Violinist Andrew Beer has been described as a “musical gift” (NY Times) with a “glorious string tone” (Strad magazine). He has performed as a soloist throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia, and as a chamber musician at the Music@Menlo, IMS Prussia Cove, Aspen, Tanglewood, Banff and Orford Festivals, with leading artists including Midori, the Parker String Quartet and Emerson String Quartet. Andrew has served as Concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra since 2014, and has performed as guest Concertmaster with the CBSO (Birmingham), Hallé (Manchester), MSO (Melbourne), ASO (Adelaide), VSO (Vancouver) and NZSO (Wellington).

His NZ-premiere performance of the Ligeti Concerto was described as a “consummate performance” and “one of the most exciting things I’ve heard for a while” (RNZ). William Dart (NZ Herald) described him as “a fully validated virtuoso” in his world premiere performance of Gillian Whitehead’s Concerto. Having worked with leading composers including Kurtag, Davidovsky, Reich and Boulez, Andrew has enjoyed exploring the music of NZ’s many gifted composers, and his debut CD with pianist Sarah Watkins, 11 Frames, won them the prize for Best Classical Artists at the 2020 New Zealand Music Awards.

Andrew performs on an 1845 Vuillaume violin, and an 1880 J.J. Maire bow.

Photo credit: Adrian Malloch

Praised for his powerful and poetic performances, internationally-acclaimed violinist Nikki Chooi has established himself as an artist of rare versatility. Gramophone stated he performed with “total conviction and assurance.” Nikki is a Laureate of the Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky Competitions, and was awarded 1st Prize Winner at the Montreal Symphony’s ManuLife Competition, the Klein International Strings Competition, and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition.

Nikki is currently Concertmaster of the Grammy-award winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. Highly in demand as a guest concertmaster, he has performed with the Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Houston Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and Macao Orchestra. Previously Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Nikki’s solos can be heard through The Met: Live in HD broadcasts in productions of Verdi’s La Traviata, Janacek’s Jenufa, and the Grammy-nominated recording of Strauss’ Rosenkavalier released on the Decca Label.

Nikki has been featured at many international festivals with performances at the Marlboro Festival, Ravinia Festival, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Brevard Music Center, Vancouver Recital Series, Moritzburg Festival, Kammermusik Utrecht, Dresden Music Festival, Chamber Music New Zealand, and Fundación Beethoven in Chile. Additionally, Nikki performs with his brother, violinist Timothy Chooi on selective projects and has also collaborated with esteemed artists including JoAnn Falletta, Yo-Yo Ma, Clayton Stephenson, Michelle Cann, and Time for Three. A passionate educator, Nikki has presented classes at Curtis Institute of Music, Morningside Music Program at the New England Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory, Orchestra of the Americas Academy, Sphinx Academy, Hong Kong Cultural Center, and the University of Auckland.

In 2022-2023, Nikki made critically-acclaimed debuts at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium as soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic and at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall with Orchestra NOW. He was also featured soloist with the Vancouver Symphony, Puerto Rico Symphony, National Taiwan Symphony Festival Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. In past seasons, he has appeared as soloist with orchestras across Canada and internationally including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie, National Orchestra of Belgium, Auckland Philharmonia, Malaysian Philharmonic, and Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Nikki began his studies at the Victoria Conservatory, Mount Royal Conservatory, Morningside Music Bridge, and at the National Arts Centre Young Artist Programme. He completed his formal studies at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School under the mentorship of Joseph Silverstein, Ida Kavafian, and Donald Weilerstein

He has recorded for Naxos, Beau Fleuve, Atoll, and Decca labels. Nikki performs on a 1713 Stradivarius graciously provided by the company CANIMEX INC. from Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, a 1749 G.B Guadagnini on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago, and a 2016 Joseph Curtin. Nikki proudly endorses Thomastik-Infeld strings.

Photo credit: Den Sweeney

Born and raised in Finland, Vesa-Matti Leppänen relocated to New Zealand in 2000. In 2002, he was appointed as the Concertmaster of the NZSO, a position he has held since.

Leppänen has dedicated over 20 years of his life to working alongside his colleagues to grow the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra into the globally renowned symphony orchestra it is today.

Leppänen’s contributions to this never-ending search for musical inspiration have brought him not only acclaim as a concertmaster but also as a soloist, chamber musician, and tutor on an international scale.

He has performed as soloist with all the major orchestras in New Zealand. With the NZSO, he has performed several concertos as well as works by leading New Zealand composers. In 2005 he led the NZSO on its European/Japanese Tour and again in 2010, including unforgettable performances in the Musikverein in Vienna and Lucerne Festival Hall. On both of those tours he was also featured as a soloist.

Internationally, Leppänen has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines and Scandinavia and has had the privilege of serving as a guest concertmaster for numerous esteemed orchestras. These include the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, the Japan Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and Avanti! Chamber Orchestra.

Leppänen’s career has been marked by a wide range of chamber music projects, working with outstanding musicians, composers, and ensembles both in New Zealand and internationally. His most recent and long-term collaborations include contemporary music group Stroma and a piano trio with pianist Diedre Irons and Andrew Joyce, principal cellist of the NZSO.

Vesa-Matti Leppänen plays a 1755 G.B. Guadagnini violin. This exceptional instrument was made available to him thanks to the wonderful generosity and support of Ainsley Walter and the NZSO Foundation.

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, and as the violinist of NZTrio, which has been described as “New Zealand’s most indispensable ensemble”. In 2024 she appeared as Guest Concertmaster of Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, alongside soloist Martha Argerich.

In 2025, engagements include the Mendelssohn concerto in Teatro Colón with conductor James Judd and the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Bartok’s 2nd concerto with conductor Gábor Káli and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the Beethoven concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba.

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, and the Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition. She won the top prize at the Tunbridge Wells, Jeunesses Dinu Lipatti, Leos Janacek, Postacchini, and Gisborne International Competitions.

Since making her solo debut at the age of 9 with the Auckland Philharmonia, Amalia has been a regular soloist with all of the major orchestras in New Zealand. She performed the world premiere of violin concertos by Claire Cowan and Michael Norris with Orchestra Wellington, under the baton of Marc Taddei.

Hall has been a soloist with orchestras including I Virtuosi Italiani, NDR Radiophilharmonie, National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan, United Strings of Europe, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, Filarmónica de Querétaro, Filarmónica de Acapulco, Filarmonica Marchigiana, Orquesta Sinfónica de Michoacán, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Vallejo Symphony and Brno Philharmonic Orchestra.

As soloist she has worked with conductors including James Judd, Christoph Altstaedt, Douglas Boyd, Benjamin Northey, Tobias Ringborg, Tianyi Lu, Holly Mathieson, Eckehard Stier and Christopher Dragon.

Amalia 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 Mozart Violin Concertos in one concert.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Amalia studied under the tutelage of renowned violinists Pamela Frank and Joseph Silverstein.

Amalia currently plays on the c. 1700 Vincenzo Rugeri ‘Baron Knoop’ violin, generously on loan from a private benefactor.

Performer/composer Mark Menzies has established an important, world-wide reputation as a violist and violinist, pianist and conductor. He has been described in the Los Angeles Times as an ‘extraordinary musician’ and a ‘riveting violinist.’ His career as a viola and violin virtuoso, chamber musician and pianist, conductor and advocate of contemporary music, has seen performances in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and across the United States, including prestigious appearances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Los Angeles’s Disney Hall and so on.

In February of 2017, Menzies performed the debut of a remarkable series of solo recitals in Los Angeles. Called 4:7 (4-in-the-time-of-7) – four separate solo violin/viola programs in one week, the concerts received considerable critical praise with the “New Classic LA” blog writing ‘Menzies was in full command’. 4:7 has been since performed in Christchurch (2017), Sacramento (2019), Wellington (2020) and Auckland (2021).

Menzies’ compositions are increasingly played across the globe with recent premieres in The Netherlands, Italy, Los Angeles and in Aotearoa/New Zealand. His composition Mut(t) was commissioned and premiered at last year’s SoundOn festival by Noise.

Viola, violin professor and coordinator of conducted ensembles at the California Institute of the Arts from 1999-2016, where Mark Menzies curated a remarkable series of concerts at REDCAT at Disney Hall in downtown Los Angeles. He moved to New Zealand in 2016 to take up a Professor of Music & Head of Performance position at the University of Canterbury.