Salina Fisher (b.1993) is an award-winning New Zealand composer whose works are frequently performed worldwide. Drawing from her background as a multi-instrumentalist of mixed Japanese heritage, her highly evocative music often involves collaborations, notably with taonga pūoro practitioners. She finds lyricism in unusual timbres and extended tonalities, and has been noted for her “extraordinary sense of colour and texture” (New Zealand Herald).
In 2024, her pieces Kintsugi, Rainphase, and Heal were selected by celebrated
US choreographer Jessica Lang as the score for her new ballet Black Wave, premiered by Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. That same year, she was named one of New Zealand Listener magazine’s "50 Most Inspiring People". Her 2023 work Papatūānuku co-composed with taonga pūoro musician Jerome Kavanagh Poutama and commissioned by Auckland Philharmonia, has been programmed by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra for 2025.
Her works have been commissioned by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, International Contemporary Ensemble, Alexi Kenney, NZTrio, Marmen Quartet, Australian National Academy of Music, Duo della Luna, New Zealand String Quartet, and Chamber Music New Zealand among others. Her music has been performed or programmed by the New York Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Helsinki Philharmonic, Juilliard Orchestra, Hannover Staatsoper, A Far Cry, Brodsky Quartet, Land's End Ensemble, Stroma, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Brazil, Castilla y Léon, Dallas, MDR Leipzig, Melbourne, Seattle, Shanghai, Toledo, Ulster, the National Symphony Orchestra (USA), and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Canada), often under the direction of conductors Gemma New and Tianyi Lu. Her work has been performed at venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, Tanglewood Music Festival, Philharmonie Berlin, Pierre Boulez Saal, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and ISCM World Music Days. She has held Composer-in-Residence roles with New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkī, At the World’s Edge Festival, Chamber Music Festival of Lexington, University of Kentucky Symphony, and NZSO National Youth Orchestra.
Salina won the SOUNZ Contemporary Award in 2016 and 2017, and has received awards from The Arts Foundation (New Generation Award), FAME Trust (Mid-Career Award 2025), Creative New Zealand / Edwin Carr Foundation, Composers Association of New Zealand (Trust Fund Award), APRA Art Music Fund, Canberra International Film Festival (Best Score - International Category), and NZSO Todd Young Composers Award (2013, 2014). She studied composition and violin at New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkī, and received a Fulbright scholarship to complete a Master's at New York’s Manhattan School of Music where she was awarded the Carl Kanter Prize for Orchestral Composition.
Salina particularly enjoys collaborating with other artists, including practitioners of taonga pūoro, ceramics, poetry, and film. She performed as a casual violinist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2012-2016, and more recently worked as an orchestrator on their projects with Te Reo metal band Alien Weaponry and singer-songwriter Ria Hall. Salina also enjoys performing and improvising on violin and koto, notably with Ao alongside Jerome Kavanagh (taonga pūoro) and Neil MacLeod (electronics), and also as part of Wellington's composer-performer string quartet, Moth Quartet. She lectured in composition and orchestration at New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkī, Victoria University of Wellington, as Teaching Fellow in Composition (2020-2023) and has mentored emerging composers through AWE Festival and NZSO National Youth Orchestra.
Short bio (150 words)
Salina Fisher (b.1993) is an award-winning New Zealand composer whose works are frequently performed worldwide. Drawing from her background as a multi-instrumentalist of mixed Japanese heritage, her highly evocative music often involves collaborations, notably with taonga pūoro practitioners. Her works have been programmed by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Tanglewood Music Festival, Helsinki Philharmonic, A Far Cry, Brodsky Quartet, and Symphony Orchestras of Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, Melbourne, and Shanghai, including with conductors Gemma New and Tianyi Lu. She became the youngest-ever recipient of the SOUNZ Contemporary Award in 2016 and 2017, and has received awards from Fulbright, The Arts Foundation, Creative NZ, and CANZ. She is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music, New York, and New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkī, Victoria University of Wellington, where she was appointed Composer-in-Residence (2019-2020) and Teaching Fellow in Composition.
March 2025