Music contest announces National Finalists

22 June 2006

Music contest announces National Finalists

Eight groups have been selected to compete in the National Final of the 2006 New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest. The groups are from Auckland, Christchurch, Hawkes Bay and Hamilton.

In no particular order they are: The King Trio (Kings College), Santorini (St Cuthbert’s College), Farr from Russia (Westlake Girls High School) from Auckland, A La Ves (Burnside, Lincoln and Cashmere High Schools), The Young Trio (Burnside High School) and Adidam (Burnside High School) from Christchurch. For the first time in many years there are two finalists from the provinces, Fourtitude (Woodford House, Havelock North High School and Lindisfarne College) from Napier and Trois Chaud Escargots (Hillcrest High School and St Peter’s School) from Hamilton.

"In recent times the majority of groups selected have been from Auckland and Christchurch, with the odd winning group from Wellington. This year two groups from outside these main centres have played their way into the National Final, and this sends a fantastic signal to the provincial centres that it is possible to be selected if they get everything just right," said Megan Mannering Organiser of the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest.

This year’s National Final will be held at the Wellington Town Hall on Saturday 5 August and will be adjudicated by Dimity Hall and Julian Smiles, members of The Goldner String Quartet who toured for Chamber Music New Zealand earlier this year. [http://chambermusic.co.nz/artists/102.php]

This year the National Finalists will be competing for a larger prize pool thanks to support from the James Wallace Arts Trust. Each member of the winning group will receive the James Wallace Arts Trust prize of $1000 each. In addition to this they will also receive the Arthur Hilton Memorial prize of a relevant musical text valued at $100. (Arthur Hilton is a former president of CMNZ who started the contest in 1965).

Nationwide District Contests were held in 14 centres during June with a total of 538 chamber music groups made up of 2,033 students, competing for a place in the final. The District Contests were adjudicated by a selection of top New Zealand musicians including Owen Clarke, Miranda Adams, Richard Mapp, Brigid O’Meeghan, Sarah Watkins, David Matthews and Deborah Rawson.

NZCTCMC Organiser Megan Mannering says, “The adjudicators agreed that the future of New Zealand chamber music is in very good hands. Students have performed very challenging repertoire to a near professional level.”

The New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest is the longest running youth music competition in New Zealand and is the only national chamber music competition for young musicians and composers in the country. The competition includes an Original Composition section which allows young people to enter an original work suitable for a chamber music ensemble. The 2006 winner of the Original Composition section is Wellington student Tabea Squire. She will be awarded the SOUNZ (Centre for New Zealand music) prize of $500 when her composition is performed alongside competing groups at the National Final in Wellington. Prominent New Zealand School of Music Lecturer in Composition, Michael Norris, adjudicated the entries and judged Tabea’s piece Random Berg 7, to be the most outstanding work in the competition.

“Random Berg 7 is a most impressive exploration of colours, ideas, rhythms, textures, and all sorts of other musical parameters," said Norris.

In presenting the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest, Chamber Music New Zealand acknowledge funding from the New Zealand Community Trust, Creative New Zealand, The James Wallace Trust and SOUNZ.

NEW ZEALAND COMMUNITY TRUST CHAMBER MUSIC CONTEST - Saturday 5 August, Wellington Town Hall

ENDS

© Scoop Media