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2024 New Zealand National String Competition Winners
Hayden Chiu, photo Phil Brooks

2024 New Zealand National String Competition Winners

The 2024 National String Competition reached a thrilling conclusion on 16 December, after three days of exceptional performances by New Zealand’s finest emerging string musicians. The competition, presented by the Hill Family Foundation for Arts and Music, was held alongside the Lewis Eady National Piano Competition, showcasing the incredible diversity of musical talent in New Zealand. First Prize went to 14-year-old violinist Hayden Chiu from Auckland Grammar. Hayden, a student of Stephen Larsen and Professor Robin Wilson, won $5,000 (donated by the Becroft Foundation), a…

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The 2024 Lewis Eady National Piano Competition: a celebration of emerging talent!
Alex Bai, photo Phil Brooks.

The 2024 Lewis Eady National Piano Competition: a celebration of emerging talent!

The Grand Final of the 2024 Lewis Eady National Piano Competition took place on December 16, in tandem with the National String Competition, showcasing the exceptional talents of some of New Zealand’s finest emerging musicians. The prize-winners captivated the audience with their skill and artistry and were celebrated for their extraordinary dedication, with monetary awards along with performance opportunities and the reputational boost that comes with success.   The winners of the 2024 Lewis Eady National Piano Competition are:…

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Keeping Up With The Play – Jenny’s Winners Tour Blog #4
Jenny Jin in Sydney

Keeping Up With The Play – Jenny’s Winners Tour Blog #4

21 November 2024 After a lively recording session in Hamilton, I was off to Sydney! Having never been to Australia, I was excited to explore the city. We arrived at our hotel around 9:30 pm, right in the heart of Darling Square, where the streets were buzzing with life. I quickly dropped my luggage in the room and went to explore Sydney's night views. I had some street sweets and saw several bustling restaurants that I noted to…

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National String Competition – Sarah Watkins and Gracie Francis
Sarah Watkins and Gracie Francis

National String Competition – Sarah Watkins and Gracie Francis

We sat down with Sarah Watkins and Gracie Francis – our collaborative pianists for the 2024 National String Competition - to talk about what it’s like to work with a large number of young artists with a limited amount of rehearsal time…the challenges, the joys and the myriad of things that both competitor and accompanist learn through the process. How are you feeling about being one of the collaborative pianists for the 2024 National String Competition? Sarah: First…

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Keep Up With The Play – Jenny’s Winners Tour Blog #3

Keep Up With The Play – Jenny’s Winners Tour Blog #3

12 November 2024 Last Tuesday we played a concert in Dunedin and the composer Gillian Whitehead was actually in the audience. I'm playing one of her pieces called Bright Silence and I got to meet her backstage. She was so warm and genuine and I'm really happy that I got to meet her. After Dunedin we went to Christchurch for two days then flew to New Plymouth for a concert on Friday. That was a different experience. The…

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Keep Up With The Play – Jenny’s Winners Tour blog #2
Jenny and Jeongwhan at The Hills

Keep Up With The Play – Jenny’s Winners Tour blog #2

Tuesday 5 November Earlier this week we performed in Invercargill, Christchurch and Nelson. The Opera House in Invercargill was so dark that I couldn’t see the audience so I imagined that I was an opera singer on stage. The next morning, I had a 6am Zoom class in writing short fiction for my Bachelor of Music degree at Juilliard. There’s only a certain number of classes we can miss each semester so my teacher kindly agreed to let…

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The Whakatipu Music Festival – 2025 dates announced.
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The Whakatipu Music Festival – 2025 dates announced.

Situated on the banks of Lake Whakatipu and running across the 4 days of the 2025 Easter weekend, 18 – 21 April, the Whakatipu Music Festival weaves together New Zealand’s most outstanding emerging musical talents with world-class luminaries, local grassroots music initiatives and dedicated local and national educators. The festival delivers an exhilarating event for every musical taste and ability. One of the reasons for the festival’s growing reputation and success is its commitment to delivering three interconnecting…

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Instrument Bank recipient shares news from her musical travels across Europe
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Instrument Bank recipient shares news from her musical travels across Europe

Dear Sir Michael and Anne,  I wanted to give you an update on my European study and let you know where the Bergonzi violin is. I have been studying in Austria for 3 months now and it has been amazing. Attached is a photo of my violin class with our teacher Professor Vesna Stankovic, Concertmaster of the Volksoper Wien. I caught up with Ben Morrison recently for a lesson, it was great to see another kiwi over here! He…

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