Waikato music students compete for $50,000 prize

18 November 2013

Waikato music students compete for $50,000 prize

Talented young musicians from the University of Waikato Music Programme are set to compete at the Pettman/Royal Overseas League Arts International Chamber Music competition this week.

The prestigious event is a national competition where tertiary chamber music groups compete for a $50,000 prize which includes travel to United Kingdom and the opportunity to perform in concerts overseas.

Senior Lecturer in cello, James Tennant says that this is the most important chamber music scholarship available to students on our shores.

“For the competition winners, it’s a very rare and unique opportunity for university music students to gain invaluable experience traveling overseas to perform concerts and to get expert guidance from the very top British chamber music practitioners in the form of masterclasses.”

The competing groups from Waikato University are: The Balaenae Trio, with Lauren Grout (flute), Catherine Kwak (cello), Cherry Ngan (piano), the Zingaresca Duo, with Charlotte Ketel (cello) and Ngaruaroha Martin (violin) and the Contrasts Trio with Nathanial Smorti (clarinet), Amelia Taylor (violin) and Dolan Cox (piano).
The fourth competing ensemble is a combined group with students from Waikato and Auckland Universities performing together and includes Waikato student Jesbery Hartono on cello.

This competition will be hosted at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts at Waikato University for the 7th time and will be held from 22-24 November.

Lecturer in piano, Katherine Austin is pleased that the competition will once again be hosted at the Academy of Performing Arts which offers students the chance to perform in the Dr John Gallagher Concert Chamber which has the best acoustics in the country.

“New Zealand has always had a good reputation for encouraging chamber music at pre-tertiary level but this competition has lifted the stakes for aspiring tertiary musicians, with the huge overseas performance and masterclass opportunities,” says Austin.

Waikato University has been strong in the competition, and has had a group make it to the final three each year. Successful trio and graduates of the music programme the Leonari Trio (Maria Mo (piano), Edward King (cello) and Hilary Hayes (violin)) won the competition, taking the scholarship and the UK tour in2009.

The success Waikato has had in this competition in the past is in part thanks to the strong chamber music focus within the Music Programme, under the guidance of the New Zealand Chamber Soloists - lecturers James Tennant (cello), Katherine Austin (piano) and Lara Hall (violin).

Each year the competition attracts an extremely high calibre of musicians on the adjudicating panel and this year is no exception with the members of the Cavaleri String Quartet arriving from the UK for this event.

The public will have the opportunity to hear this world-class string quartet in concert on Friday 22 November at 8pm at the Academy, when they will open the weekend, performing music by Beethoven, Shostakovich and Steve Reich.

The preliminary competition runs through Saturday 23 November and is open to the public with the final commencing at 7pm on Sunday 24 November.

ENDS

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