Pacific Hockets (1991) stands out as one of Elmsly's most important large-scale works from his career of over 35 years. It contains a number of intriguing compositional devices that feature in much of his output. In this work Elmsly combines hocketing with minimalist additive and reductive processes, which creates a wide range of orchestral timbre. It is a fascinating work to study for the way in which he uses repetition and a variety of evolving rhythmic frameworks to develop the music in each of the three contrasting movements.
John Elmsly is Associate-Professor and Head of Composition at the School of Music of the University of Auckland where he has taught since 1984. He also directs the ’Karlheinz Company’ contemporary music ensemble which frequently broadcasts on Radio New Zealand Concert, and often features music from the Asia-Pacific region.
