The Contest is an iconic secondary school musical event held annually throughout the country in June. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, and we’re looking forward to another 50 years of inspiring youth music-making and to celebrate the fantastic musicians and composers that have launched their careers through the Contest.

This is the perfect opportunity for young musicians, regardless of standard or experience, to compose and to perform chamber music and strive towards excellence.

NATIONAL FINALS

NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS

AUGUST
11.30am & 4.30pm
Bruce Mason Centre

NATIONAL FINALS

AUGUST
7.00pm
Auckland Town Hall

2019 WINNER

Congratulations to Sixteen Strings (Wellington)

WINNER OF THE KBB AWARD

Congratulations to Rerekē (Wellington)

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

Congratulations to Virtuoso Strings Octet (Wellington)

WINNER OF THE SOUNZ AWARD

Congratulations to Farr-Out Trio (Northland)

2019 RESULTS AND PHOTOS

VIEW THE 2019 NATIONAL FINALISTS

Sixteen Strings (Wellington)
Farr-Out Trio (Northland)
Rerekē (Wellington)
Quartetto Maduro (Canterbury)
Szerenád Trió (Canterbury)
Virtuoso Strings Octet (Wellington)

VIEW THE 2019 NATIONAL SEMI-FINALISTS

Delamére (Auckland)
Quartetto Maduro (Canterbury)
Sixteen Strings (Wellington)
Trio Kaleido (Auckland)
Elallitodva (Canterbury)
Rerekē (Wellington)
Szerenád Trió (Canterbury)
Virtuoso Strings Octet (Wellington)
Farr-Out Trio (Northland)
Ronesma Trio (Auckland)
Three in a Bar (Canterbury)
A Young Man’s Trio (Canterbury)

VIEW THE 2019 COMPOSITION WINNERS

SENIOR COMPOSITION WINNER
Emmanuel Samuel Wong (Wellington)
Cantata for the 5th Week of Lent

SENIOR HIGHLY COMMENDED
Xiaole Zhan (Auckland)
Childhood Impressions

JUNIOR COMPOSITION WINNER
Daniel Minh Kit Tran (Auckland)
Fantasia

REGIONAL FINALS

NORTHERN REGION

JUNE
11.30am & 4.30pm

School of Music Theatre, University of Auckland
Adjudicators: Richard Mapp & Yoshiko Tsuruta
Regional Contest Organiser: Gemma Lee

CENTRAL REGION

JUNE
11.30am & 4.30pm

MTG Century Theatre, Napier
Adjudicators: Rae de Lisle & Amalia Hall
Regional Contest Organiser: Rhondda Poon

SOUTHERN REGION

JUNE
11.30am & 4.30pm

The Piano, 156 Armagh St, Christchurch
Adjudicators: Doug Beilman & Leni Hoischen
Regional Contest Organiser: Jody Keehan

WINNER
Delamére (Auckland)

ALL NORTHERN FINALISTS

Arrebol Trio (Waikato)
Maunga Kapua Trio (Taranaki)
Utopia Trio (Bay of Plenty)
Ronesma Trio (Auckland)
Wicz (Auckland)
Farr-Out Trio (Northland)
Evka Trio (Auckland)
Trio Kaleido (Auckland)
Tri Parnya Trio (Waikato)
Vitalita Trio (Auckland)
Eighteen-Twenty-Eight (Northland)

WINNER
Sixteen Strings (Wellington)

ALL CENTRAL FINALISTS

Virtuoso Strings Octet (Wellington)
Tre Ragazze (Wellington)
76 Ants (East Coast)
CCP Trio (Hawke’s Bay)
Henrika Trio (Wellington)
Rerekē (Wellington)
Beats by Bartók (Whanganui)
From A Farr (Whanganui)
Trio Tristezza (Manawatu)
The Evensong Trio (Wellington)
3.1 Miles Trio (Wellington)

WINNER
Szerenád Trió (Canterbury)

ALL SOUTHERN FINALISTS

Lincoln High Percussion Ensemble (Canterbury)
A Young Man’s Trio (Canterbury)
Progressive Sax Policy (Canterbury)
Vibratsiya (Southland)
Elallitodva (Canterbury)
Les Trois (Nelson/Marlborough)
Quartetto Maduro (Canterbury)
Three in a Bar (Canterbury)
Unsung Heroes (Otago)
Dvořák Trio (South Canterbury)
“Are You Chinese?” (Otago)

DISTRICT ROUNDS

NORTHERN REGION

NORTHLAND (4 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Atsuko Fukuoka
Adjudicator: Doug Beilman
Venue: St John’s Golden Church, Whangarei
Date: 4 June
Session time: 7.00pm

WAIKATO (4 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Kathryn Orbell
Adjudicator: Leni Hoischen
Venue: Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, Waikato University, Hamilton
Date: 4 June
Session times: 10.30am, 1.30pm & 4.00pm

AUCKLAND (5-9 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Gemma Lee
Adjudicator: Doug Beilman, Leni Hoischen & Sarah Watkins (9th only)
Venue: Raye Freedman Arts Centre, Epsom
Dates: 5-8 June (preliminary sessions) & 9 June (semis/finals)
Session times:
5 June: 12.30pm, 3.15pm & 5.00pm
6 June: 9.30am, 12.15pm, 2.30pm & 4.30pm
7 June: 10.00am, 12.00pm, 2.30pm & 5.00pm
8 June: 9.30am
9 June: 9.30am (SF1), 12.30pm (SF2) & 7.00pm (Final)

BAY OF PLENTY (10 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Lynne Sperring
Adjudicator: Doug Beilman
Venue: St Peter’s Church, Mount Maunganui
Date: 10 June
Session times: 9.30am & 1.30pm

TARANAKI (11 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Jocelyn Beath
Adjudicator: Leni Hoischen
Venue: St Andrews Church, Liardet Street, New Plymouth
Date: 11 June
Session time: 4.30pm

CENTRAL REGION

HAWKE’S BAY (6-7 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Rhondda Poon
Adjudicator: Yoshiko Tsuruta & Richard Mapp
Venue: The Municipal Theatre, Napier
Dates: 6-7 June
Session times:
6 June: 9.30am, 1.00pm & 4.00pm
7 June: 9.30am & 7.00pm (final)

WELLINGTON (8-9 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Pip Want
Adjudicator: Yoshiko Tsuruta & Richard Mapp
Venue: Adam Concert Room, NZSM, Victoria University of Wellington
Dates: 8-9 June
Session times:
8 June: 1.00pm, 3.30pm & 5.30pm
9 June: 9.30am, 11.30am & 4.00pm (Final)

EAST COAST (10 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Gill Armstrong
Adjudicator: Yoshiko Tsuruta
Venue: Gisborne Girls’ High School, Gisborne
Date: 10 June
Session time: 7.00pm

MANAWATU (11 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Heather Selway
Adjudicator: Richard Mapp
Venue: Speirs Centre, Palmerston North Boys’ High School
Date: 11 June
Session time: 5.00pm

WHANGANUI (12 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Ingrid Culliford
Adjudicator: Richard Mapp
Venue: Prince Edward Auditorium, Wanganui Collegiate School, Whanganui
Date: 12 June
Session time: 1.30pm, 3.30pm & 6.30pm

SOUTHERN REGION

SOUTHLAND (6 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Emma Jarman
Adjudicator: Amalia Hall
Venue: Invercargill Repertory Society
Date: 6 June
Session time: 6.30pm

OTAGO (8-9 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Rebecca Filangé
Adjudicator: Rae de Lisle
Venue: Marama Hall, University of Otago, Dunedin
Dates: 8-9 June
Session times:
8 June: 1.00pm & 3.30pm
9 June: 10.00am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm & 7.00pm (Final)

NELSON/MARLBOROUGH 10 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Rosie-Anne Pinney
Adjudicator: Amalia Hall
Venue: NCMA, Nelson
Date: 10 June
Session time: 6.00pm

SOUTH CANTERBURY (10 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Ros Taylor
Adjudicator: Rae de Lisle
Venue: Craighead Diocesan School Auditorium, Timaru
Date: 10 June
Session time: 1.30pm & 4.30pm

CANTERBURY (12-14 JUNE)

RESULTS: Click here

District Contest Organiser: Jody Keehan
Adjudicator: Rae de Lisle & Amalia Hall
Venue: The Piano, 156 Armagh St, Christchurch
Dates: 12-14 June
Session times:
12 June: 10.00am, 2.00pm & 6.00pm
13 June: 10.00am, 2.00pm & 6.00pm
14 June: 7.00pm (Final)

ADJUDICATORS

NATIONAL FINAL ADJUDICATORS

Diedre Irons Robert Orr Ashley Brown Michael Williams

Diedre Irons spent her early life in Canada. She graduated from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music before joining the faculty there. She spent several years teaching and touring as a soloist and chamber music player before moving to New Zealand in 1977 where she quickly became established as one of their most celebrated and sought-after musicians. In 1989 she was awarded an MBE and in 2011 an ONZM for services to music, and in 2007 received the degree Doctor of Music (honoris causa) from Brandon University in Manitoba, Canada. She taught at the University of Canterbury from 1992-2003 and at the New Zealand School of Music from 2003-2012.

Robert is the Section Principal oboist of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He has been a member of the orchestra for over twenty years and has also held the posts of principal cor anglais and associate principal oboe. Outside of New Zealand, Robert has played with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. While studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London, he also played with the London Philharmonic, The Philharmonia and the City of London Sinfonia. Robert is an established recital artist, having appeared in several leading New Zealand festivals. He has also toured for Chamber Music New Zealand with pianist Richard Mapp, and with the Zephyr wind quintet. Robert is an Artist Teacher at the New Zealand School of Music.

Acclaimed as a musician of “unimpeachable artistry”, Ashley Brown is one of New Zealand’s leading soloists, collaborators, chamber musicians and recording artists. He is a founder of NZTrio and a passionate advocate for New Zealand music. His teachers have included Alexander Ivashkin, Aldo Parisot and William Pleeth helping him to success in auditions, competitions and awards, both local and international. His musical curiosity has led him from an Artist Diploma at Yale to a Doctorate of Musical Arts exploring the collaborative relationship between composer and performer, and onward to sharing the stage with composers and artists as diverse as Dame Gillian Whitehead, Moana Maniapoto, Michael Houstoun, Kristian Jaarvi and Neil Finn and he continues to enjoy a musical career that leaves no colour of the musical spectrum unexplored. Ashley plays the 1762 William Forster ‘Liberte’ cello.

Michael Williams is a well-known figure in New Zealand composition. He has received commissions from most of the country’s major musical institutions including the NZSO, NBR New Zealand Opera and Chamber Music New Zealand and his music is regularly broadcast on Radio New Zealand Concert. He has recorded a number of works through the Atoll label. His music covers a wide range of genres including chamber music, orchestral, concerti and opera. Polystylistic in his approach to composition, many influences can be heard in his music from Gregorian chant to the use of pitch class sets. Michael maintains an interest in the digital manipulation of acoustic instruments which is evident in a number of his works. His works are regularly played and recorded internationally and in particular Italy, Spain and Asia. He is a senior lecturer at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Waikato.

DISTRICT AND REGIONAL ADJUDICATORS

Doug Beilman Amalia Hall Sarah Watkins Richard Mapp Rae de Lisle Yoshiko Tsuruta Leni Hoischen

A native of Kansas, USA, Douglas Beilman studied at the Julliard School and the New England Conservatory of Music before completing his Master of Music degree with Isadore Tinkleman at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Before moving to New Zealand in 1989 to join the NZSQ he was first violinist of the Sierra String Quartet, which was a prizewinner at the 1988 Portsmouth International String Quartet Competition and performed widely throughout the USA. Douglas was a co-founder of the Adam New Zealand Festival of Chamber Music and was its Artistic Director until 2001. He is an Associate Professor at the New Zealand School of Music and in 2014 he was made a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to music.

Concertmaster of Orchestra Wellington and violinist of NZTrio, New Zealander Amalia Hall has received widespread acclaim for her ability to move audiences with her “sumptuous and sweet tone”, inherent musicality and natural facility. At the age of 9 Amalia made her debut with the Auckland Philharmonia; in her teens she won all of the major national awards in New Zealand, including the NZCT Chamber Music Contest on two occasions and the Gisborne International Music Competition at the age of 16. Her extensive performance experience has taken her to Europe, USA, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Mexico, Australia and NZ. Amalia studied at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music with Pamela Frank and Joseph Silverstein.

Pianist Sarah Watkins is perhaps best known as a founding member of NZTrio, having played with the group from 2002-2018. She continues to maintain an active performing schedule, including being an official pianist for the Michael Hill and Gisborne International Music Competitions. She regularly appears as a freelance player in the APO, and her numerous and widely praised CD recordings with NZTrio and other artists are frequently broadcast on Radio NZ Concert. Sarah graduated from the Juilliard School (NY) with MM and DMA degrees in collaborative piano. She was recently appointed as an artist teacher and chamber music coach at the University of Auckland.

Richard Mapp graduated from the University of Otago, and later undertook postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he also held a teaching fellowship. From 2000 – 2009 he was Senior Lecturer in Piano at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington. Richard has appeared as soloist with the NZSO, the Christchurch Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia and the Auckland Chamber Orchestra, and is a regular guest performer with other leading New Zealand musicians. Earlier this year Richard moved to sunny Nelson where he is enjoying the musical life in the city, he continues to teach occasionally at the NZ School of Music.

Rae de Lisle is currently Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Auckland. She has had a long association with the Chamber Music School Music Contest and has coached many national winners, including a group with her daughter Julia Joyce as violinist. An experienced adjudicator, both nationally and internationally, she was on the panel for the 2015 National Finals. In 2011 she was awarded the Marie Vandewart Memorial Award for outstanding service and commitment to fostering the love of chamber music in New Zealand. She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015 for services to music.

An award-winning marimba player, Yoshiko Tsuruta has graduated from the New Zealand School of Music, then has completed her Master’s Degree (1st Class) in percussion performance at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Austria. Since returning from Europe Yoshiko endeavours to promote classical percussion in New Zealand, especially the marimba. As a soloist, Yoshiko has performed in several concertos with different orchestras. Last year, she world-premiered a new marimba concerto by Gareth Farr. Yoshiko also appears in chamber music with various artists, including touring New Zealand for Chamber Music New Zealand in 2016 and 2019.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Leni Hoischen studied the bassoon in Cologne and Amsterdam. She received her Soloist Diploma with distinction from Musikhochschule Köln where she taught both bassoon and contrabassoon for several years.

She has been a member of major professional orchestras in Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin as well as freelancing in other countries with Filarmonica della Scala Milano and BBC Symphony Orchestra London, among others.

Living in Wellington since 2015 she regularly works with all major New Zealand Orchestras. Currently, Leni is Artist Teacher for bassoon at NZSM and contracted as NZSO Associate Principal Bassoon.