Holly Mathieson

Holly completed a first-class honours degree in composition at Otago University and two years later graduated with a Masters in orchestral conducting from the University of Melbourne Conservatorium under the tutelage of Professor John Hopkins, OBE.  In 2010, she completed her PhD in Music Iconography, entitled Embodying Music: The Visuality of Three Iconic Conductors in London, 1840-1940. She is currently based in London, working for the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Holly's conducting experience includes several productions with Opera Otago, including their critically acclaimed season of Cosi fan Tutte at the 2008 Otago Festival of the Arts, the southern hemisphere premiere of Salieri's Falstaff (2006), and the world premiere of Anthony Ritchie's The God Boy (2004). She also assisted conductor Tecwyn Evans in the University of Otago's productions of Madama Butterfly (2003) and Carmen (2006), conducted the Southern Sinfonia in the Last Night of the Proms (2005). More recently, she conducted the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra at the Air New Zealand National Wine Awards (2007) and in their 'Big Bang' education series (2010). In 2009 Holly was appointed Artistic Director of the Solid Energy Chorus of Southern Opera, and in that role prepared the choruses and was assistant conductor for Aida, Gianni Schicchi and The Magic Flute.

In addition to her work as a conductor, Holly has lectured and tutored in conducting, composition, musicianship and music history. Her compositions include Sinfonietta for orchestra (2000), Night Songs - a cycle for Baritone, Soprano and piano (1999) and Meditation: Urlicht (2011). She is currently working on a song cycle for New Zealand soprano Anna Leese and an unnamed large-scale orchestral work.

Read a copy of Holly's PhD thesis here: http://hdl.handle.net/10523/461

AWARDS 

2009                Recipient of a donation from Adrienne, Lady Stewart and the NZ Arts Foundation 2008                Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders’ Fellowship 2005-2007       Humanities Postgraduate Scholarship 2006                Elman Poole Travelling Scholarship 2003                University of Melbourne Postgraduate Prize in Music 2002                Mona Semke Scholarship in association with Rotary Dunedin 2000                University of Otago J.M.W. Speirs Memorial Prize for the Most Promising Conducting Student

REFEREED PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCE PAPERS

2009                “The 'True Wagnerian' and the English Imagination: The Image of Hans Richter”, Music in Art, Vol. XXXIV/1-2

2009                “Mesmeric Gestures”, The Musical Body: Gesture, Representation and Ergonomics in Performance, IMR international conference, London 22-24 April 2009

2008                “Mesmeric Gestures: Nineteenth Century London's view of Louis Jullien”, New Zealand Musicological Society, National Conference, Hamilton 15-17 November 2008

2008                “Patriotism and Nationalistic Ambiguity in the Portraiture of Henry Wood”, Re-Thinking Music in Art: New Directions in Music Iconography, International Conference, University of         Otago 26 -29 June 2008. Papers to be published in 2009/2010.

2008                “The “true Wagnerian” and the English imagination: The image of Hans Richter [1843-1916]”, Music, Body, and Stage: The Iconography of Music Theater and Opera, The City University of New York Graduate Center, 11-14 March 2008