Chamber music ensembles from Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Whangarei make up the 12 semi-finalists in the 2017 NZCT Chamber Music Contest National Finals.

The semi-finalist ensembles were selected from the 439 contest entries following two gruelling rounds of competition held throughout June including Regional Finals held in Auckland, Napier and Christchurch at the weekend.

The 12 semi-finalists include three ensembles from Auckland, five from Christchurch, two from Wellington, and one each from Hamilton and Whangarei. The National Finals take place in Wellington on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 August.

For Whangarei violinist Maia-Dean Martin (16) this will be the fourth year she has been in an ensemble which has made it through to the National Finals and this year she is playing in two ensembles – one based in Whangarei and the other in Auckland.

Semi-finalists for the 2017 contest are, from Auckland: Konec Trio (Rangitoto College, Westlake Girls’ High School and Epsom Girls’ Grammar School), Mahuta Trio (St Cuthbert’s College and Westlake Girls’ High School), and TrioAstor (Diocesan School for Girls and home-schooled); from Christchurch: three ensembles from Rangi Ruru Girls’ School – Amadeus, Buda and the Pests and The French Connection, Korngold Quartet (Burnside High School, Christ’s College and St Andrew’s College), and Zest from Cashmere High School; from Wellington: Bedřiška Trio  (Kāpiti College) and Druz’ya Quartet (home-schooled, Wellington College, Wellington High School and Scots College); from Hamilton: Raysken Trio from Hillcrest High School, and from Whangarei: M+M’s (Whangarei Girls’ High School, Whangarei Boys’ High School and home-schooled).

Semi-finalists and other NZCT Chamber Music Contest ensembles will be performing as part of Open Stage during Chamber Music New Zealand’s upcoming Kuijken Quartet tour in Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin during July. Open Stage is an opportunity for young musicians to perform as an opening act prior to the Kuijken Quartet concerts. The Open Stage concerts take place 45 minutes before each of the concerts and are presented in partnership with SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music.

Also announced, are the two winners in the composition section. The winner of the junior section is Auckland’s Stefenie Pickston (16) from Lynfield College for her string quartet Bolero: A Short Piece for String Quartet; while Wellington’s Benjamin Sneyd-Utting (16), from Tawa College, won the senior section with his string quintet Toroa Rising/Piwakawaka Dancing.

Benjamin previously won the junior section in 2015 with his string quartet Neptune’s Horses.

Composition adjudicator Michael Norris said Stefenie Pickston’s composition was a “really interesting take on the bolero dance” and he commended her references to Ravel’s Bolero, “the suave little chromaticisms, the playfulness of the rhythms and the gradual building of textural density”.

Stefenie said she was “very pleased and proud” with her win. She originally was asked to write a piece for a school ensemble to perform in the contest, but the ensemble didn’t eventuate “so I just entered it into the composition section myself”.

It was the first time Stefenie had entered the composition section of the contest, but she said she had been composing music for some years. Stefenie, who is mostly a clarinet player, but also plays violin, said she was inspired by hearing a piece at the KBB Music Festival which had string players using a range of different techniques to create music and rhythm including using their hands to “swipe” across their instruments.

“I was interested in the idea that a bow can be used in lots of different ways to create music.”

Mr Norris said Benjamin Sneyd-Utting’s piece used techniques which created “a very colourful effect, and the score brims with life and vibrancy”.

Benjamin said he was pleased with winning the contest. “It feels very unreal because I missed a year of entering and I wasn’t sure where the standard was.” He said the two works took more than a year to write, adding that Piwakawaka Dancing was a reworking of a previous composition while Toroa Rising came from him improvising on cello.

“I enjoyed working with the musicians on the piece.”

Toroa Rising/Piwakawaka Dancing will be performed by Benjamin’s quintet, Virtuoso Strings Quintet, at the National Finals in Wellington on Sunday 6 August.

Two highly commended awards were made in the composition section with Hamilton’s Michelle Tang (Waikato Diocesan School) receiving an award for her entry in the junior section, and Auckland’s Samba Zhou (Rangitoto College) in the senior section.

This year 22 young composers entered the Original Composition section. The winners receive SOUNZ cash prizes and a year’s subscription to CANZ (Composers Association of New Zealand).

The NZCT Chamber Music Contest is the longest running youth music competition in New Zealand and is the only nationwide chamber music competition for young musicians and composers.

The Contest is well-known for nurturing young musicians who go on to successful musical careers. Iconic New Zealand pianist Michael Houstoun competed in the event when he was a school student in Timaru and 27-year-old violinist, Amalia Hall was a Contest winner in 2003 and 2004.

The National Semi-Finals will be judged by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra cellist Brigid O’Meeghan and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra principal bassoon Ingrid Hagan. They will be joined by renowned New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge to adjudicate the National Final.

The winning group at the National Final receives the Wallace Foundation Prize of $6000.

The NZCT Chamber Music Contest Semi-Finals are on Saturday 5 August with the National Final on Sunday 6 August at the Michael Fowler Centre. Tickets are available through Ticketek www.ticketek.co.nz or phone 0800 842 538. The event is free for Chamber Music New Zealand subscribers.

In presenting the NZCT Chamber Music Contest, Chamber Music New Zealand acknowledges the generous support of NZCT, University of Auckland, SOUNZ (Centre for NZ Music), CANZ (Composers’ Association of New Zealand), The Wallace Foundation, KBB Music and our regional funders who support events at District Contests.