the islands
christopher blake

Christopher Blake was born in Christchurch in 1949. He studied music and engineering at Canterbury University and has a post graduate degree in composition from the University of Southampton, England. He has been general manager of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, manager of Concert FM and foundation Chief Executive of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Christopher Blake has undertaken commissions for all the major music organisations in New Zealand and a wide variety of performers. His music is heard in concerts and broadcasts and overseas with recent performances in Mexico and the USA. His works have achieved critical acclaim and include Till Human Voices Wake Us (1986) for orchestra and tenor soloist; a piano concerto The Coming of Tane Mahuta (1987); Clairmont Triptych (1988) for piano and wind quintet (NZís entry in the 1989 UNESCO Paris Rostrum of Composers); Bitter Calm an opera in two acts premiered at the 1994 NZ International Festival of the Arts; Symphony The Islands (1996); and, Angel at Ahipara (2000) for string orchestra.