Newsletter #11 - Razzle-Dazzle!
Kia ora everyone,
It’s been a busy few months since my last newsletter. Shortland Street has been trucking along—I recently scored my 250th episode, and I'm finally starting to feel like I have the hang of it—or something along those lines!
Dazzlehands
One of the exciting things I've been working on is a new ballet for kids called Dazzlehands. Based on the children’s book of the same name, Dazzlehands is about a pig who, much to the chagrin of the farmer, won’t say ‘oink’ and instead says ‘Dazzlehands!’
The show is 40 minutes long with six dancers, and the music is played on a loudspeaker. It’s being put on by the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company. The show is designed with kids in mind, and tickets are now available—and they're free! You can find them here.
It’s been a really fun project to be a part of; it's very different from the normal moody cinematic music I write. The style of Dazzlehands is fun and energetic, traveling through genres like tango, big band jazz, classical waltz, disco, and funk. Definitely styles outside of my comfort zone. It’s been great making some unapologetically fun music—it’s silly, groovy, and very charming.
I teamed up again with the incredible Joshua Buckler to play woodwinds on the score. Joshua was the clarinet player I collaborated with on the bonsai documentary The Generation Gardener. In Dazzlehands, Joshua unleashes some flaming saxophone licks and solos, as well as some cheeky recorder and clarinet parts.
The team at RNZB have all been really lovely, and I’ve really enjoyed working with them. Everything, including the choreography and costume design, has been really inspiring. This week, I am going along to a full rehearsal and I can’t wait to see it all come together!
48 Hours Film Festival
The Screen Music and Sound Guild ran a program this year, teaming up composers with teams looking for composers. I ran a similar program last year as a bit of pilot, but this time it was much more organised, and the guild really took on the initiative and made it happen. For this, I wrote a short article about the importance of having a composer in your team.
I also competed in the 48 Hour Film Festival again this year, joining a team led by my old friend Luke Ross and his partner Alice Youngquest. We are Wellington finalists and have been nominated for a number of Wellington awards, including Best Original Music! The Wellington 48-hour finals are next week, and I am really excited to see all the other amazing finalist films.
Thanks so much for reading, I hope you are all going well, and keeping warm.
Our 48 hour poster