Hailed for her “breath-taking range of colour, tone and inflection” (The Times), South Korean born New Zealand pianist Somi Kim is one of Aotearoa’s most sought after pianists.

A winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Accompanist Prize and the Gerald Moore Award for Accompanists, Somi enjoys an impressive career as a chamber musician and soloist. She performs extensively as the official pianist of NZTrio, one of New Zealand’s most indispensable ensembles, and her recent solo appearances include concertos with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

Alongside her performing accolades, Somi has been an official pianist and vocal coach for the International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch since 2018 and has performed with the winner of the Gisborne International Music Competition every year since 2017. She is a valued member of the collaborative pianist team at the International Holland Music Sessions, working as a studio pianist for internationally acclaimed violin professors including György Pauk, Pierre Amoyal, Krzysztof Wegrzyn and Takashi Shimizu. Somi’s passion for song and opera is reflected by her work as a vocal coach for the New Zealand Opera School and she gives regular recitals with esteemed singers for the Auckland Opera Studio.

Somi is a graduate of the University of Auckland (NZ) and the Royal Academy of Music (UK) where she obtained a Master of Music in solo piano and an Advanced Diploma in Performance and Master of Arts in collaborative piano with Distinction. She was recently awarded the Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) to recognise her contribution to music.

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Sarah is a founding member of NZTrio, a group widely recognized as one of New Zealand’s most dynamic and indispensable music ensembles, bringing bold and eclectic performances to audiences around the world.

Her lifelong passion for accompanying and chamber music has led to an impressive career in the US and New Zealand, where she is highly sought after as a collaborative pianist, recording artist, and ensemble musician. She has been an official pianist for the Michael Hill International Violin Competition since its inception in 2001, has performed as a freelance player in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Auckland Chamber Orchestra, and has appeared as concerto soloist with St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra, ACO, and the APO. In 2014 Sarah recorded Chris Watson’s “sing songs self” for solo piano and orchestra with the NZSO, a composition which was awarded the prestigious 2015 SOUNZ Contemporary Award.

Sarah is a graduate of the University of Canterbury (NZ) and the Juilliard School in New York City, where she earned both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in collaborative piano. While living in the US, Sarah worked as a staff pianist at Juilliard, Yale University, and the Aspen Music Festival. Among academic highlights was her work as coordinator of the collaborative piano program at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and several years on the music faculty of Purchase College, New York. During the period 2004-2009 NZTrio was ensemble in residence at the University of Auckland, where Sarah also taught collaborative piano and chamber music.

Noted by The Strad for her “blazing insight and dazzling virtuosity”, New Zealand violinist Amalia Hall displays natural and dynamic versatility as a frequent soloist, as Concertmaster of Orchestra Wellington – a role she took in 2016, becoming New Zealand’s youngest concertmaster – and as the violinist of NZTrio, which has been described as “New Zealand’s most indispensable ensemble”.

Born and raised in New Zealand, her numerous competition successes include laureate prizes at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hannover, the International Violin Competition ‘Premio R. Lipizer’, the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, Premio Citta di Padova International Competition for Soloists and Orchestra, and the Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition.

She won the Royal Overseas League Overseas Award and both 1st Prize and the overall prize at the Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition, and has received the top prize at the Jeunesses International Music Competition Dinu Lipatti; 1st Prize at the Leos Janacek International Competition, the Postacchini International Violin Competition (and the ‘Absolute Winner’ Prize), the Gisborne International Music Competition (at the age of 16) as well as many special prizes at these competitions.

While still in her teens she won all of the major awards in New Zealand, including the National Concerto Competition, the National Young Performer of the Year, the Pettman/Royal Over-Seas League Arts Scholarship, the University of Auckland Concerto Competition, and the NZCT Chamber Music Contest on two occasions.

She was named by RNZ Concert among “10 young musicians making their mark”, recipient of an alumni Summit Academy Award from Rangitoto College, winner of “Best Performance Award” at the Auckland Fringe Festival, and recipient of the inaugural “Gary Daverne Award for Classical Music” presented by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand at the annual Benny Awards.

Since making her debut at the age of 9 with the Auckland Philharmonia, Amalia has been a regular soloist with orchestras in New Zealand, including appearances with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Orchestra Wellington, Auckland Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Chamber Orchestra, Waikato Symphony Orchestra and Saint Matthews Chamber Orchestra. She performed the world premiere of violin concertos by Claire Cowan and Michael Norris with Orchestra Wellington, under the baton of Marc Taddei.

Amalia has been a soloist with orchestras in Europe including I Virtuosi Italiani, Munich Chamber Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Amadeus Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra, United Strings of Europe, the State Philharmonic of Sibiu and Filharmonica Marchigiana, and with the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra and Orquesta Filharmonía in Mexico. Performances have taken her to China, Germany, Scotland, England, France, Austria, South Africa, Vietnam, Mexico, USA and Australia among other countries.

She was the first New Zealand classical musician to perform in Uzbekistan, when she made her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan. On her second visit to Tashkent, she performed all 5 of the Mozart Violin Concertos in one concert. She has had collaborations with other artistic genres, including choreographed performances with the New Zealand Dance Company.

At the age of 10 Amalia was the youngest ever member to be accepted into the NZSO National Youth Orchestra, and continued on to later become its Concertmaster. She became an associate member of the Auckland Philharmonia at the age of 16 and was contracted as Principal 1st Violin in 2012. Amalia has performed as guest concertmaster for a number of the main orchestras in New Zealand including the Auckland Philharmonia, Auckland Chamber Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and Opus Orchestra.

At the age of 8 Amalia cultivated a love for chamber music after she commenced playing chamber music with her siblings in the Hall String Quartet, and has gone on to play chamber music with eminent musicians including David Starobin (with whom she has recorded for Bridge Records), Jonathan Biss, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, Roberto Diaz, Gary Hoffman and Clive Greensmith.

She has performed chamber music throughout Europe and the US as a recitalist, a member of Curtis on Tour and member of the New Zealand Chamber Soloists, and she has appeared in Australia as a guest artist with the Southern Cross Soloists and the Australia Piano Quartet. Amalia has toured numerous times for Chamber Music New Zealand and her performances have been regularly broadcast on the Radio New Zealand Concert Programme. She has also appeared on WHYY On Stage at Curtis, the Good Morning TV Show, the Paul Holmes Show and Paul Henry Show.

In 2014 Amalia was guest violinist with New Zealand Chamber Soloists and undertook a temporary position as violin and viola lecturer on the University of Waikato faculty, a position she also held in 2017 and returned to in 2019. She has also taught and given masterclasses at institutions including the National Conservatory of Uzbekistan, Vicenza Conservatorio, Rossini Conservatorio and University of Veracruz Faculty of Music among others.

At the age of 19 Amalia began postgraduate studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying under the tutelage of renowned violinists Pamela Frank and Joseph Silverstein, while receiving chamber music coachings from distinguished artists such as Ida Kavafian, Shmuel Ashkenasi and Peter Wiley. Prior to this she completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the age of 19 at the University of Auckland, New Zealand studying with Dimitri Atanassov.

Amalia began violin lessons at the age of 3 through the Suzuki Method, completing all 10 books at the age of 6. Later that year she started pursuing exams, beginning with Trinity Grade 5 with Distinction, which lead on to her achieving Trinity Grade 8 with Distinction at the age of 8.
More exams followed, culminating in the AMEB Licentiate Diploma at the age of 13, and AMusA on piano a couple of years later.

Amalia currently plays on a Vincenzo Rugeri violin from c. 1694, generously on loan from a private benefactor.

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Gillian Ansell, born in Auckland, made her concerto debut as a violinist with the Auckland Philharmonia at the age of 16. At 19, an Associated Board Scholarship took her to the Royal College of Music in London for 3 years to study violin, viola and piano. She then won a German Academic Exchange (DAAD) scholarship for further study in Germany at the Musikhochschule Cologne with Igor Ozim and the Amadeus Quartet.

After working professionally in London for three years she returned to New Zealand to become a founding member of the New Zealand String Quartet in 1987. She was second violinist for two years before taking up the position of violist of the group, a position she holds to this day. With the NZSQ, she has toured NZ and the world, performing all the major quartet and quintet repertoire.

Since 1991, she has taught viola, violin and chamber music at the New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University of Wellington, where the NZSQ is Ensemble-in-Residence.

In 2001 she became Artistic Director, with fellow quartet member Helene Pohl, of the Adam Chamber Music Festival, New Zealand’s pre-eminent classical music festival, which takes place biennially in Nelson.

In 2008 she was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for her outstanding services to music in New Zealand. In her spare time, Gillian enjoys books and movies, gardening and tramping.

Robert Ash­worth is having a great time being Prin­ci­pal viola for the Auck­land Phil­har­mo­nia Orches­tra. Arrived from Canada to New Zealand shores in 2003 for a one-year adventure, he has found a connection with this country through its music, people and country-side, his animals and family.

He has been guest-​principal viola for the Mel­bourne Sym­phony, the New Zealand Sym­phony Orches­tra and the Aus­tralian Opera and Bal­let Orches­tra, as well as assistant-​principal for the Cal­gary Phil­har­monic Orches­tra. He is vio­list with the Jade String Quar­tet in Auck­land, and also plays with the Australian World Orchestra.

Robert is a twice recip­i­ent of the Canada Coun­cil for the Arts Award for Emerg­ing Artists and has per­formed with var­i­ous groups at inter­na­tional cham­ber music fes­ti­vals in Europe, North Amer­ica, and Japan. He has had the hon­our to study with vio­lists Thomas Riebl and Veronika Hagen at the Uni­ver­si­taet Mozar­teum in Salzburg, Aus­tria and with Ger­ald Stan­ick at the Uni­ver­sity of British Colum­bia in Van­cou­ver, Canada.

New Zealand-born cellist Ashley Brown currently thrives on an established performance career of solo recitals, concertos, ensemble performances and a variety of recording projects. He relishes collaborating with musicians across the spectrum of musical genres as well as working closely with composers from New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.
Complementing his solo career, Ashley continues his proud advocacy of New Zealand music as founding cellist of New Zealand’s leading piano trio NZTrio. Critically acclaimed as a “national treasure”, NZTrio tours extensively both nationally and overseas with its renowned eclectic programmes, matching fresh, contemporary works with ageless, classical masterpieces. The ensemble has received numerous accolades since its establishment in 2002, such as Best Classical Artist at the 2017 NZ Music Awards and numerous citations for services to New Zealand music.

In his student days, Ashley won the Young Musicians Competition, the National Concerto Competition and a Young Achievers Award. He also won top prizes at the Adam International Cello Competition, Gisborne International Music Competition and the ROSL Music Competition in London. After graduating Master of Music from Canterbury, Ashley went on to gain the Artist Diploma at Yale University. While living in America and England Ashley gained valuable experience there and throughout Europe in cello competitions and masterclasses, orchestras and chamber groups, as well as solo recitals.

He returned to New Zealand in 1999 to become the cellist of the Turnovsky Trio, and artist in residence at the University of Waikato. During his three years there he was also Cello Lecturer at the Universities of Waikato and Canterbury. He recently completed a six-year doctoral research project into the collaborative relationship between performer and composer, and was inducted as a Doctor of Musical Arts by the University of Auckland.

Ashley plays the 1762 William Forster ‘Liberte’ cello.

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The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) is New Zealand’s designated metropolitan orchestra, serving Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, the country’s largest and most vibrant city, with concerts and events throughout the year.

APO presents more than 60 performances annually with a comprehensive season of symphonic work showcasing many of the world’s finest classical musicians as well as exciting collaborations with some of New Zealand’s most inventive contemporary artists. The APO is renowned for its innovation, passion and versatility.

Through its numerous APO Connecting (education, outreach and community) initiatives, the APO offers opportunities to more than 20,000 young people and adults nationwide.

Each year the APO performs to more than 250,000 people live and over the course of the pandemic, has reached more than 4.3 million viewers globally through livestreams and other digital offerings.

Andrew Litton is Music Director of the New York City Ballet. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic. Under his leadership the Bergen Philharmonic gained international recognition through extensive recording and touring, making debuts at the BBC Proms, at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and appearances at Vienna’s Musikverein, Berlin’s Philharmonie, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. For his work with the Bergen Philharmonic, Norway’s King Harald V knighted him with the Norwegian Royal Order of Merit.

Andrew was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra from 1988-1994. During this time, he led the orchestra on their first American tour and produced 14 recordings, including the Grammy-winning Belshazzar’s Feast. As Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 1994-2006, he hired over one third of the players, led the orchestra on three major European tours, appeared four times at Carnegie Hall, created a children’s television series broadcast nationally and in widespread use in school curricula, produced 28 recordings, and helped raise the orchestra’s endowment from $19 million to $100 million. He regularly guest conducts leading orchestras and opera companies around the globe and adds to his discography of over 130 recordings, which have garnered America’s Grammy Award, France’s Diapason d’Or and other honours.

In addition to conducting over 30 ballets at the New York City Ballet, Andrew returns regularly to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and guest conducts with a wide range of international orchestras, recently including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Colorado Symphony, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, and the Royal Swedish Orchestra.

An avid opera conductor with a keen theatrical sense, Andrew has led major opera companies throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Australian Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin. In Norway, he was key to founding the Bergen National Opera, where he led numerous critically acclaimed performances. He often conducts semi-staged opera programmes with symphony orchestras. During his 14-year tenure as Artistic Director of the Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest, he concluded the Festival with sold-out performances of Salomé, Der Rosenkavalier, Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Tosca, Rigoletto, La Traviata and others.

Andrew’s work with New York City Ballet has earned praise from critics, dancers, and audiences, bringing new prominence to the Ballet’s orchestra. He began his ballet work while still a Juilliard student, performing as on-stage pianist for Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, and Cynthia Gregory.

An accomplished pianist, Andrew often performs as piano soloist, conducting from the keyboard, most recently Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in Singapore. An acknowledged expert on George Gershwin, he has performed and recorded Gershwin widely as both pianist and conductor, and serves as Advisor to the University of Michigan Gershwin Archives. After leading the Covent Garden debut of Porgy and Bess, Andrew arranged his own concert suite of the work, which is now performed around the world. In 2014 he released his first solo piano album, A Tribute to Oscar Peterson, a testimony to his passion for jazz, particularly the music of that great pianist.

Andrew’s Dallas Symphony Rachmaninov Piano Concerto recordings with Stephen Hough, widely hailed as the best since the composer’s own, won the Classical Brits/BBC Critics Award. He also received a Grammy nomination for his recording of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with the New York Philharmonic and Patti Lupone.

Born in New York City, Andrew graduated from the Fieldston School and earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School in Piano and Conducting. He served as assistant conductor at La Scala and at the National Symphony under Rostropovich. His many honours in addition to Norway’s Order of Merit include Yale’s Sanford Medal, the Elgar Society Medal, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bournemouth.

Michael Norris is a composer, software developer and music theorist. He teaches composition at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, is editor of Wai-te-ata Music Press, and directs Stroma New Music Ensemble.

He is the recipient of the Mozart Fellowship in 2001, the Douglas Lilburn Prize in 2003, the CANZ Trust Fund Award in 2012, and has won the SOUNZ Contemporary Award four times, in 2014, 2018, 2019 and 2020. He has had works performed at festivals such as Donaueschingen, with performers such as the Hilversum Radio Chamber Orchestra, Soundinitiative, Ensemble Nikel, the NZSO, Roberto Fabbriciani, the NZSQ, NZTrio, the Viennese Saxophonic Orchestra, Ensemble Offspring, Ensemble Reconsil, and the Ensemble Pierrot Lunaire Wien.

Michael’s suite of real-time audio effects, ‘SoundMagic Spectral’, is widely used in both industry and academia worldwide, by artists such as Aphex Twin and Brian Eno. Michael’s other research interests include post-tonal theory, New Zealand music and the intersection between maths and music.