2015 Music Scholarship Winners Announced

2015 Music Scholarship Winners Announced

Creative New Zealand has announced the names of six New Zealand musicians who will receive music scholarships to pursue study or professional development opportunities.

Creative New Zealand’s Chief Executive, Stephen Wainwright, says nearly $40,000 will be distributed under the four scholarships this year. “These recipients are, without exception, gifted musicians with very bright futures. We congratulate them and wish them every success as they move into the next stages of their artistic development.”

2015 music scholarship winners:

The Jack McGill Scholarship - $9,000 to Amber Rainey

Amber Rainey has been selected as one of three pianists to study at the National Opera Studio in London and will be trained by music staff from Covent Garden Royal Opera House and the English National Opera. Rainey is an accompanist specialising in voice, an area in which there is a pressing shortage in New Zealand.

The Jack McGill Scholarship was established in 1985 with interest from a bequest by Jack Wynnegate McGill for advanced studies or investigations into music in an international setting.

The New Zealand/Aotearoa Scholarship - $10,000 to Thomas Gaynor and $6,000 to Edward King

Thomas Gaynor is studying towards a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance and Literature at Eastman School of Music, Rochester. He won both the Sydney International Organ Competition and the Fort Wayne National Organ Playing Competition in 2014, was second in the 2014 Miami International Competition and was a finalist in the Longwood Gardens International Competition in 2013. Gaynor has performed in venues such as the Kennedy Centre, Washington DC, St Thomas’ Church and Fifth Avenue in New York. A recent visit to New Zealand included performances at the Auckland Town Hall and Wellington’s Cathedral of St Paul.

Edward King will continue his cello studies with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, having already completed two semesters towards a Masters of Music at the Universitat der Kunste, Berlin. King has had contract work with Academy of The Deutsche-Symphonie Orchester and has already enjoyed success at international cello competitions, achieving for example, third prize and a special prize in the Lutoslawski Competition and third prize in the Markneukirchen Competition.

This scholarship is awarded through the Public Trust on behalf of the Estate of Brent Lewis, with the assistance of Creative New Zealand.

The Creative New Zealand/Butland Scholarship - $3,800 to Dorothy Raphael.

Dorothy Raphael is already in her first year of the Artist Masters’ qualification in percussion and timpani in the Orchestral Artistry Programme at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has performed with Strike in New Zealand and has had the opportunity to rehearse with the London Symphony Orchestra.

The Butland Music Foundation was established in 1994 with interest from a bequest by Jack Malfroy Butland. It is intended to provide talented young musicians with opportunities to further their performance studies overseas.

The Edwin Carr Foundation Scholarship - $15,000 to Gemma Peacocke and $5,000 to Alexis French

Gemma Peacocke is studying towards a Master of Music in Composition at New York University Steinhardt. Gemma is studying under Julia Wolfe, choosing NYU Steinhardt due to its innovative approaches to multimedia and computer music composition. She has been selected for the 2015 Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (July - Aug 2015), and a recent premiere was live-streamed from NYC and four other locations to Denmark. She recently received 'A's for her first semester, and was granted the USD$2000 Walter Reinhold award towards her first year of study.

Alexis French, a trumpet player and composer, will receive $5,000 to pursue a professional development opportunity, taking one–on-one lessons with three internationally recognised Canadian jazz composers in July/August 2015. French has established avenues to perform new compositions and will resume teaching duties at the New Zealand School of Music after the completion of this opportunity.

The Edwin Carr Foundation was established in 2004 as a bequest from the estate of the late Edwin Carr. The scholarships are funded annually from interest accrued by the Foundation.

ENDS

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