Martin Victor Lodge (3 December 1954 – 18 December 2024) was a New Zealand composer and Emeritus Professor of Music at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

Life and career

Lodge was born in

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

on 3 December 1954. He studied English and German at the

graduating with an MA in English literature. He went on to do an MMus in composition at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

under

Douglas Lilburn Douglas Gordon Lilburn (2 November 19156 June 2001) was a New Zealand composer. Early life Lilburn was born in Whanganui and spent his early years on the family sheep farm in the upper Turakina River valley at Drysdale. He attended Waitaki ...

and

David Farquhar David Andross Farquhar (5 April 1928 – 8 May 2007) was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington. Biography Farquhar was born in Cambridge, New Zealand, in 1928 but spent most of his early years in F ...

followed by a PhD in composition from the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...

. After spending 13 years as a freelance composer, while doing a variety of other jobs, he was the Mozart Fellow at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

in 1990 and 1991. In 1993 he was the Composer in Residence at the

Auckland Philharmonia The Auckland Philharmonia (formerly Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, APO) is a symphony orchestra based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its principal concert venue is the Auckland Town Hall, and it is also the accompanying ensemble for Auckland stage ...

. He took up a position at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Waikato in 1995 where he founded the music department and was instrumental in creating a performing arts venue, the Dr John Gallagher Concert Chamber. He was responsible for archiving the works of music historian and writer John Mansfield Thomson at the university. He initiated the study of

Māori music Traditional Māori music, or pūoro Māori, is composed or performed by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, and includes a wide variety of folk music styles, often integrated with poetry and dance. In addition to these traditions an ...

for the Bachelor of Music degree and commissioned a set of traditional Māori instruments,

taonga pūoro Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments of the Māori people of New Zealand. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods ...

, for the university. He composed several works using taonga pūoro: ''Toru'' (2003) which was dedicated to Hirini Melbourne, ''Hau'' (2005) and ''Oiche ghealai (moonlit night)'' (2009). Lodge was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2022, and died in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

on 18 December 2024, at the age of 70.

Selected works

Publications

* Lodge, M. (2003). ''John Mansfield Thomson: Selected Writings''. Steele Roberts Ltd. * Lodge, M., & Ulenberg, P. (2007)
History in the making: The John Mansfield Thomson Archive at the University of Waikato
''Canzona'', 28(49), 96–97.

Compositions

* ''Mozart Brief-Ly I and II'' (1991) – for two clarinets, two bassett horns and

SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...

soloists, commissioned by the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the New Zealand Government, per the New Zealand Symphony ...

* ''WAM! - Reminiscences of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart'' (1991) – orchestral fantasy on Mozart themes, commissioned by the

Dunedin Symphony Orchestra Dunedin Symphony Orchestra is a professional symphony orchestra based in Dunedin, New Zealand. It hosts an annual subscription series of concerts in the Dunedin Town Hall, performing repertoire from the Classical period (music), Classical, Roman ...

* ''Symphony No. 1 (Flowers of the Sea)'' (1994) * ''Hinterland'' (1997) – for orchestra * ''Epitaph for Douglas Lilburn'' (2001) – for solo cello * ''Toru'' (2003) – for taonga pūoro, cello and clarinet * ''Hau'' (2005) – for cello and taonga pūoro * ''Farewell for David Farquhar'' (2007) – for two cellos * ''Pastorale'' (2008) – for string quartet * ''Oiche ghealai (moonlit night)'' (2009) – for taonga pūoro and flute * ''Voces naturae - I: Locus iste'' (2010) – for mixed ensemble, live video and live sonic electronics * ''Aria with Commentary'' (2011) – for two cellos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodge, Martin 1954 births 2024 deaths New Zealand classical composers New Zealand male classical composers People from Tauranga Victoria University of Wellington alumni University of Waikato alumni University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Waikato