Dorothy Ker
Dorothy Ker (born 1965) is a New Zealand-born composer of instrumental and vocal music who has lived in the UK since 1992. She is known for her inter-disciplinary collaborations and experimentation with live electronic music performances.[1]
Early life
Ker was born in Carterton, in the North Island of New Zealand in 1965.[2]
Education
Ker completed B.Mus and M.Mus degrees at the University of Auckland, where she studied composition and electronic music with John Rimmer.[3] She emigrated to the UK in 1992,[4] and completed a Ph.D in composition at the University of York in 1998.[5]
Career
Following her graduation, Ker took up a position at the University of Reading. She later moved to the position of Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield,[6] before becoming a Lecturer in Composition there,[7] and most recently, a Senior Lecturer in Music.[8]
In 2008, a collaboration with the mathematician Marcus du Sautoy resulted in the creation and performance of a piece of experimental music, The 19th Step.[9] The research with du Sautoy was later the basis for a mixed-media theatre piece produced in collaboration with the sculptor Kate Allen in 2010.[10]
In July 2013, Ker began a year-long position in Wellington, New Zealand, as a Research Teaching Associate at the New Zealand School of Music.[11]
In 2015, Ker received the 2015 Composers Association of New Zealand Trust Fund Award for her contribution to music composition.[12]
Ker's music has been heard at international festivals in Auckland, Belfast, Darmstadt, Huddersfield, Perth, Taipei, Seoul, at the International Society for Contemporary Music, in London and on BBC Radio 3 and Radio New Zealand.[13][14]
Works
- Movement for String Orchestra
- The Structure of Memory (mixed chamber ensemble of 10 players)
- diffracted terrains: duo i (bass clarinet and double bass)
- diffracted terrains: duo ii (vioin, French horn and piano)
- diffracted terrains: quintet (alto/bass flute, clarinet in A/bass clarinet, violin, viola and cello)
- solo for cello
- water mountain (violin, B flat clarinet and cello)
- [...and...1] (clarinet)
- [...and...11] (for 12 players)
- Clepsydra (oboe)
- On the Bridge (solo soprano)
- Le kaleidoscope de l’obscurite (clarinet, bass clarinet, cello, double bass)
- The Third Dream (orchestra)
- Rare Earth (cello)
- face (flute)
- fantasia (solo flute and orchestra)
- the history of rock (piano)
- Sonatine (violin and piano)
- a gentle infinity (orchestra)
- The Rock, Whatipu (solo soprano)
- Close-Up of a Daisy (a cappella choir)
- Arise, Shine! (choir and organ)
- If all the world were paper
- Koru (choir and piano)
- City (female voices and piano)
- Darkness and Light (orchestra)
- from States of Zero (solo violin)
- Dances After the Haiku (soprano, viola, clarinet, cello and piano)
- these children singing in stone a (a cappella choir)
- Behind the Apple Cases at Mapua (a cappella choir and solo soprano)
- Dreams from Stone Landscapes (soprano with flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet)
- Winter Dusk (unaccompanied choir)
- and the rain ... (choir)
- six pieces locating the body (B flat clarinet and bass clarinet)
- The Truth of Fire (vocal ensemble (12 voices) and unseen narrator)
Recordings
- The Structure of Memory on New Zealand Women Composers (2003)
- Diffracted Terrains - Chamber Music of Dorothy Ker (2008)
- [...and...1] on A Place in the Sky
- Clepsydra on New Music for a New Oboe Volume 2
References
- ↑ "Dorothy Ker - Academic Staff - Staff - Music - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "SOUNZ - NZ composer - Dorothy Ker". sounz.org.nz. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "Presto Classical - Composer: Dorothy Ker (b.1965) - Buy music CDs & DVDs online". www.prestoclassical.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "LORELT: Review of 'diffracted terrains: Chamber Music of Dorothy Ker'". www.lorelt.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "SOUNZ - NZ composer - Dorothy Ker". sounz.org.nz. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "Two composers for the capital - New Zealand School of Music". www.nzsm.ac.nz. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "21st Century Oboe". 21stcenturyoboe.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "Dorothy Ker receives New Zealand composers award - News and Events - Music - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ Edemariam, Aida. "Interview: Marcus du Sautoy". the Guardian. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "Dorothy Ker - Academic Staff - Staff - Music - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "Two composers for the capital - New Zealand School of Music". www.nzsm.ac.nz. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "Dorothy Ker receives New Zealand composers award - News and Events - Music - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ↑ "21st Century Oboe". 21stcenturyoboe.com. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ "Sound Lounge". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 9 January 2016.