Saint Kentigern’s Simple Solutions took the National KBB Music Award at the final in Christchurch
Four Saint Kentigern College saxophonists have won a national award playing an 11-minute work its composer describes as exuberant and pop-influenced.
Australian composer Paul Stanhope built all 11 minutes of Ockham’s Razor from a single motif when he wrote it in 2001. The title is the principle that the simplest explanation is usually the right one.
Stanhope himself wrote that the “somewhat academic title is quite tongue-in-cheek given the exuberant nature of the work with its edgy, pop-influenced rhythms and flamboyant musical gestures”.
“There is a neat logic to a group called Simple Solutions playing a work called Ockham’s Razor composed by Paul Stanhope,” Saint Kentigern’s newsletter said.
The group is Lawrence Liu on soprano saxophone, Lara Diprose on alto, Jaden Lee on tenor and Wilson Li on baritone.
They took the National KBB Music Award at the NZCT Chamber Music Contest final in Christchurch on Saturday 1 August.
The award, one of several given on the night rather than the overall title, goes to ensembles of wind, brass or percussion instruments.
Running since 1965, the contest is the longest-standing youth music competition in New Zealand and the only nationwide chamber music competition for secondary school musicians and composers. Of the hundreds of ensembles that enter the district rounds each June, eight reached this year’s national final.
Radio New Zealand recorded all eight at The Piano in Christchurch for the RNZ Concert website.
The quartet came through the Auckland district round in June, where 114 groups competed, and then the Northern regional final.
Saint Kentigern students played in 13 of those groups, 10 of them all-College and three drawn from several schools.
Trio Vitesse, which includes College pianist Isaac Chang, was named best group overall in Auckland and took the New Zealand Double Reed Society award for Destenay’s trio for oboe, clarinet and piano.
The Three Shostateers, of Vanessa Leong, Chian Wan and William Xu, were highly commended for their Shostakovich. The Five Piano Quintet was also highly commended, and took the district award for best performance of a New Zealand work.
The school says its students made up about a tenth of the competing groups and about a third of the Auckland finalists.
Simple Solutions had not topped their own region. They went to Christchurch as Northern runners-up, behind the Francaix Trio, and came home with a national award.
