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16 July 2011
Geist were announced as the winners of the 2011 NZCT Chamber Music Contest on Saturday evening.
Lauren Bennett, Britta Balzat (violins), Sophia Lee (viola) and Sally Kim (cello) were awarded the James Wallace Arts Trust Prize of $1,500 cash each, as well as the Arthur Hilton Memorial Prize of a relevant musical text for their reference in the future. The four members all attend Westlake Girls' High School in Auckland.
They performed the dramatic opening movement from Schubert's String Quartet No 14 in D minor 'Death and the Maiden', and despite Britta breaking a string during the performance, the quartet played on, securing the top performing prize in the competition.
The Jones Trio from Burnside High School in Christchurch were awarded the KBB Music Award for the best performance involving wind, brass or percussion. Lena Taylor (flute), Sam Jones (alto saxophone) and Juea Park (piano) performed Russell Peterson's Trio for Flute, Alto Saxophone and Piano.
Napier Girls' High School's Menagerie Trio were awarded the Statham Award, a new prize that was introduced this year for the best performance of a New Zealand work. Wei-Yan Fan (violin), Phoebe Sparrow (voice), and Ella Sparrow (piano) performed Five Songs from No Ordinary Sun Song, Tangi, Importune the East Wind by Dorothy Buchanan.
In the Original Composition section, Marcus Jackson from Lindisfarne College in Hawke's Bay was the winner of the SOUNZ Composer Award. Marcus's group, Memoir Trio, performed his composition, Memoirs of a Forgotten Soul. He received a SOUNZ prize of $500 cash and a one-year subscription to CANZ (Composers' Association of New Zealand).
All participants at the National Semi-Final and National Final received a certificate of participation and a Flexi Pass subscription to Chamber Music New Zealand’s 2012 Concert Season in the centre of their choice.
Videos of all the performances at the National Final are now available on Radio New Zealand Concert's website.