Lars Mlekusch (alto/baritone sax), Stroma conducted by Hamish McKeich. Recorded by RNZ Concert, 17 July 2005.
Michael Norris Photo: supplied
Wellington-based composer, software developer and music theorist Michael Norris holds composition degrees from Victoria University of Wellington and City University, London. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Composition at Te Kōkī, New Zealand School of Music. Performers of Michael’s work include the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Roberto Fabbriciani, Michael Houstoun, the New Zealand String Quartet, NZTrio, Richard Haynes, the Viennese Saxophonic Orchestra, Ensemble Offspring, Stroma, the Israel Contemporary Players and the Ensemble Pierrot Lunaire Wien. Michael is also co-founder and co-director of Stroma New Music Ensemble, Executive Committee Member of the Asian Composers League, and is the editor of Wai-te-ata Music Press.
'Splinter Cells' was written for the Swiss saxophonist Lars Mlekusch, for a concert with Stroma in 2005. In it, Michael has focussed on roughness and rawness, creating a musical language that struggles under its own weight. The ‘splinter’ is a six-note collection, gathered from the opening of the third movement of 'Cells' by the Swiss composer Hanspeter Kyburz, which shared the programme with the première of 'Splinter Cells'.
