New Zealand-born flutist Hannah Darroch is in the final semester of her Doctor of Music, and is also an instructor of flute and chamber music, and a course lecturer for woodwind orchestral excerpts here at Schulich.
Her winning presentation for the Research Alive series is on March 11th at 5pm, in Tanna Schulich Hall. Admission is free, and the event will also be webcast live on our YouTube channel for those not in Montreal.
As an orchestral musician Hannah has played professionally for over a decade under conductors including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir James MacMillan, Sir Andrew Davis, Nicholas McGegan, Jaime Martín, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya, in concerts featuring international artists ranging from Renée Fleming to Håkan Hardenberger and Diana Krall. Hannah can be heard on a number of commercial recordings including the 2014 soundtrack to The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and the premiere release of Frank Ticheli's Pulitzer-nominated Songs of Life and Love. She was also a corporal in the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band for a number of years.
Her varied career before embarking on doctoral study included positions as Radio NZ Concert's Digital Content and Program Producer, Chamber Music New Zealand's Marketing and Communications Executive, and consultancy work to develop a new mentorship program for the Wellington Youth Orchestra, and to redesign RNZ Concert’s publicity and partnerships strategy. She currently manages communications for activities in the Music Research department here at Schulich.
In recent years Hannah has been invited to teach guest classes and perform in locations across Canada, the United States, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2017 her research was chosen from hundreds of doctoral applicants across Canada to be featured on CBC’s Ideas. Recent awards include the 2019-2020 Research Alive Student Prize, the 2019 International Grant Writing Competition, a Graduate Mobility Award to attend a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, a Graduate Travel Award to give a masterclass at UNC Charlotte, and a grant from the Arts Council of New Zealand.
During her time at McGill she also concurrently completed the Global Leaders Program – a year-long program for 30 musicians worldwide that focuses on teaching artistry and social entrepreneurship – and was awarded their Hildegard Behrens Foundation Global Humanitarian Entrepreneur Prize as one of the top graduates of 2018. She holds a Master of Music from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she was a Teaching Assistant to Christina Jennings and a member of their award-winning resident wind quintet from 2010-2012.
What made you choose McGill for your studies?
Top of the list was the opportunity to study with Timothy Hutchins, Principal Flute of the OSM since 1978. I’d also worked with two conductors from Montreal back in NZ quite a few years ago, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Jacques Lacombe, so I'd been intrigued about music in Québec. I think I lucked out with the school and the city being added bonuses!
How has being a McGill student influenced you and your research?
McGill has so many skilled people and opportunities all under one roof, and my research path has certainly been influenced by a range of musical activities I've taken advantage of - the facilities at CIRMMT, collaborations with students from the Digital Composition Studio and Sound Recording programs, travel with the Improvisation Workshop Project led by Prof. Jean-Michel Pilc, and performances with faculty like John Hollenbeck. I’ve also been able to not only study with Tim Hutchins but also with jazz flutist Dave Gossage, who has influenced my flute playing in new and exciting ways.
Explain your research in three sentences or less:
My research addresses the revival of traditional New Zealand Māori flutes during the past thirty years, examining specifically how extended techniques on the Western Boehm-system flute have been used to emulate the unique timbres of Māori flutes in recent works by NZ composers. I've also commissioned a new work for solo flute that reflects this cultural context, and the use of extended techniques to create particular convergent timbres.
What led you to this particular topic?
My comprehensive exams included essays about extended techniques, and this led me to look more in-depth at a range of different existing works by NZ composers that use them. I’ve been involved in the performance of NZ music for a number of years, and this topic was a way to join the dots between existing works, the unique New Zealand context, and the possibility of commissioning a new work to add to the literature.
What is new in this research?
A lot of work is being done around the topic of Māori flutes and their relatively recent revival. This particular project makes new connections between extended techniques on the Western Boehm-system flute and the many special timbres possible on Māori flutes, using three existing works by NZ composers as case studies.
The most exciting part of the research is the commission of a new solo flute work by NZ composer Chris Gendall, that I’ll be premiering at my final lecture-recital on April 17th. Making it into a research-creation project was a way of adding to the canon of NZ flute works while delving into the cultural context at the same time to create something meaningful.
Who is going to benefit most from your research?
The research is relevant to a range of groups – performers (especially flutists looking to play works using extending techniques, or anyone looking for a framework to collaborate with living composers), composers for the same reasons, and those interested in finding out more about New Zealand’s cultural context.
This video features Rob Thorne performing on the pūtorino:
What are your next steps?
Next month I'm playing a concerto during the IRCAM Forum, giving a masterclass at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, and doing my final lecture-recital here at Schulich. I graduate in May, and will be on a 12-concert tour of New Zealand with Canadian guitarist Steve Cowan - we’re taking new versions of works by Prof. Brian Cherney and postdoc composer Jason Noble on the road with us, which is really exciting! I get to stay in NZ on a contract playing principal flute with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra after that, so I'm looking forward to some time back in my home country.
What advice would you give to new students in your program?
One thing I’ve really valued coming back into an institution after a number of years out in the world is the fact that there are so many skilled people all under one roof – capitalize on collaborations you can form with other performers, researchers, conductors, sound engineers, students and professors.
Find out exactly what your course requirements are, and make your own personalized timeline for your program right from the beginning - you really have to be proactive and make your own deadlines especially when it comes to preparing for your comps and dissertation. And ask those ahead of you in the program for advice!
Learn some French, and make time for exploring different parts of Montreal - developing as a musician is not something that's all done in the practice room.
Where is your favourite place to study?
I either work at home, or I like the graduate study rooms in the library with big windows – in the winter especially it’s great to maximize daylight hours while working indoors.
Where in Montreal can you be found on a day off?
I can’t remember the last time I had a day off, but when I’m not working I like to stay up to date on interesting local beer – two favourite spots in Montreal are Dieu du Ciel and Vices et Versa. I also like taking a break and stocking up at the Jean Talon market – where I grew up in NZ markets were only on Saturday mornings, so being able to go any day of the year is a luxury!
What is your earliest musical memory?
I remember my mum teaching me how to read music - the process I don’t remember so much, but I have a vivid memory of a giant scrapbook with a picture of a giraffe on the front, where she drew in big staves with marker pen.
If you hadn’t ended up in music, what would your alternate career path have been?
I had teachers at high school who thought I was destined for law – I enjoy reading, writing, and public speaking, so it probably was an obvious choice, had I not felt so strongly about music.
What was the last book you read?
Calypso - David Sedaris’ latest book. Highly recommend!
I also just re-read Carol Dweck’s Mindset which is all about developing a growth mindset – a great book to read again while I’m teaching a lot this semester.
Hannah's Research Alive presentation is at 5pm on March 11th in Tanna Schulich Hall. Admission is free, and it is also webcast live on our YouTube channel for those not in Montreal. Find out more
