Clara Satherley
Clara Satherley is from originally from England and emigrated with her family to New Zealand when she was 15. She has played the violin since the age of 8 and is now in her third year studying Neuroscience, music composition, and violin performance at the University of Otago. Music has been an integral part of Satherley’s life. As well as taking violin and piano lessons, she has been part of various orchestras, chamber groups and choirs.
Her passion for composition was ignited by a secondary school music teacher, who sparked the idea of taking it further. Since then, She has entered various competitions, attended workshops and extra-curricular composition classes to further her musical education.
Satherley has had music played by the New Zealand String Quartet, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, has attended the CANZ Composers workshop. She has written and performed a piano piece for the Kapiti College theatre production Parihaka, which took place at Te Raukura Ki Kāpiti. A Norwegian lullaby that Satherley arranged was performed by Cadenza (a local choir) and she composed the choral piece Many Waters for the ordination of a family friend, which was performed by the Waikanae Anglican Parish Choir and later on by the Southern Youth Choir.
Satherley was awarded joint 3rd place in the Shakespeare Composition Competition in 2020, 2nd place in the Audrey Reid Young Composers award in 2022 and 2023; and first place for the Anthony Richie Young Composer Award 2024.
(Updated January 2025)
