National Chamber Music Contest Finalists Announced

MEDIA RELEASE: For Immediate Release  

National Chamber Music Contest Finalists Announced

Chamber music ensembles from Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington make up the 12 semi-finalists in the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest National Finals for 2013.

The semi-finalist groups were selected from 463 ensembles that competed in regional contests in 15 districts throughout June. The 12 semi-finalists include six ensembles from Auckland, five from Christchurch and one from Wellington. The National Finals take place in Wellington on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 August.

Semi-finalists for the 2013 contest are, from Auckland: Vox (Auckland Grammar School, Epsom Girls’ Grammar School and King’s College), Nino Wrote a Trio (Rangitoto College), Vitalitē (Diocesan School for Girls), Sollertinsky Trio (Westlake Boys’ High School, King’s College and Wentworth College), The Front Room (Westlake Girls’ High School, Westlake Boys’ High School and Western Springs College) and Mentalstorm (St Cuthbert’s College); from Christchurch: Romanza Trio (Burnside High School), Cl’Amour (Christchurch Girls’ High School, Middleton Grange School and Columba College), Elektra (Burnside High School), Trio Etoile (Burnside High School) and The Hall Quartet (Burnside High School); and from Wellington: Trio Provence (Queen Margaret College).

Auckland ensemble Conspiratus (Diocesan School for Girls) were awarded the National Award for the Best Performance of a New Zealand Work (in association with SOUNZ and CANZ). The septet of trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, bassoon, piano, cello and double bass performed Modus Vivendi, a work they commissioned from composer David Hamilton. They will play the work at the National Finals.

Also announced, are the two winners in the composition section. The winner of the junior section is Napier student Samuel Broome (Lindisfarne College) with Highland Landscape, a piece written for violin, clarinet and piano; while Invercargill Year 10 student William Swan (James Hargest College) won the senior section with his percussion ensemble piece The Jungle Suite written for xylophone, marimba, bongos, toms and vibraphone.

Composition adjudicator Anthony Ritchie said the Jungle Suite was “a lively and brilliant piece, and an excellent addition to the percussion repertoire”.

This year 30 young composers entered the Original Composition section and William and Samuel were awarded the SOUNZ prize of $500 and $100 respectively. The Jungle Suite will be performed at the National Finals.

The New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest is run by Chamber Music New Zealand and celebrates its 48th anniversary this year. The 2013 contest has involved more than 1700 students from around the country. It is the longest running youth music competition in New Zealand and is the only nationwide chamber music competition for young musicians and composers.

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. Violinist Natalie Lin, who was this year placed sixth in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, was a member of the winning ensemble in 2005.

The New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest Semi-Finals are on Friday 2 August with the National Final on Saturday 3 August at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington. Tickets are available from Ticketek 0800 TICKETEK (842 538) or www.ticketek.co.nz The event is free for Chamber Music New Zealand subscribers.

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 supported events at district contests.

ENDS

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