NATIONAL FINALS National Final. National Semi-Finals. Friday 3 August, 11.30am & 4.30pm Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE

Transcription

1 NATIONAL FINALS 2012 National Semi-Finals Friday 3 August, 11.30am & 4.30pm Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE National Final Saturday 4 August, 7pm Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE

2 Pianist Catherine McKay during a coaching session June 2012 Proud sponsors of the NZCT Chamber Music Contest regional coaching programme. The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music has quickly become an integral part of the NZCT Chamber Music Contest. For the past three years their generous sponsorship has enabled a coaching programme using professional musicians to be run in a number of centres as part of the Contest build-up saw the biggest number of groups coached yet 72 and coaches found themselves travelling to such places as Invercargill, Waipukurau, Feilding and Blenheim (to name but a few) to coach contest groups eager for some extra tuition from these musical heavyweights. The purpose of the Chamber Music Contest is to encourage young musicians regardless of standard or experience to perform together and strive for excellence. What better way to embody these ideals than by offering this very popular step in many groups Contest journey. Student and tutor responses to the ABRSM coaching experience: We hope everyone else had as fantastic a time as we did. Many thanks to the sponsors! Thank you so much! It really is a great programme you re running, especially for our students who don t get to see the professional musicians often. I KNOW that involvement in CMNZ competitions and coaching sessions have been the kick start for several of my students musical careers. Every student that was part of the coaching programme also received a gift pack from ABRSM as part of the experience the girls were absolutely delighted. The coaching sessions aim for a holistic teaching approach. The coaches not only work on technique, interpretation and musical integrity, but also mentor the students in public performance and gelling together as a chamber group. As Winsome Wensley, tutor of a Taupo group receiving coaching, said: You can t hide in a chamber music group and they have to be confident and responsible. The ABRSM Contest Coaching Programme has certainly empowered many groups to do just that, and we thank them most sincerely for their continued support. Sue Jane Programme Organiser, Contest the world s leading provider of music exams proud to support music making in New Zealand solo & ensemble classical & jazz We are here to support and encourage music learning throughout the world so that everyone can share in its power. We motivate musical achievement through our authoritative assessment of students, the professional development of their teachers, and a wide range of published resources. We also actively support music education through funding and advocacy. ABRSM is the leading authority on musical assessment. By delivering our exams rigorously and consistently we set the worldwide gold standard, with over 600,000 people, in over 90 countries, choosing to take them every year. inspiring great music making

3 Message from the Minister Mike Knell Chief Executive, NZCT New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) is pleased to once again be involved in this prestigious event which supports talented young Kiwi musicians. Around 2,000 secondary school students competed in music contests in 15 centres around the country for a place in the finals - and this year the standard of competition and the participants musical ability has been both exciting and inspiring. I d like to wish all those participating in the national finals the very best of luck. The New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest is one of the significant events in the national musical calendar. Generations of our best young musicians and composers started on their career path with this event. Whether the contestants opt for a career in music, or choose another vocation, participating in the finals of the Chamber Music Contest will remain a memorable event in their lives. Congratulations to all the finalists this weekend, and to all the music teachers and families throughout the country whose support has contributed to their success. Chamber Music New Zealand continues to showcase our finest musical talent, such as violist Julia Joyce, pianist John Chen and NZTrio our adjudicators for this event, and the high quality of tonight s performances is a testament to the work of this enterprising organisation over more than six decades. As Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, I am very pleased to see this sustained level of excellence and enthusiasm for instrumental performance and composition. Hon Chris Finlayson Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage The Contest s regional focus aligns well with NZCT s approach of working with publicans to raise and distribute funds in their community, enhancing the lives and aspirations of local people. I d like to take this opportunity to thank all the NZCT publicans who helped raise the funds needed to run this wonderful event. I d also like to acknowledge everyone involved in organising the Chamber Music Contest. You do a fantastic job raising the event s profile and keeping New Zealand chamber music alive and relevant in today s increasingly busy world. NZCT is delighted to have played a part in showcasing New Zealand s top young musicians. Thank you for the opportunity - and congratulations everyone! Euan Murdoch Chief Executive, CMNZ Welcome to the national finals of this iconic event that showcases some of this country s finest young musical talent. Since 1965, tens of thousands of young New Zealanders have participated in the NZCT Chamber Music Contest. Many of our top professional musicians, including today s adjudicators, have journeyed through the contest, as have many of us supporting this event here today! It continues to be the envy of countries around the world and is part of the fabric of our musical education in New Zealand. We thank the National Finals adjudicators NZTrio and all the participants, coaches, teachers, District Contest Organisers, local volunteers and supporters for their committed involvement. Again this year the District Contest adjudicators did a great job in selecting from around 500 ensembles in 15 centres nationwide. The quality and commitment of these adjudicators is one of the keys to the overall success of this event. A special thank you to New Zealand Community Trust, Wallace Arts Trust, ABRSM, KBB Music and SOUNZ for their ongoing generous support of this flagship event. We also acknowledge Creative New Zealand as our valued funding partner. Now, I invite you to sit back and enjoy this celebration of youth music, intense and live in concert. 3

4 Study music at New Zealand s leading University The School of Music offers majors in: Classical performance Composition Jazz Performance Musicology Popular Music Find out more: Courses and Careers Day, Sat 25 Aug, info-creative@auckland.ac.nz Sales, Rentals, Repairs & Servicing Musical Instrument Specialists since 1888 KBB Music Epsom 157 Manukau Road, Auckland Ph sales@kbbmusic.co.nz KBB Music Auckland Central & Piano Showroom 136 Karangahape Road, Auckland Ph akcentral@kbbmusic.co.nz KBB Music Botany Shop 42, Botany Town Centre, Auckland Ph botany@kbbmusic.co.nz KBB Music Takapuna 124 Anzac Street, Takapuna, Auckland Ph takapuna@kbbmusic.co.nz KBB Music Wellington 40 Cuba Street wellington@kbbmusic.co.nz Home of Pianos New Zealand s Largest Range of Brass, Woodwind, Pianos, Strings, Percussion Instruments and Accessories

5 National Final Adjudicators NZTrio Marie Vandewart Memorial Award In recognition of outstanding service and commitment to fostering the love of chamber music Marie Vandewart arrived in Wellington, New Zealand as a refugee in She was a gifted cellist and had studied at the Berlin Hochschule before leaving Germany. During the war, Marie was a member of the Dorothy Davies Trio (pictured) and gave some of the earliest professional chamber music concerts in the country. Later she was a foundation member of the Alex Lindsay Orchestra and the Francis Rosner Quartet. Her recordings include the first New Zealand performances of the Bach cello suites. In 1961, Marie moved to Auckland to teach cello at Auckland University. The members of the NZ Trio began their chamber music careers with the Chamber Music Contest. They were all finalists in the competition as school students, and won the top prize multiple times between them: Justine and Sarah with the Schubert E flat trio in 1984, and Ashley with a Beethoven clarinet trio the following year his next group with seven cellos and a soprano won again in As past coaches, and now judges, they are very much enjoying the experience of being on the other side of the process. We know exactly how much effort has gone into all the preparing and rehearsing. These are the 12 top groups in the country, and to have the opportunity to hear them is just really exciting. Now internationally in demand and described as a national treasure in the media, violinist Justine Cormack, cellist Ashley Brown and pianist Sarah Watkins first joined forces in 2002 and were Ensemble in Residence at The University of Auckland from They travel to Australia, Asia, South America, the USA and the UK as well as throughout New Zealand, and have been celebrating their tenth birthday together in Recent highlights include appearances at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, the 2011 City of London Festival, a special concert at the Aurora Festival in Sydney, and frequent Kaleidoscopes tours for Chamber Music New Zealand. They are known for their fresh and exciting collaborations as well as their programmes, which range from concerts with Finnish accordion/bass duo Lepisto and Lehti at WOMAD 2010, to the recent commission by Victoria Kelly with Horomona Horo on taonga puoro (traditional Maori instruments), to the O Cambodia project with Cambodian folk musicians for the 2011 Auckland Arts Festival, which has been recorded for one of their latest CDs. The trio has a strong commitment to new music, and their trademark eclectic programmes regularly feature the likes of John Psathas, Jack Body, Gareth Farr, Dame Gillian Whitehead and Eve de Castro Robinson. They are also champions at identifying and commissioning emerging composers, including past contestants in this very contest: Claire Cowan, who competed as a cellist at high school, and Karlo Margetic, twice-winner of the composition prize (2004 and 2005). Generations of music students benefited from her expert tuition and enthusiasm for chamber music. Marie and her husband Alfons Blaschke were made Life Members of CMNZ in She passed away in 2006, aged 94. Her family has established this memorial award in her honour. June Clifford CNZM, QSM Recipient of the Marie Vandewart Memorial Award June Clifford has been working alongside young Napier musicians for more than 60 years, but her enthusiasm for music has extended far wider than the Hawkes Bay. She trained as a pianist and at the age of 20 became the music teacher at Napier Girls High School, a position she held (with a twelve-year gap to raise her own children) until her retirement in Encouraging students of all levels to enter the School Chamber Music Contest has been a key part of her teaching, as she recognises that the stimulus of playing in small groups is a strong motivation for instrumentalists. She has spent countless hours tutoring and organising their practices as well as assisting with running the local contest days. June has been involved with Chamber Music New Zealand since 1957, and while she was on the National Committee argued strongly and successfully for the organisation to continue running the Contest. She also initiated a regional teaching scheme in the late 1970s, to give students from regional centres access to high level instrumental teaching. As a conductor, she started the Napier Youth Orchestra in the late 1950s, and in 2011 received the Choir Director s Award at the East Coast Big Sing. Her services to the community have been recognised by awards including the QSM (1990), Napier Civic Award (2010), and Companion of the NZ Order of Merit (2011). Her response to the latter perhaps sums up her team approach: One person receives the honour but receives it on behalf of all the people they worked with. Jane Dawson Chamber Music New Zealand 5

6 National Semi-Final One, 11.30am-1.30pm Compère: Kate Mead (from Radio New Zealand Concert) Repercussions (Auckland) Concerto for Marimba & Percussion Ensemble, Ney Rosauro Tom Taylor Percussion St Peter s College Sam Rich Percussion St Kentigern College Tim Doyle Percussion Auckland Grammar Daniel D Souza Percussion St Peter s College Kellin Wang Percussion St Cuthbert s College Catherine Zheng Percussion St Cuthbert s College Renee Yee Percussion St Cuthbert s College Trio Poème (Christchurch) Trio No.1., Dmitri Shostakovich Diane Huh Violin Christchurch Girls High School Hye-In Kim Cello Burnside High School Amy Ga Hee Lee Piano Rangi Ruru Girls School Sans Souci (Auckland) Prelude, Récitatif et Variations, Maurice Duruflé Eva Ding Flute Epsom Girls Grammar Alex McFarlane Viola Auckland Grammar School Sarah Qian Piano Parnell College Bacewicz Quartet (Wellington) Quartet for Four Violins, Grazyna Bacewicz Gabrielle Armstrong-Scott Violin St Catherine s College Aziel Verner Violin The Correspondence School Claudia Matthews Violin The Correspondence School Nathan Pinkney Violin Home School Ararat (Auckland) Piano Trio in F# minor 1st Mvt, Arno Babajanian Bruce Tsai Violin Auckland Grammar School Francis Yoon Cello Auckland Grammar School Erik Kahr Piano Auckland Grammar School Wellington College Trio (Wellington) Cantilène et Danse, Marc Eychenne Fraser Hughson Alto Saxophone Wellington College Matthew Cook Violin Wellington College Jonathan Lane Piano Wellington College The 2012 Chamber Music Contest was made possible with generous funding from NZ COMMUNITY TRUST 6

7 National Semi-Final Two, pm Compère: Kate Mead (from Radio New Zealand Concert) Elektra (Christchurch) Music for a Summer Evening, George Crumb Grace Chia Piano Burnside High School Chan Woo Park Piano Burnside High School Briana Walley Percussion Burnside High School Robert Petch Percussion Burnside High School Mentalstorm (Auckland) Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Felix Mendelssohn Natalia Chen Violin St Cuthbert s College Hayon Lee Cello St Cuthbert s College Jennifer Li Piano St Cuthbert s College Geist (Auckland) String Quartet in G minor, Opus 10, Mvts 1 & 2, Claude Debussy Lauren Bennett Violin 1 Westlake Girls High School Britta Balzat Violin 2 Westlake Girls High School Sophia Lee Viola Westlake Girls High School Sally Kim Cello Westlake Girls High School Krasinski Trio (Hamilton) Piano Trio No 1 G minor Mvt 1, Frédéric Chopin Christopher Chen Violin Hillcrest High School Alexander Arai-Swale Cello Hillcrest High School Cathy Zheng Piano Hillcrest High School Menottri-o (Auckland) Suite for 2 Cellos and Piano, Gian Carlo Menotti Jacky Siu Cello Westlake Boys High School Matthias Balzat Cello Home School Lixing Wei Piano Westlake Girls High School All Aperto (Christchurch) Quartet for an Outdoor Festival, Robert Aldridge Alice Morgan Soprano Sax Burnside High School Andrew Robinson Violin Burnside High School Jordan Renaud Cello Burnside High School Han Sol Jeong Piano Burnside High School The six finalists will be announced at 7pm We acknowledge the generous assistance of Radio New Zealand Concert, which is recording both Semi-Final and Final events. The Final concert will be broadcast in Young New Zealand, 8pm Sunday 5 August 7

8 Auckland s exciting new cultural destination contemporary art heritage building the pah café premier park The Pah Homestead TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre 72 Hillsborough Road, Hillsborough Auckland The Pah Homestead and sculpture garden, with Gregor Kregar s Shelter Structure 1 & 2, 2006, in foreground.

9 2012 Original Composition Winners Composition Adjudicator Senior Section: Marcus Jackson Composition Group: Dreamscapes Quartet Marcus Jackson Marcus Jackson Harry Greig Pien Kerckhoffs Catherine Christanti While Dreamscapes Stagnate Flute Violin Cello Piano 18 year-old Marcus Jackson is a Year 13 student studying at Lindisfarne College in Hastings, Hawke s Bay. This year s piece is entitled While Dreamscapes Stagnate for flute, violin, cello and piano and was performed by the Dreamscapes Quartet, who took out both the regional Statham Award and the Chamber Music New Zealand prize for the Over-all Best Group in Hawke s Bay. The piece was written with this specific group in mind, coming to life after a series of dreams. I saw the dreams as great inspiration for my piece, and the music that was coming from them seemed to fit well with the group I was writing for says Marcus. I decided to add in the lighting effects, to create a sense of the audience being a part of the piece (dream) themselves. Between each of the movements there is an interlude, used to highlight the different dreams. Composition adjudicator, Ken Young, comments on the work saying it is a good piece interesting, colourful, rhythmic, formally cohesive. Bravo! This is the second year Marcus has won this prize and he says it s a great competition, it encourages you to get motivated and get your music played and heard by others, which ultimately is the reason you write music. Junior Section: George Wang George Wang String Quartet No year old George Wang is a student at Westlake Boys High School and is the winner of the SOUNZ Junior Original Composition Award offered for the first time this year. I wrote the three parts of the piece a year ago based on earlier ideas, but put them together only after I entered this competition, says George. The third part of the quartet is an answer to the first, with an intermezzo in between. The quartet s opening was inspired by the Gigue that accompanies Pachelbel s famous Canon, but after that I was just writing whatever came into my head. Kenneth Young NZ composer and conductor Ken Young spent 25 years amongst the ranks of the NZSO, before resigning his post as Principal Tuba in 2011 in order to pursue a freelance career. Since then he has worked with all the regional orchestras throughout New Zealand, including regular seasons with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. He has a particular interest in post-romantic repertoire, and his engagements with the NZSO and the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra have included many highly acclaimed CD recordings. In 2011 Ken made his début with the Australian Ballet, and he has worked with numerous orchestras outside New Zealand including the Melbourne, Queensland, West Australian, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, Orchestra Victoria, the City of Osaka Sinfonia, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. In November of this year he will make his début in China with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his work as a performer and a conductor, Ken Young has become one of New Zealand s leading composers. He is commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand, the NZSO, Australian orchestras, the Brass Band Association of NZ, the International Festival of the Arts, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Vector Wellington Orchestra and Radio New Zealand, and his works are performed nationwide and as far as the United States, Europe and Australia. Recent premières include Portrait for Solo Violin and Orchestra with the NZSO and Lux Aeterna with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, both to wide critical acclaim. Since 1988 Ken has been a member of the music faculty of the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University, where he lectures in conducting and orchestration. In 2004 he was awarded the Lilburn Trust Citation in Recognition of Outstanding Services to New Zealand Music. Ken Young, Composition Adjudicator, says George has a good feel for string writing. This is an interesting piece with some good thematic ideas. George found the composing process challenging but fun and is keen to tackle writing a bigger work. 9

10 THE UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO SHOWED ITS STRENGTH BY BEING RANKED NUMBER 1 IN NEW ZEALAND IN MUSIC, LITERARY ARTS AND OTHER ARTS. STUDY AT NEW ZEALAND S Music, Literary Arts and Other Arts NUMBER 1 MUSIC DEPARTMENT* WITH NEW ZEALAND S LEADING PERFORMERS AND TEACHERS. KTD867/09/07 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: or music@waikato.ac.nz *2006 PBRF Rankings. sounz.org.nz Centre for New Zealand Music Proud supporters of the Statham Award SOUNZ receives major funding from Creative New Zealand, the Lilburn Trust, APRA and through PPNZ PO Box 27347, Marion Square Wellington 6141 Level 3, Toi Poneke Arts Centre 61 Abel Smith Street Te Aro, Wellington 6011 p: f: e: info@sounz.org.nz w: sounz.org.nz

11 Winners of the 2012 Chamber Music New Zealand Prize $100 awarded to each member of the winning group in each District Contest Whangarei Winning Group Brioso 7 Annemieke Hendricks, violin Jessica French, violin Samantha Coe, violin Xena Martin, cello Elise Jaunay, violin Briah Petersen, violin Katie Woodward, violin Gisborne Winning Group NZ Collision Clyde Smith, violin Stephanie Hakiwai, piano Hannah Hawkins Elder, voice Palmerston North Winning Group The Jarheads Ruby Bennett, flute Jaeik Jang, piano Alex Fafeita, percussion Timaru Winning Group Classical Cafe Olivia Gonzales, piano Duncan McLeod, clarinet Finn Robinson, clarinet Auckland Winning Group Geist Lauren Bennett, violin 1 Britta Balzat, violin 2 Sophia Lee, viola Sally Kim, cello Tauranga Winning Group Cantabile Janet Reid, violin Ricky Balfour, violin Sam Logan, cello Josiah Ngai, harpsichord Hamilton Winning Group Krasinski Trio Christopher Chen, violin Alexander Arai-Swale, cello Cathy Zheng, piano Hawkes Bay Winning Group Dreamscapes Quartet Marcus Jackson, flute Harry Greig, violin Pien Kerckhoffs, cello Catherine Christanti, piano New Plymouth Winning Group Gladys & the Pips Thomas Lawley, flute Satyam Patel, flute Dominic Jacquemard, clarinet Andrew Hockey, violin Bing Bing Wong, viola Josh Connolly, cello James Buckland, piano Wanganui Winning Group Trio Felix Helen Kim, violin Elena Morgan, cello Kei Otsuka, piano Wellington Winning Group Wellington College Trio Fraser Hughson, alto sax Matthew Cook, violin Jonathan Lane, piano Nelson Winning Group Traverheim Ensemble Ivan Suminski, violin Nicholas Suminski, viola Hee Yeon Oh, cello Abbey Burns, violin Samara Lloyd, violin Kimberly Jones, piano Christchurch Winning Group All Aperto Alice Morgan, soprano sax Andrew Robinson, violin Jordan Renaud, cello Han Sol Jeong, piano Dunedin Winning Group Sunshine Daisies Butter Mellow Laura Barton, violin Natasha Kumar, clarinet Hoyoun Lee, piano Southland Winning Group Opus 41 Rebekah Elder, flute William Swan, clarinet Michael Zhang, piano KBB Music Awards For a full list of the winners please consult our website: music-contest National Semi-Finals and Final Awards The James Wallace Arts Trust Prize A cash prize of $1000 is awarded to each member of the winning group at the National Final. The Arthur Hilton Memorial Prize Each member of the National Final winning group will receive the Arthur Hilton Memorial Prize of a relevant musical text for their reference in the future. KBB Music Awards These awards are presented to groups at the National Final. Groups eligible for these awards must be selected for the National Semi-Finals and contain wind and/or brass and/or percussion instrument(s). The awards are in the form of $100 KBB Music gift cards, awarded to each member of the group. SOUNZ Composer Award Awarded to the winners of the Original Composition section of the contest. Senior Section: The winner will receive a SOUNZ (Centre for NZ Music) prize of $500 cash and one year s subscription to CANZ (Composer s Association of New Zealand). Junior Section: The winner will receive a SOUNZ (Centre for NZ Music) prize of $100 cash plus a $50 voucher to spend at SOUNZ. Certificates and Flexi Pass All participants at the National Semi-Finals and Final receive a certificate of participation and a Flexi Pass subscription to Chamber Music New Zealand s 2013 Concert Season in the centre of their choice. Statham Award for the Best Performance of a New Zealand Work Sponsored by the late Auckland composer Keith Statham, this award of $1000 is given for the best performance at the NZCT Chamber Music Contest National Final of a New Zealand work. The award is given to the school/s or nominated organisation that support the winning group. 11

12 Take the NEXT step Talk to us about courses, programmes, scholarships, student opportunities and your NEXT step Classical Performance : Composition & Sonic Arts : Jazz (Auckland or Wellington) : Music Studies : Music Therapy Sign up to our e-newsletter In The Loop and stay in touch with what is happening at Chamber Music New Zealand. You ll get the scoop on who s touring where & when and up to date news on all CMNZ related happenings, including the NZCT Chamber Music Contest. So make sure you let us know if you ve taken part! Live chamber music is at its best when shared between friends. If you enjoy evenings out with great company and great music then The Guest List is for you. It is a way to experience live chamber music with like minded people and it's free to join. You'll be set up to receive special offers, discounts, meet ups and opportunities to get behind the scenes with our artists and VIPs for concerts in your area. Follow what s happening backstage during the National Finals 2012 facebook.com/chambermusicnz