News / Media
The Michael Hill shines on the world stage.
WFIMC

The Michael Hill shines on the world stage.

Executive Director, Anne Rodda, has recently returned to Auckland after representing the Michael Hill International Violin Competition at the World Federation of International Music Competitions General Assembly. This year's conference was hosted by the Toscanini Competition in Parma, Italy. The WFIMC is a global network of internationally recognised competitions dedicated to identifying the most promising young talents in music. It provides a forum for 110 member’s dialogue and exchanges, focusing on artistic excellence, integrity and fairness, and guidelines.…

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Michael Hill Fellows compete for the 56th National Concerto Competition title.
NCC Finalists 2024

Michael Hill Fellows compete for the 56th National Concerto Competition title.

The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra promise not one, but three concertos come Saturday 9 March, when 2023 Michael Hill Fellowship member violinists and 2022 Whakatipu Music Festival Young Artists Peter Gjelsten and Hazuki Katsukawa and Clarinettist and 2021 Whakatipu Festival artist Ben van Leuven compete in the finals of the 56th National Concerto Competition. The competition, which is in its 56th year, is one of New Zealand’s most prestigious and oldest music competitions for musicians 25 years and under.…

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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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Keep Up With The Play – Jenny’s Winners Tour blog
Jenny Jin with Sir Michael Hill and Jennifer Ward-Lealand

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

31 October 2024 I'm writing this blog at Hamilton Airport. We're about to fly to Invercargill for our next concert. I had some trouble with my excess baggage because of all the dresses in my bag, but we are fine now! Last night was really fun. We had an amazing concert at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts. I could see the reactions of the audience and I got to play an encore session which was Schön Rosmarin…

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The Whakatipu Music Festival – 2025 dates announced.
Supplied

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 profile: Mana Waiariki (Violin)

Instrument Bank – recipient profile: Mana Waiariki (Violin)

"Resonant, loud, heartfelt, and a bit of a drama queen!" This is how Wellington violinist Mana Waiariki describes her much-loved instrument, currently on loan to her thanks to the Hill Family Foundation of Arts and Music Instrument Bank initiative. But it wasn’t actually love at first sight/sound for this gifted young creative. Mana was halfway through the second year of her performance degree at Wellington’s New Zealand School of Music when she received the call inviting her to…

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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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