New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest Finalists

New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest Finalists Announced

* Six Auckland ensembles
* Three Christchurch ensembles
* Two Wellington ensembles
* One Whangarei ensemble

Chamber music ensembles from Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Whangarei make up the 12 semi-finalists in the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest National Finals for 2015.

The semi-finalist ensembles were selected from the 476 contest entries following two gruelling rounds of competitions throughout June including Regional Finals held in Auckland, Napier and Christchurch last weekend. The 12 semi-finalists include six ensembles from Auckland, three from Christchurch, two from Wellington and one from Whangarei. The National Finals take place in Wellington on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August.

Semi-finalists for the 2015 Contest are, from Auckland: Liestal Trio (Kristin School, St Cuthbert’s College and Auckland International College), Alquemie (Western Springs College and Diocesan School for Girls), Mudanza Trio (Rangitoto College), Amici Quartet (Rosehill College, Rangitoto College and Rangi Ruru College, Christchurch), Cube (Westlake Girls’ High School and Westlake Boys’ High School) and Vazim Trio (Kristin School, Westlake Girls’ High School and Rangitoto College); from Christchurch: Ritmico from Burnside High School, Jeunesse Élégant from Rangi Ruru Girls’ School, and Papricca (Riccarton High School and Papanui High School); from Wellington: Saint-Saëns Trio (Scots College and Wellington College) and Trio Glivenko (Queen Margaret College, Wellington East Girls’ College and The Correspondence School); and from Whangarei: Brioso4 (Whangarei Girls High School and home-schooled).

Auckland ensemble Cantus Belorum (Diocesan School for Girls) were awarded the National Award for the Best Performance of a New Zealand Work (in association with SOUNZ and CANZ). The octet of bassoon, viola, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone , percussion and voice/narrator performedInvocation by Anthony Young.

Also announced, are the two winners in the composition section. The winner of the junior section is Wellington student Benjamin Sneyd-Utting (Tawa College) for his string quartet Neptune’s Horse; while Auckland’s Riley Cahill (Westlake Boys’ High School) won the senior section with his piece The Lightening in Me written for piano, string quartet and trumpet.

Composition adjudicator Dr Leonie Holmes praised The Lightening in Me saying it was “a very sophisticated and well-presented score – very enjoyable and a real tour de force”.

This year 20 young composers entered the Original Composition section – eight in the Junior section (for works of four minutes and under and ensembles of four instruments or fewer), and 12 in the senior section.

The New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest this year celebrates its 50th Jubilee and is the longest running youth music competition in New Zealand. It is the only nationwide chamber music competition for young musicians and composers.

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 has now graduated from 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".

The New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest Semi-Finals are on Saturday 1 August with the National Final on Sunday 2 August at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington. Tickets are available from Ticketek 0800 TICKETEK (842 538) or www.ticketek.co.nz. The event is free for Chamber Music New Zealand subscribers.

The final will be judged by a panel of six leading NZ musicians: Euan Murdoch (chairman), Michael Houstoun, Rae de Lisle, Donald Armstrong, Bridget Douglas and Kenneth Young. Each member of the winning group at the National Final receives the Wallace Arts Trust Prize of $1000.

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, Victoria University of Wellington and various regional funders who support events at District Contests.

ENDS

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