Ara music student reaches NZSO composition finals 

_{Daniel Harris chose to study at Ara part-time to explore a passion outisde of his software engineering design career.}

Ara Institute of Canterbury Bachelor of Music student Daniel Harris has been named a finalist in the prestigious 2025 NZSO Todd Young Composer Awards with just his second ever work for full orchestra.

His piece titled Contamination of the Fae will be performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) in Wellington this September.

Now in their 21st year, the Todd Awards support emerging New Zealand talent by offering professional workshops with the NZSO, mentorship from leading composers, and recordings by RNZ Concert.

Harris, who pivoted to jazz performance study when feeling a little burned-out by his software engineering career-path, said he was ecstatic to be among the finalists. “Honestly, I couldn’t believe it at first - it took me about a week to process it. The result was way beyond anything I expected,” he said.

The score was developed as a major component of his capstone project, an extended free-form piece of work which forms part of Ara’s degree programme.

Months in the making, the piece draws on Harris’s background in jazz and cabaret composition, advanced ear training, and extensive personal study.

“I had to dive into a lot of extra research to get it right,” he said. “But coming from jazz performance helped. We spend a lot of time training our ears and connecting sound to theory, so when I was writing, I could work things out just by listening to what was in my head.”

After being shortlisted, Harris worked with composer mentor Ryan Youens - an acclaimed orchestrator and educator known for his work in film and concert music - to refine his piece for performance.

Influenced by Ravel, Debussy, and Holst, Contamination of the Fae explores the allegorical corruption of a society through shifting instrumental textures and thematic transformation.

“I wanted to express some of the frustration I feel about the political climate,” Harris explained. “This piece became a kind of analogy for that - a journey into tragedy. Hopefully, one we can still avoid.”

Darren Pickering, Harris’s tutor and a respected jazz pianist and educator at Ara, applauded the achievement.

“Daniel’s selection in such a prestigious national competition is a testament to his creativity, discipline, and musical maturity. Throughout his time at Ara we have seen his skills and talent flourish and develop, both as a pianist and as a composer-arranger. The wider Ara Music community is incredibly proud of him,” Pickering said.

Harris’s work will be showcased on 18–19 September, with the NZSO flying him to Wellington for the event.

“This opens up a whole new world for me,” he said. “It’s a huge opportunity to show what I can do as a composer. Once I finish my degree this year, I’m keen to explore where this could lead.”

Reflecting on his journey, Harris expressed gratitude for the support he’s received.

“Studying part-time while still working in software engineering has helped me figure out what I really want to do. I’ve learned so much at Ara, and I feel lucky that everything lined up the way it did.”

Find out more about a wide range of music study options at Ara: Music - Ara