Announcement of Partnership between CMNZ & GIMC

Following the COVID-19 related reshaping of the 2020 GIMC to include New Zealand musicians only, and subsequent cancellation of the 2021 Competition, the GIMC Board reconsidered the future of the event and determined that it would no longer continue to hold the Competition as such it was timely to rethink, refresh, and reinvigorate the GIMC, while being true to its goals of providing for the advancement of music education in Gisborne and enhancing the educational, experiential, and career opportunities for young musicians.
“Since its inception thirty-three years ago, the GIMC has sought to support New Zealand musicians and to give back to the Gisborne community.Over the years, we have received tremendous support: from people who have volunteered to billet musicians; sponsors and people who have made donations; from the musicians, collaborative pianists, and jurors; and from the wider musical community. We thank you all and are steadfast in continuing to seek ways we can provide a range of music opportunities for the people of our community” explained Dame Bronwen Holdsworth, Chair of the GIMC Trust Board. “For this we have chosen to work with Chamber Music New Zealand (CMNZ), whose vast experience in delivering high-quality, intuitive community engagement programmes throughout the country makes them the ideal partner.”
CMNZ will administer all aspects of the programme on behalf of the GIMC and undertake several initiatives each year that will include workshops, mentoring programmes, music-based residencies, and touring concerts. This will be an initial 3-year partnership from 2022.
“As a national arts organisation we are passionate about providing communities throughout Aotearoa New Zealand the opportunities to enjoy a diverse range of music up close experiences” says Kerrin Vautier, Chair of the CMNZ Trust Board. “We are delighted that this partnership with the GIMC enables us to present to the people of Gisborne an array of programmes bespoke to them, reflecting their unique voice and designed for people from all parts of the community”.
Commencing in May 2022, the programme will have three distinct areas of focus – Learn, Create, and Connect – with the intention of delivering benefits to a wide range of participants of all ages and musical experience including people living with disabilities, at-risk youth and students from intermediate, and secondary schools.
Dame Bronwen said that she was delighted to acknowledge that, in this new partnership, the GIMC was in effect coming full circle in that it was started 33 years ago by Ian Dunsmore, father of current CMNZ CEO, Gretchen La Roche.
Other media
View allArtist Spotlight: Q&A with NZTrio cellist Matthias Balzat
Adding a viola and double bass, NZTrio He Taonga Wairere will be creating a quintet in the upcoming tour of NZTrio+ to perform Schubert's ebullient and beloved Trout Quintet. We caught up with NZTrio cellist Matthias Balzat and asked him about touring, what he's most looking forward to in the upcoming NZTrio+ tour, and which artists he'd most like to work with.
Artist Spotlight: Q&A with award-winning author Tina Makereti
Ā mua is a groundbreaking new work commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand for our 2026 season. Incorporating kupu (word), taonga puoro, and orchestral string instruments, it's an exploration of how the past, present and future intertwine and connect. "Ki te Whai Ao, ki Te Ao Marama. Light comes into the world. Matter spirals into being. The history of humanity rolls out—longer and more fascinating and complicated than we can imagine, and you have lived many lives through it, coming into and out of being," writes award-winning author Tina Makereti (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore, Pākehā), who collaborated with composer and multi-instrumentalist Riki Gooch to create Ā mua. We caught up with Tina and had a chat about writing, her creative process and the experience of working with musicians.
Artist Spotlight: Q&A with trumpeter and composer Cameron Pearce
Trumpeter and composer Cameron Pearce draws on colours from composers Aaron Copland, Steve Reich and Gabriel Fauré and trumpeters Kenny Wheeler and Ron Miles for his original works that he'll be touring with Symposium Brass as part of CMNZ's 2026 Season, Te Hiringa Oro - The Experience of sound.
Artist Spotlight: a Q&A with composer and multi-instrumentalist Riki Gooch
For our 2026 season, Te Hiringa Oro – The Experience of Sound, we commissioned a work called Ā mua, combining kupu (spoken word), taonga puoro, cello and viola. A collaborative creative endeavour by award-winning author Tina Makereti (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore, Pākehā) and composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist Riki Gooch (Ngāti Wai, Patuharakeke, Ngaati Maahanga), it's a unique and intimate journey through time and space, blending Māori futurism and universal human stories in an intimate and evocative performance. We caught up with Riki and asked him a few questions about his creative process and the show.
50 Years of Avant-Garde Sound
For half a century, New Zealand’s legendary and most adventurous contemporary chamber music ensemble, From Scratch, have created performances where sound, image, and invention collide.
Passing the Torch
In the middle of her daughter Emily’s performance in the Otago District Rounds of the Chamber Music Contest, Philippa Fotheringham’s Garmin watch told her that her heartrate was abnormally high.







