Composer Rosa Elliott Photo: Supplied
Jenny Wollerman Photo: Debbie Rawson
21 x 21 is a project that pairs Aotearoa’s female composers and poets in 21 songs celebrating the unique cultural and social kaupapa of Māori and Pākehā.
After a successful application for funding through Victoria University, soprano Jenny Wollerman set about commissioning the composers.
"Making the choice was very difficult," says Jenny, "but what I was focusing on overall was to try and get a range of people with different backgrounds. People who were very experienced such as Jenny McLeod and Dame Gillian Whitehead ... and other people who were perhaps close to the beginning of their composition journey."
"So there's a range of experiences, a range of backgrounds, and I'm really excited with who we've ended up with, although of course that meant that I couldn't include everybody."
As part of the project, Jenny and pianist Jian Liu will present a recital of the songs in next year's Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
Upbeat talked with soprano Jenny Wollerman and one of the composers taking part in the project, Rosa Elliott.
Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts
21 x 21 - Jenny Wollerman (soprano), Jian Liu (piano)
Saturday 26 February 2022, 5pm
St Andrew's on The Terrace, Wellington
