This year we have a dozen extremely talented emerging artists joining us for the festival. These young artists aged 18 to 28 have made waves both here in New Zealand and overseas. Although covid has placed some restrictions on them…. It means we are lucky enough to have them perform and engage with the community here in Queenstown! Most recently five of our young artists took part in the National String Comp etition and Lewis Eady National Piano…

And, just like that, the Whakatipu Music Festival is all finished for 2021. What a wonderful whirlwind of classical music! We are so lucky to have gathered such immense musical talent and music lovers together in Queenstown this long weekend. A true match made in heaven (or the mountains, depends how you look at it!) Thank you so much for joining us for this inaugural classical music event. Everyone's support counts massively towards our overall success, we thank you…

Sunday sunshine came for our morning Community Music Showcase. Stunning performances from a variety of ages, genres, and abilities - all talented and wonderful people! Continuing our celebration of music into the afternoon, our second instalment of Young Artist Recitals was a beautiful melody of sound. Into the evening, our Young Artists came together for a Chamber Ensemble concert. Professionally captured and recorded for posterity with the help of RNZ Concert, The Violin Channel, and TomTom Productions, relive…

Saturday 5 June saw Whakatipu Music Festival step into an all-day musical groove. Kicking off with our Community Music Showcase featuring local musicians in the morning! It's great to see so much budding musical talent of all ages and abilities from across the Whakatipu Basin. A lovely opportunity for youngsters to perform together and gain confidence on-stage. We look forward to seeing further community performances scheduled for Sunday and Monday at 9:30am - get tickets here! A lazy, rainy Saturday…

Whakatipu Music Festival opened with a bang last night! For a first-time festival, our opening reception hosted by Craig's Investment Partners was a roaring success. At 7pm, our first evening concert got into full swing! NZTrio performed on-stage with Jonathan Cohen, clarinet, to much fanfare from the audience. Our classical music lovers around the world also got a taste of Whakatipu Music Festival on our Facebook livestream. Thank you to RNZ Concert, The Violin Channel, and TomTom Productions for making…

By reaching out to local schools, Whakatipu Music Festival hopes to inspire youngsters to step into music. Festival artists visited Remarkables Primary, Shotover Primary, Liger Leadership Academy, and Whakatipu High School to aid the flourishing of the arts in our community. See shots below!

So, we know that Whakatipu Music Festival musicians are in town. The festival kicks off on Friday. What must the artists be doing for those few days in between? Rehearsals and Community Outreach!   Thomas Brown Gallery played host to a teacher training talk followed by an open class led by professional artists. Community invitations to music teachers and students seeking to up their game and learn from the best gathered together a joyful crowd. Collaborative participation from all…

Last night, our Artists, Host Families, and Training Ground team arrived at Sir Michael Hill's Residence for a lovely welcome reception. With opulent art on display all around, artistic souls and musical spirits felt at home together in celebration of all the festival goodness still to come. Mixing and mingling as the excitement grew, beautiful platters of salmon and salads went down a treat with our hungry musicians! A wonderful introduction by Festival Director, Anne Rodda, gave way…