“Williams has a sure sense of colour and the courage to risk the rumbustious; his lightly scored cadenza, with oboe sliding and bending over whispered lower strings, dealt out a rare and mysterious beauty.” – NZ Herald 20.6.05 ‘Piercing the Vault’ at Auckland Town Hall

Biography

Since arriving back in New Zealand in 1998 after a long period in Melbourne, Michael has lost no time in making a name for himself as a composer in his native country.

In 2001, his orchestral piece “Synaesthesia” was performed by the NZSO in a recorded reading session and his orchestral overture “In Saecula Saeculorum” was commissioned and performed by the Waikato Symphony. A great deal of interest was generated by his Chamber Opera “The Prodigal Child” which was chosen to form part of the Wild Opera project, an initiative aimed at raising the profile of New Zealand opera. As a result NBR New Zealand Opera have produced this work and has since been performed in Taranaki, Christchurch and Auckland. A studio recording of this work was done in February this year and is scheduled for release toward the end of 2005.

“Tempus et Moutere”, a choral piece commissioned and performed by the Hamilton Civic Choir was premiered in 2003 and recorded later that year.

Recently, Michael has completed a commissioned work for the NZSO “Piercing the Vault”, which features the Oboe and orchestra. This work is scheduled to be toured throughout New Zealand in June this year. Most recently, Michael has accepted a commission through Chamber Music New Zealand to compose a piece for the Ogen Trio. This work will be included in the trio’s June tour of New Zealand and form part of their upcoming CD of New Zealand music. This work will include computer applications as part of the live performance. Michael is currently course co-ordinator for Techniques and Technologies and also teaches composition, orchestration and computer music.

He has been the secretary of CANZ (Composers Association of New Zealand) and Composers’ Advisory Panel member for SOUNZ, and is co-founder and artistic co-ordinator of the contemporary performance ensemble Okta.

• Works (17)
• Awards (2)