Young Musicians Tune Up

Young Musicians Tune Up for National Chamber Music Contest

Cowbells, temple blocks, bongos, a mandolin and a gong 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 1800 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 487 groups of between three and eight musicians.

Chamber Music New Zealand chief executive Euan Murdoch says he is delighted with entry numbers for the 2012 contest which are well up on last year. “We were affected by the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes – Christchurch ensembles have always dominated the contest and it’s great to see more groups back in 2012.”

The competition, which celebrates its 47th 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.

The top ensembles from the District Contests will compete in National Finals on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 August at Auckland Town Hall. This year’s National Finals adjudicators are the NZTrio – Justine Cormack, Sarah Watkins and Ashley Brown.

This year 29 young composers have submitted work for judging in the Original Composition section and New Zealand composer Kenneth Young will select the winning score. The winning composer will be awarded the SOUNZ prize of $500. This year the composition category has been split into junior and senior sections with 10 of the 29 entries in the junior section.

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 acclaimed pianist John Chen is also a past winner. He went on to win the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition and the 2003 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition and in 2009, his ensemble, Saguaro Trio won the International Chamber Music Competition in Hamburg, Germany.

The top ensembles at the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music District Contests receive a cash prize and the Statham Award is presented for the Best Performance of a New Zealand work in each District Contest, plus the group presenting the Best Performance of a New Zealand work as judged at the District Contests will also win $1,000 for their school and the opportunity to perform at the National Final either as a finalist or as a demonstration group.

Each member of the winning group at the National Final receives the James Wallace Arts Trust Prize of $1000 and the Arthur Hilton Memorial Prize of a relevant musical text.

District Contests for the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest take place during June and the National Finals are held on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 August at Auckland 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

NZ COMMUNITY TRUST CHAMBER MUSIC CONTEST
DISTRICT COMPETITIONS
Whangarei (7 entries) Tuesday 5 June
Auckland (120 entries) 6-10 June
Hamilton (18 entries) Tuesday 12 June
Tauranga (25 entries) Wednesday 13 June
Gisborne (17 entries) Friday 15 June
Hawkes Bay (60 entries) 15-17 June
New Plymouth (11 entries) Friday 15 June
Whanganui (31 entries) Thursday 14 June
Palmerston North (21 entries) Tuesday 5 June
Wellington (26 entries) Sunday 17 June
Nelson (9 entries) Saturday 16 June
Christchurch (67 entries) 12-15 June
Timaru (13 entries) Monday 11 June
Dunedin (45 entries) Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 June
Invercargill (17 entries) Thursday 7 June

NATIONAL FINALS: Friday 3 and Saturday 4 August | Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE, Auckland

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