David Hamilton (composer)
Encyclopedia
David Hamilton was born in 1955 in Napier
, New Zealand
and is a contemporary composer
.
Hamilton was head of music at Epsom Girls' Grammar School
in Auckland
until 2001 but now spends much of his time on composing. He has composed well over 100 works for choirs with orchestra or organ. For many of his songs he takes words from poems and writes music for them, such as a setting of Tennyson's poem "Ask me no more" for soprano and piano, which won the Ned Rorem Award for Song Composition in the USA. Works have been commissioned by most major New Zealand groups including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
, the New Zealand Youth Choir
and Radio New Zealand
. His works are increasingly being performed in countries around the world, eg. in Italy, Japan, Singapore and the USA. Recent major works include Missa semplice, first performed in March 2007, scored for SAB choir with piano or organ and Missa Pacifica, first performed in November 2005, scored for SAB Choir and orchestra.
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and is a contemporary composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Hamilton was head of music at Epsom Girls' Grammar School
Epsom Girls' Grammar School
Epsom Girls Grammar School is a girls school located in Epsom, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It was established in 1917.The principal is Madeleine Gunn...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
until 2001 but now spends much of his time on composing. He has composed well over 100 works for choirs with orchestra or organ. For many of his songs he takes words from poems and writes music for them, such as a setting of Tennyson's poem "Ask me no more" for soprano and piano, which won the Ned Rorem Award for Song Composition in the USA. Works have been commissioned by most major New Zealand groups including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....
, the New Zealand Youth Choir
New Zealand Youth Choir
The New Zealand Youth Choir was formed in 1979 by Guy Jansen and has subsequently been conducted by Professor Peter Godfrey and Dr Karen Grylls . As at March 2009, Dr Grylls is an associate professor at the University of Auckland...
and Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand is a New Zealand public service radio broadcaster and Crown entity formed by the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news, current affairs and arts network Radio New Zealand National and classical music and jazz network Radio New Zealand Concert with full government funding...
. His works are increasingly being performed in countries around the world, eg. in Italy, Japan, Singapore and the USA. Recent major works include Missa semplice, first performed in March 2007, scored for SAB choir with piano or organ and Missa Pacifica, first performed in November 2005, scored for SAB Choir and orchestra.