Young Violinist Wins Trip of a Lifetime to London

22 January 2012

Young Violinist Wins Trip of a Lifetime to London

This year’s winner of The Elman Poole Music Scholarship is Minsi Yang, a highly talented young musician currently based in Auckland.

The Elman Poole Music Scholarship is an annual award, funded by Dr Elman Poole, for an up and coming New Zealand instrumentalist to train with the renowned London orchestra, The Southbank Sinfonia. The winner is selected by The Southbank Sinfonia, with assistance from the Southern Sinfonia of Dunedin, New Zealand, and in consultation with Dr Elman Poole.

Dr Elman Poole is an Otago Medical graduate who has spent most of his life working in Neurology in Oxford where he is now retired. He comes from Invercargill where his grandfather, an early settler from England, established a very successful family timber and furniture business - George Poole & Sons. His father, Philip, was both a skilled craftsman and a fine violinist, contributing much to the musical life of the city over many years.

Dr Poole wishes to help talented young New Zealand musicians to gain experience abroad and contribute to the development of music in New Zealand. The first Elman Poole Scholarship was awarded in 2007, and it has been awarded annually since then.

The award is administered by the NZ-UK Link Foundation which creates, promotes and manages educational and cultural exchanges between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. For this Scholarship, the Foundation funds the travel component of the award.

Born in China, Minsi Yang started learning the violin aged 6. She moved to New Zealand in 2002 where she gained her first Music degree at Victoria University Wellington. Following that, she gained a Master’s degree with first class honours in performance at the University of Auckland in 2009. Minsi has won several competitions for both solo and chamber performance including the Victoria University Concerto Competition in 2004.

The wide range of musical activities that Minsi has been involved with, including Vector Wellington Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, casual work with the NZSO, Southern Sinfonia and Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, film soundtracks and NBR NZ Opera, shows her wide range of interests in different genres and theatrical performance.

Minsi Yang commented “This is a great opportunity for me to broaden my musical horizon playing with a great orchestra and experiencing the rich musical culture of London. I am so grateful for Dr Poole’s generosity in funding this Scholarship and the NZ-UK Link for organising this.”

Southbank Sinfonia

Southbank Sinfonia is an orchestra of young professionals recently described by The Times as ‘a dashing ensemble who play with exhilarating fizz, exactness and stamina’. It is firmly established as Britain’s leading orchestral academy, providing the most talented musicians with a much-needed springboard into the profession.

Every year 32 players, each supported by a bursary, undertake an intensive and wide-ranging programme of performance and professional development which comprises concerts across the UK and Europe; workshops and performances; orchestral repertoire, chamber music; education and management training; and sessions spanning subjects from improvisation to public speaking.

The NZ-UK Link Foundation

The NZ-UK Link Foundation – originally the Waitangi Foundation – was created in 1990 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty. It has organising committees and charitable trust status in both countries.

It creates and promotes educational and cultural exchanges between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Through these it fosters increased awareness of what each country has to offer the other, the exchange of knowledge and the encouragement of talent.

For more information please go to www.nzuklinkfoundation.org

ENDS

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