Young Wellington Musicians Tune Up for National Contest

Young Wellington Musicians Tune Up for National Chamber Music Contest in 50th Jubilee Year

Almost 90 young Wellington musicians are tuning up to compete in the annual New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest.

The Wellington District Contest of the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest takes place on Sunday 7 June and is one of 15 district contests being held nationwide to select the top 12 ensembles that will compete in the National Finals in Wellington in August.

This year the Wellington Contest has attracted 25 ensembles involving 88 musicians with ensembles from Masterton, Lower Hutt, Porirua and Paraparaumu, and including a strings octet.

Overall throughout New Zealand, 476 ensembles of between three and eight musicians including 19 octets and involving almost 1800 students, will compete for spots in the National Finals.

Chamber Music New Zealand chief executive Peter Walls says he is delighted with entry numbers for the 2015 Contest and that the numbers show there is still strong interest and support for chamber music in schools. “This is excellent news in the 50th Jubilee year for the Contest.”

The New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest 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, Chamber Music New Zealand has introduced a Regional Finals round to the Contest. The top 12 ensembles from each of the three regions – North, Central and South – will compete again onSaturday 20 and Sunday 21 June in Auckland, Napier and Christchurch and the top 12 ensembles from the Regional Finals will then compete in the National Finals on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August in Wellington.

Each member of the winning group at the National Final receives the James Wallace Arts Trust Prize of $1000.
This year 20 young composers, including two from Wellington, have submitted work for judging in the Original Composition section, with eight entered in the Junior Composer category. New Zealand composer Leonie Holmes will select the winning scores. The winner will be awarded the SOUNZ prize of $500 for the Senior Composition and $100 plus a $50 SOUNZ voucher for the Junior Composition.

The national contest is well-known for nurturing young musicians who go on to successful musical careers and coinciding with this year’s contest is the Turnovsky Ensemble tour which features 14 contest alumni spanning 40 years of the contest and led by mesmerising violinist Wilma Smith.

Viola player Bryony Gibson-Cornish was a member of the 2007 and 2008 winning contest ensembles and is now studying at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. She features in the Turnovsky Ensemble and says that “being in the contest is not about winning or losing. It is the journey that you have experienced with your fellow chamber musicians and nobody can take that away from you.”

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, CANZ (Composers Association NZ) and various regional funders who support events at District Contests.

The Wellington District Contest of the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest takes place on Sunday 7 June at 10.00am and 2.00pm at The Adam Concert Room, New Zealand School of Music. Tickets are available on the door. For details visit www.chambermusic.co.nz

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