Young musicians shine at schools chamber music contest

Savanah Baty (GGHS) and Rikipapaki Reedy (GBHS) were part of the Liszt Trio which won the overall prize in Chamber Music NZ annual schools contest in Gisborne which took place at Lawson Field Theatre on Thursday June 6.

The annual Chamber Music NZ Schools Contest for the Tairāwhiti district was held at Lawson Field Theatre last week with 13 groups from Gisborne high schools taking part.

Small groups playing the classic chamber musical instruments such as piano, cello, clarinet, flute and violin made up the entries.

Chamber Music NZ district contest organiser Anna Marie Fenn said the contest featured a mix of levels, from beginners to accomplished musicians, therefore being a true reflection of the musical community in the region.

Image 1 of 6: Kaya Avni, Savanah Baty and Carys Holmes perform at Chamber Music NZ annual schools contest.

The overall winners were the Liszt trio made up of Willow Lawton (GGHS), Savanah Baty (GGHS) and Rikipapaki Reedy (GBHS).

They played an arrangement of Liszt’s Dreams of Love - Liebestraume Notturno III for Violin, Cello and Piano.

The adjudicator described their performance as mature and confident with great balance and listening.

The Gisborne Combined Secondary Schools Orchestra played a bracket at the end of the evening before the results were announced.

Fenn said it was great to see a group from Champion College take part in this year’s event, which is usually made up of a majority of musicians from Gisborne Girls’ and Boys’ High Schools.

The adjudicators award went to Remedy, made up of Layla Mersham, Estelle Hepburn-Van-Zyl and Savanah Williams all from GGHS.

Best performance of a New Zealand work went to The Dreamers - Else Pauwels, Klara Pauwels and Olivia Brown.

The NZCT Contest is the largest and longest-running chamber music event of its kind in Aotearoa, dedicated to nurturing secondary-school musicians of all proficiency levels within a supportive and growth-oriented atmosphere.

The competition is made up of three parts, the district rounds across 14 centres throughout the country, progressing to three regional finals, from which eight ensembles are then chosen to proceed to the national finals.

This year, close to 400 groups with almost 1500 participants will take to the stage to share their work, the result of months of dedication and practice coming together.

NZCT offers coaching sessions with professional musicians, many hailing from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra to ensembles from smaller centres.

Other results

• Highly Commended: Forte Fingers - Willow Lawton, Romie Roseman, Wairere Kutia, Pyper August (GGHS)
• Highly Commended: Take Three - Milah Blaker-Kilpatrick, Eva Blandford, Madeleine Poutler-Dervin (Campion College)
• Highly Commended: Fortunato - Savanah Baty, Kaya Avni, Carys Holmes (GGHS)
• KBB Award: Flötinets - Romie Roseman, Nikita Schwass, Lena Von Elling, Caitlyn Murphy