Aim of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition
Philosophy:
A combination of exceptional technical prowess and outstanding artistry are the twin cornerstones of a professional violin career in the twenty-first century. The era we live in demands even more from young artists: communications expertise and the charisma and perseverance to cut through the saturated market.
The Michael Hill International Violin Competition takes the young musician and delivers a more rounded performer and prepared individual onto an appreciative, relentless international stage.
The competition continues to uphold the principles of integrity and authenticity in all its operations. It also upholds the principle of genuine cultivation of talent in all its facets.
CHARACTERISING A MICHAEL HILL WINNER:
MICHAEL HILL WINNERS WILL
- Display the highest level of artistry and prowess
- Possess intelligence, charisma and a personality suited to the demands of the professional musical world
- Exhibit unique personal and musical qualities which will allow their talent to shine through in a crowded market
- Be versatile and adaptable to a wide range of musical situations and styles
Possess the ability, stamina, and perseverance to sustain a long and meaningful career
WE BELIEVE
- Win or not, the value of participating in competitions is the hard graft the musicians put into their preparation to be at their absolute peak. The intensity they encounter through the rounds is unparalleled in any other environment.
- Young artists have a variety of career options and platforms available and, as evidenced by the varied career paths of our past winners, we honour and support whichever direction their vocation and opportunities take them.
- In this competitive and technologically complex market in which our winners will find themselves, it has become evident that the artist must recognise and embrace the need to be a skilled performer and communicator as well as a fine musician.
MISSION STATEMENT:
The Michael Hill International Violin Competition aims to recognise and celebrate excellence, distinctiveness and musical artistry.
We encourage talented young violinists from all over the world who are on the verge of launching themselves on the world stage and empower them with the necessary skills to broaden their career opportunities.
We take pride in New Zealand Aotearoa’s cultural offerings and showcase our finest artistic talents.
Hosting a major event and inviting the world’s celebrated violinists, we are raising the awareness of fine music and the standards of musical performance that richly impacts the next layer of talent in New Zealand.
Task of the Selection Panel
To select, from the applications, the top 16 (plus 8 alternates) to be quarter-finalists and compete further in the live New Zealand Rounds.
General Information
The Competition management will carefully review each application to ensure it meets the Competition criteria. The panel will only assess recordings which are fully compliant.
The selection panel, which convenes in person together for the purpose of judging the selection rounds, will be in receipt of the applicants’ recordings only for the first two rounds; the selection panel will view the audition videos of the remaining applicants for the third (and if required fourth round).
The selection panel may at any time, and at its discretion, disqualify any applicant if the recording supplied is not of a suitable quality to adequately assess the audition.
The announcement of the quarter-finalists will be made only by the Competition’s Executive Director. The quarter-finalists and alternates will be personally contacted by the Competition’s management; their names will be available on the Competition’s website and announced via social media. All applicants will be personally contacted by the Competition’s management with the results of the Selection Round.
Voting Procedures
Selection panellists are encouraged to make notes in whatever form is useful to assist their assessment and ranking. These notes are for personal use only and will not be shared with any applicant.
Each selection panellist deploys their preferred individual method of scoring which will allow them, at the conclusion of Round III to personally rank the remaining assessed applicants in order from their preferential best to least favourite.
Prior to voting, selection panellists are required to disclose any perceived conflict of interest they have with any of the applicants which may include personal and/or professional relationships or affiliations.
From the Applications
The MHIVC management identifies applicants who have recently received awards from other significant Competitions or other notable awards and recognition. The identified applicants’ names and accomplishments are not shared with the panel but, mitigating any risk for jury fatigue or distraction, reinserted anonymously as a “checks and balance” system, at the conclusion of Round I and II for another listen, for the purpose of achieving the Competition’s objectives to identify the applicants with the greatest likelihood to compete well in the live rounds.
Round I – Applicants’ videos cloaked to panellists
The recordings are heard by the panel in heats of 10 applicants. At the end of each heat, 4 out of 5 members of the panel must agree to eliminate, by a show of hands, any applicant on the basis of their recording.
Aim to reduce numbers down to 100 (or by 40%)
Applicants as identified by the Executive Director (as above) that have been eliminated are reheard, anonymously, on the same repertoire and revoted.
Round II – Applicants’ videos cloaked to panellists
The remaining pool of applicants are reviewed again in heats of 10. At the end of each heat, 4 out of 5 members of the panel must agree to eliminate, by a show of hands, any applicant on the basis of his/her recording.
Applicants as identified by the Executive Director (as above) that have been eliminated are reheard, anonymously, on the same repertoire and revoted.
Aim to reduce numbers down to 60 (or by 40%)
Round III – Applicant’s videos viewed by panellists; bios and awards not shared
The remaining pool of applicants are reviewed again in heats of 10. At the end of each heat, 3 out of 5 members of the panel must agree to eliminate, by a show of hands, any applicant. The number of hands up are documented in the instance the elimination exercise yields a too severe results and there are fewer candidates left in the pool than available positions.
Aim to reduce numbers down to 30 to make the pool available for voting manageable
From the remaining list of applicants, the panellists individually rank their preferred applicants from post preferred to least favourite. In order for any applicant to be selected a quarter-finalist, he or she must receive a majority vote from the panel.
The Voting Procedure
1.Each panelist identifies, by number, his/her first choice of applicant to be selected. The applicant that achieves a majority vote is determined. In the case there is not a clear majority, a preferential voting system will be adopted that drops off applicants until one achieves a clear majority.
2.The accepted quarter-finalist is accepted and on that basis panelists then vote for his/her first choice of the remaining applicants. The applicant with the most votes is determined.
3.The procedure in step 2 is repeated until 16 quarter-finalists plus 6 alternates have been selected.
Task of the International Jury
To evaluate the competitors’ performances during two quarter-final, one semi-final and one final Round with a view to select prize winners that meet the aims of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition. as stated above
General Information
At the judges’ initial briefing session, judges are obligated to disclose any perceived conflict of interest they have with any of the applicants which may include personal and/or professional relationships or affiliations.
Judges are allowed to make notes in whatever form is useful to assist their decision-making. These notes are for personal use only and will not be shared with any competitor.
Judges are not allowed to discuss any aspect of the Competition with competitors at any time during the Competition and are required to avoid any contact (including electronic) with the participants as long as the Competition is being held.
Judges are obliged to attend all Rounds of the Competition. In the unfortunate event of illness or emergency, that Judge will be excluded from that entire Round of Competition.
Judges are not allowed to discuss any competitor’s merits or weaknesses nor disclose any observations about any competitor at any time during the Competition. This includes avoiding making any positive or negative comments or gestures during the performances.
The Chairman will serve as official time-keeper for the semi-final Rounds and will ensure that timing specified for each stage is not exceeded. At his discretion, he may choose to stop a competitor who has exceeded the maximum number of minutes in any Round.
Each Judge will be provided with appropriate voting ballots.
The Judges are requested to make themselves available for a short time after semi-final Rounds II and III to provide constructive criticism to semi-finalists not advancing beyond those stages. Additionally, the Judges are requested to make themselves available to provide constructive criticism to the finalists following the final Round.
The announcement of the prize winners will be made only by the Chairman. The announcement of prizes will take place, with the judges on stage, at the conclusion of Round II, Round III and the final Round.
Commentary: The idea behind this method of voting it to ensure that any candidate progressing has the vote of the majority of the panel, and that no vote from a panel member is ever wasted.
Voting after quarter-final Rounds I and II
All quarter-finalists will compete in quarter-final Rounds I and II. At the completion of these the judges will select six semi-finalists to progress to semi-final Round III. In order for any candidate to advance, he or she must receive a majority vote. The procedure is as follows:
1. Each juror votes (in confidence) for his/her first choice of quarter-finalist to be advanced to Round III. The quarter-finalist that achieves a majority vote is disclosed and advances. In the case there is not a clear majority, a preferential voting system will be adopted that drops off competitors until one achieves a clear majority.
2. The advancing quarter-finalist is disclosed and on that basis judges will be asked to vote for his/her first choice of the remaining quarter-finalists. The quarter-finalist with the most votes is disclosed and advances.
3. The procedure in step 2 is repeated until 6 quarter-finalists to advance to semi-final Round III have been chosen.
Voting for best performance of the New Zealand Composition
Unrelated to the advancement of the top 6 quarter-finalists, the judges will be asked to vote (in confidence) for his/her first choice of semi-finalist to receive this prize. The competitor with the most votes is disclosed.
For a clear majority to be reached, a violinist must receive a vote in favour from four of the judges. In the event a clear majority does not result in the first instance, the same procedure shall apply.
Voting after semi-final Round III
After semi-final Round III the judges will be asked to select three finalists and to determine 4th, 5th, and 6th place prizewinners. The advancing finalists will be announced at the conclusion of Round III but the 4-6th prizes will not be announced until the final prize-giving at the conclusion of the Final Round.
The same procedure will be adopted. At each stage the semi-finalist with the most votes will advance and the votes cast will be disclosed (but not attributed) at each stage. For a clear majority to be reached, a violinist must receive a vote in favour from 4 of the 7 judges. In the event a clear majority does not result in the first instance, the same procedure shall apply.
Voting for best performance of the Chamber Music Prize
Unrelated to the advancement of the top 3 finalists, the judges will be asked to vote (in confidence) for his/her first choice of semi-finalist participating in Round III to receive this prize. The competitor with the most votes is disclosed.
For a clear majority to be reached, a violinist must receive a vote in favour from 4 of the judges. In the event a clear majority does not result in the first instance, the same procedure shall apply. This prize is announced at the final prize giving.
This prize is announced following the Final Round as part of the prize giving 10 June.
Voting after the Final Round
After the final Round the judges will be asked to vote for 1st prize, 2nd prize, and 3rd prize.
At the completion of the final Round each juror will be asked to vote (in confidence) for his/her first choice of finalist to be awarded 1st prize. If a finalist receives a majority of the votes he or she will be declared the winner. If there is no majority the same procedure shall apply.
The assessment is cumulative. Judges must consider all the rounds of the competitors.
Voting for Michael Hill Audience Prize
Members of the public may cast votes online with instructions provided in the programme book and www.violincompetition.co.nz . 1 vote per voter can be cast during a 24-hour period. All competitors are eligible to win the Michael Hill Audience Prize. The voting opens at 1pm 2 June and closes strictly after the third performance in the Final Round 10 June. The winner will be announced during the prizegiving 10 June.