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Hamish is a performer, musicologist, and music theorist—and he is a Senior Lecturer in Music Studies at the New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University of Wellington. Hamish completed his PhD and MA in musicology at Princeton University in 2015, and holds two other Masters degrees (in piano performance and musicology) from Victoria University. He has a passion for making classical music accessible to audiences for both appreciation and analysis, and frequently gives pre-concert talks and writes podcasts and programme notes for New Zealand's leading national music institutions. His research centres on issues of musical meaning, embodiment, performance pedagogy, music-dance relationships, film music, music theory and analysis. His work has been published in Music Theory Online, Music Theory Spectrum, Dance Research, and in other forums.
Hamish performs regularly as pianist, and adjudicates national and international music competitions. He has featured as concerto soloist with several orchestras, including the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and has formed collaborations with performers from the NZSO, NZSM, and Royal New Zealand Ballet. His scholarly research, piano performance, teaching, and community engagements all reinforce and inform each other. |
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Hamish explores the ways musical meanings are formed through our embodied participation. Central to all his work is his conviction that we are all “performers.” Whether listening to music, performing music, or recalling music in our head, we position ourselves and our bodies in performative ways—often unconsciously. Hamish’s research covers the many different modes of embodiment through which we make sense of, and take meaning from, the powerful art of music.
Several publications explore the diverse musical experiences of embodiers of nineteenth-century piano music. This research presents evidence—from the nineteenth century to today—that imagining supplemental sound is a necessary part of performing and listening to piano music, and that imagined sounds (and real or imagined bodily exertions) are shaped not only by compositional features, but also by common techniques of illusion that pianists use in various musical contexts. |
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Come to one of NZ Six Hands Trio's concerts!
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