CANZ Conference: Call for papers

Presented by Te Rōpū Kaitito Puoro o Aotearoa, The Composers Association of New Zealand (CANZ), with the support of Creative New Zealand and the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau

Convener: Samuel Holloway

CANZ is delighted to announce the 2025 CANZ Composers Conference.

In a time of accelerating political, economic, social, technological, and environmental change, composers from Aotearoa continue to innovate and extend musical possibilities through a diverse range of practices.

This conference offers an opportunity for collective reflection on the unique demands and possibilities of creating music here and now.

Following past CANZ Composers Conferences in 2008 (Te Whanganui-a-Tara), 2014 (Tāmaki), and 2017 (Ōtahutahi), we are excited to gather again—an opportunity for all CANZ members and others in our extended whānau to come together, break bread, and share ideas and music.

Call for Papers/Proposals

We welcome proposals for papers, presentations and panels. We are open to formal and informal presentation approaches and innovative/creative formats. If you are unsure about how an idea might work in the conference context, feel free to reach out to the convener for advice.

While the Conference will be held in person in Tāmaki Makaurau, there will be limited opportunities for virtual presentations from CANZ members residing overseas, and we welcome submissions from these members. We also strongly encourage submissions from early-career composers and students.

We invite proposals related to the following areas:

• Working methodologies/strategies/concepts in recent practice

• Musical responses to current political/environmental/social challenges

• Māori perspectives in current compositional practice

• Institutions (educational, state, funding, creative)

• Approaches to emerging technologies

• Theory (music, queer, critical...) and practice

• Exploratory/speculative/experimental music-making

• Diversity and inclusion in the music world

• Any other topics related to composing NOW

All papers/presentations will be limited to 20 minutes (including any music/sound components), with a further 10 minutes for moderated discussion.

Conference format

The Conference will run across two days in the first weekend of September. An indicative format is given below, but this may be adjusted depending on number of papers accepted. The Conference will be preceded by the CANZ Composer Workshop, and Conference attendees are invited to attend the Workshop’s closing night concert on the evening of Friday 5 September.

Proposal Submission Procedures

All proposals must have a title and be submitted in the form of a written abstract of 120-250 words.

Abstracts must be submitted via email in PDF format, or as a Word document, or included in the body of your email.

Please also provide the following details:

• Full name, contact details (email and phone), and institutional affiliation (if any)

• Any technical requirements/requests (e.g., audio recording playback, music stand, video component, etc.)

All proposals will be lightly peer-reviewed by two members of an assessment panel. Submitters will be advised whether their abstract has been accepted, or of any suggested or required amendments, by Thursday 19 June.

Please send submissions, or questions, to samuel.holloway@aut.ac.nz.

Key Dates for Submission of Papers

A Call for Scores for the Conference concert, registration information, and an announcement of keynote speakers will be made available in late April.