am 18 years old; a first year student studying at Victoria University School of Music under a bachelor of music, double majoring in instrumental/vocal composition and digital music. I grew up in Auckland but have moved to Wellington for university. My main musical interests are in choral music and doing some song writing, but I strive to compose well for any instrument.
Check back in December for a video of the winning compositions.
Our Aims:
To encourage and support the composition of more harp music by young NZ composers, to make it easily available, to get more harpists engaging in music by New Zealand composers.
Prizes: First $750, Second $500, Third $250
Conditions of Entry:
Related resources: These pieces show good examples of technique, range and ability expected at these grades.
Grade 4 awesome compositions:
Gecko Dance (Lauren Scott), Skegness Rock (Eleanor Turner), Hometime (Skaila Kanga) Ragtime (Jakez Francois) Flight (Harriet Adie), Damselfly (Elizabeth Volpe Bligh),
Grade 4 awesome arrangements:
Flower Duet (Delibes, arr. Elizabeth Volpe Bligh), Sosbhan Foch (Trad. arr. Meinir Heulyn)
Grade 5 awesome pieces:
Carribean Dreams (Lauren Scott), Dance of the Sandpiper (Monika Stadler) Noche de Fiesta (Alfredo Ortiz) Soupir (Tournier) Moving House Rag (Tamsin Dearnly) Au Bord du Ruisseau (Henriette Renie) Preludes (Bernard Andres)
Grade 5 awesome arrangements:
Carol (Trad. Springthorpe) Petite Sonate (Handel arr. Bouchaud), Sleepers Awake (Bach arr. Elizabeth Volpe Bligh)
To encourage and support the composition of more harp music by young NZ composers, to make it easily available, to get more harpists engaging in music by New Zealand composers.
Prizes: First $750, Second $500, Third $250
Conditions of Entry:
- Resulting works should be suitable for competitions, exam pieces, background music or school performances and need to show an appropriate level of harp techniques and be 2-4 minutes in duration.
- Harp techniques expected at Grade 4/5 for solo pedal or lever harp - glissandi, pres de la table, simple lever and pedal changes (not more than one per bar with adequate left hand availability for lever changes), harmonics, xylophonics, dampening effects, four finger chords in each hand, simple lever/pedal slides, thumb or 4th finger slides.
- Submitted works should not have been published or publicly performed. No arrangements of existing works will be considered.
- Composers may submit ONE WORK to the competition.
- The competition is open to NZ citizens and NZ residents only, and must be under the age of 30 on 1 September 2025.
- Copyright on the music is retained by the composer.
- The prize winners of the competition shall grant Harps Aotearoa Foundation the right to premiere the winning works within 12 months of announcement of the winners, and record the piece (audio or video) within one year of that premiere performance.
- Harps Aotearoa Foundation will have the non-exclusive rights to perform the works in perpetuity.
- All entries should be marked with “composed for Harps Aotearoa Foundation Composition Competition 2025″ on the music score .
- Works must be submitted as PDFs and MP3’s. The score should be laid out using conventional notation and an MP3 audio file of a computer realisation also needs to be submitted.
- Harps Aotearoa Foundation reserves the right to award no prizes if scores do not reach satisfactory standard. The decision of the judges is final and not contestable.
- All entries submitted must be available for purchase from an easily accessible website (of the composer’s choice) or be gifted to Harps Aotearoa Foundation to sell (profits go to HAF fundraising with all credit to composer).
- Submit your entry via the entry form (see button at top and bottom of the page) Deadline 5pm 1 September 2025.
Related resources: These pieces show good examples of technique, range and ability expected at these grades.
Grade 4 awesome compositions:
Gecko Dance (Lauren Scott), Skegness Rock (Eleanor Turner), Hometime (Skaila Kanga) Ragtime (Jakez Francois) Flight (Harriet Adie), Damselfly (Elizabeth Volpe Bligh),
Grade 4 awesome arrangements:
Flower Duet (Delibes, arr. Elizabeth Volpe Bligh), Sosbhan Foch (Trad. arr. Meinir Heulyn)
Grade 5 awesome pieces:
Carribean Dreams (Lauren Scott), Dance of the Sandpiper (Monika Stadler) Noche de Fiesta (Alfredo Ortiz) Soupir (Tournier) Moving House Rag (Tamsin Dearnly) Au Bord du Ruisseau (Henriette Renie) Preludes (Bernard Andres)
Grade 5 awesome arrangements:
Carol (Trad. Springthorpe) Petite Sonate (Handel arr. Bouchaud), Sleepers Awake (Bach arr. Elizabeth Volpe Bligh)
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Super useful video on composing for harp by harpist Ailie Robertson
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Helping Hand
Composers can ‘check in’ with a HAF harpist for a 15 minute harp technique related session.
Contact [email protected] to book
Composers can ‘check in’ with a HAF harpist for a 15 minute harp technique related session.
Contact [email protected] to book