To classical music wankers
- Amanda Riddell
.jpg/v1/fill/w_320,h_320/file.jpg)
- Aug 31
- 2 min read
I've said no. Orchestra Wellington and the NZSO need to accept my decision.
I'm not saying you can't use Pan's Preludes if you licence it, but I am saying that my original songs aren't available. I refuse to allow lame arrangements of them and fully intend to write out my own arrangements and orchestrations for the radio play of Shipwrecked, plus I'd also add that the very idea of doing a showcase evening to make my enemies seem woke is evil. My trans visibility isn't something you get to exploit. Cease attempting to do so. Your views are hopelessly out of date. 1) I'm not a drag queen, 2) I hate WOW. I'm an out trans person, or whichever Latin or Pacific gender marker you prefer, and that means that I don't want to wear an impractical dress while playing guitar. The entire point of my style is that it's practical.
The boycott will remain indefinite. It remains until apologies are made, money is paid and EVERYONE accepts the validity of the protest, the legality of the method, and my decision not to fold before I get what I want, nor to give it up for short-term gains.
Wellington isn't allowed to hear me sing anymore. That's my decision.
Cease being bigoted and start treating me fairly, and I might change my mind.
-
Proving that you don't see me as a composer, just a queen:
If you liked Pan's Preludes, why didn't you commission another serious piece for orchestra, such as a symphony or a 15-minute continuous tone poem?
Why didn't you shoulder tap me to write an NYO piece?
If you liked my song cycle, why was I passed over by NZ Opera during their cynical, wokewashing Voices of Aotearoa campaign in 2020, where the candidates were diverse, but the commission went to an established Pākehā (Luke) who didn't even apply?
Why haven't you fully funded The Perfumed Garden workshop when you gave Dave A and Luke Di Somma a substantial amount to test their failed Lange opera?
-
The answer, of course, is bigoted views that were (and are) still widely held in classical music regarding my sexuality and gender expression. I'm well-known internationally as a musician, and I'm world famous for my shows and films.
Your entire pitch to the classical world is about my famous mentor, so perhaps it behooves you to respect that my new opera is carrying on Sondheim's tradition. There's no two ways about it. That's why the audience will come, according to the numbers that y'all crunched in your offices, so it does mean that you need to treat me like a fully trained composer who knows a thing or two about opera and orchestras. Treat me with the respect that I've earned as a composer and arranger, rather than complaining that I didn't get a Master's or PhD. If you could have written my music, you would have: that's what makes it valuable IP.
Comments