MEDIA RELEASE: For Immediate Release
Auckland Trio Wins National Chamber Music Contest
Auckland’s Sollertinsky Trio has won the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest for 2013.
The piano trio of Ray Ong (violin) from Westlake Boys High School, Mathias Balzat (cello) from Wentworth College and
Delvan Lin (piano) from King’s College were judged top in the country at the National Finals in Wellington at the
weekend.
The New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest, run by Chamber Music New Zealand, is the only nationwide chamber
music competition for young musicians and composers and this year’s entries involved more than 1700 students from
throughout the country.
This year 12 semi-finalist ensembles – six from Auckland, five from Christchurch, and one from Wellington – were
selected following 15 district contests. They performed at the Michael Fowler Centre on Friday, with the top six then
performing at the finals on Saturday night before adjudicators Bridget Douglas, Andrew Joyce and Diedre Irons.
The Sollertinsky Trio won the contest performing movements two and four from Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No 2, a selection
Ray said was challenging for the trio with “many extreme emotions”.
As part of their award the Sollertinsky Trio received the James Wallace Arts Trust Prize of $2000 each.
The winners of the National Award for the Best Performance of a New Zealand Work (in association with SOUNZ and CANZ)
was Conspiratus from Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland. They performed their winning piece, written for them by
David Hamilton, as a demonstration group at the Finals concert.
Trio Etoile from Christchurch was awarded the KBB Music Award while William Swan (James Hargest College, Invercargill)
and Samuel Broome (Lindisfarne College, Napier) received their awards for winning the senior and junior sections of the
Original Composition Section respectively.
The NZ Community Trust Chamber Music Contest is well-known for nurturing young musicians who go on to successful musical
careers.
In presenting the 2012 New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest, Chamber Music New Zealand acknowledges major
funding from the New Zealand Community Trust and Creative New Zealand, and support from the James Wallace Arts Trust and
SOUNZ (centre for New Zealand Music).
ENDS