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Young Musicians Tune Up for National Chamber Music Contest
Bagpipes, ukuleles, woodblocks and a Chinese lute are among the instruments to be played by young musicians competing in
Chamber Music New Zealand’s annual New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest this year.
More than 2000 young musicians throughout the nation are tuning up for the contest with district competitions running
throughout June in 15 districts from Whangarei to Invercargill. This year the contest features 513 groups of between
three and eight musicians.
The competition, which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, is the longest running youth music competition in New
Zealand and is the only nationwide chamber music competition for young musicians and composers.
As well as organising the contest, Chamber Music New Zealand also arranges coaching and open workshops for ensembles.
This year coaching is taking place in Whangarei, Thames, Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, Taupo, Wanganui, New Plymouth,
Marton, Nelson, Timaru, and Invercargill.
The top ensembles from the District Contests will compete in National Semi-Finals – a new component to the competition
in 2010 – on Friday 30 July in Wellington, followed by the National Final on Saturday 31 July at Wellington Town Hall.
This year 14 young composers have submitted work for judging in the Original Composition section. All the original
compositions are played at the district contests and New Zealand composer Michael Williams will select the winning
score. The winner’s work will be showcased at the National Final and the composer awarded the SOUNZ prize of $500 plus a
relevant musical text.
The national contest is well-known for nurturing young musicians who go on to successful musical careers. Iconic New
Zealand pianist Michael Houstoun competed in the event when he was a school student in Timaru, and more recently,
acclaimed pianist John Chen was a past winner and went on to win the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition and the
2003 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition.
District Contests for the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest take place during June and the National
Final will be held on Saturday 31 July at Wellington Town Hall. For details of the district contests and more
information, visit www.chambermusic.co.nz
In presenting the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest, Chamber Music New Zealand acknowledges the generous
support of The New Zealand Community Trust, ABRSM, SOUNZ (Centre for NZ Music), The Wallace Arts Trust, KBB Music and
various regional funders who support events at District Contests.
ENDS