Works for viola - Ross James Carey
Air and Gigue for Solo Viola (2018), Duration: c. 6'40"
Air and Gigue for Solo Viola, PDF Score, 4 pages.
Air and Gigue for solo viola consists of two contrasting pieces. The first, 'Air', marked Andante
consists of a simple melody often presented with an accompanying harmony through the use
of double stops. The second, an extended 'Gigue' in 12/8 time marked Lively is in A-B-A-C-Acoda
form. The A sections are in the mixolydian mode on G, while the B and C sections offer a
contrast to this, the focus here being on motivic development while moving through different tonal centres.
Air is identical to the fourth movement, 'Viola Alone' of Sonatine for a solo violist and three
hand-held percussionists written for the Portable Concerto Project in Kobe, Japan and was
composed on the 31st of December 2011 in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Gigue was completed on
September 11th 2018 in Xinzheng, Henan province, China.
The Big Swim for Flute, Viola & Piano (2006/09)
The Big Swim (2006/09) for flute, viola and piano, Score PDF
The Big Swim (2006/09) for flute, viola and piano, Flute Part PDF
The Big Swim (2006/09) for flute, viola and piano, Viola Part PDF
The Big Swim recounts the story of Kahe te Rau-o-te-rangi, a Maori woman who lived in 19th
century New Zealand. Kahe was renowned for her seven mile swim from Kapiti Island to the
mainland, with a child, Makare, strapped to her back, to raise the alarm when her tribe was
under attack. In four movements: 'Working life with Scotch Jock' depicts the busy times
Kahe and her Scottish husband had on their trading trips around the region; 'Threat', illustrates
incipient panic overtaking the populace when war parties are seen massing towards the south;
'The Big Swim', depicts Kahe's determined strokes to the mainland, while in the final
movement 'Safety is Reached', Kahe drags herself and her child slowly up the beach, willing
herself onwards to raise the alarm and protect her people.
This is an extended arrangement of the original work in the instrumentation of flute, clarinet in
B flat and piano. This was commissioned by Judith Exley for students of Paraparaumu College,
Kapiti, New Zealand, and supported by a Creative Communities Grant (Kapiti) from Creative
New Zealand/Toi Aotearoa, and first performed by them at the NZCT Schools' Chamber Music
Contest in Wellington in 2007. The version for flute, viola and piano was first performed in a
read-through by students at a Music Summer School in Buggeru (CI), Italy in August 2011.
Sakura for alto flute and three violas
Brief biography: Ross James Carey is a composer and solo and collaborative pianist. Born in Lower
Hutt, New Zealand, since March 2017 Ross has been a foreign professor in the School of
Music and Drama at Sias University in Xinzheng, Henan, China. Prior to this, Ross was senior
lecturer at University Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Shah Alam, Malaysia from 2010-15, and at
Lim Kok Wing University in Cyberjaya, Malaysia from 2015-16. Ross holds a PhD in
composition from the University of Melbourne.
Ross's compositions have been widely performed by many outstanding performers. Upcoming
performances include …valse oubliée… for toy piano at the first Toy Music Festival in Seoul in
November 2019, …valse vermillon… performed by pianist Stephen De Pledge at the RMIT
conference in Auckland in January 2020, Earth Resonance for toy piano recorded by David
Bohn for the Toy Piano 100 Notes Project on YouTube and the release on the Phasma record
label of Concert Piece on 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' by flutist Iwona Glinka and pianist
Vicky Stylianou. Ross will also perform several premieres of works for solo piano in his recitals
at St. Peter's Church, Mount Maunganui and University of Waikato, Hamilton in March 2020. Recent performances include Peony for flute
duo by Beatrice Petrocchi and Vilma Campitelli in performances in Xinzheng (Sias University),
Rome and Ancona, Toccatina (Elegy) for string quartet performed by the Aroha String Quartet
as part of their Chamber Music New Zealand concert series in 2018 and Jingle Fantasy
performed by pianist Felicity Mazur-Park at the Dallas Public Library in December 2018.
Ross is active performing his own and other contemporary composers' works and has
performed around the Asia-Pacific region at venues including the China Conservatory of
Music Beijing, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, the National
University of Singapore, Theatre Utan Kayu Jakarta, XEBEC Hall Kobe, the Kuala Lumpur
Performing Arts Centre, Universiti Sians Malaysia Penang and in conferences at UiTM Shah
Alam and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Tanjong Malim. As a collaborative pianist Ross
has performed standard and contemporary repertoire with, among others, violinists Maya
Musaeva and Kirtley Leigh, violist Katia Tiutiunnik, cellist Lachlan Dent and the UiTM and
Sias Symphony Orchestras. Ross's scores can be found at the Centre for New Zealand Music
(SOUNZ) and other publishers. He can be contacted at ross.james.c@outlook.com