Scholarship for a NZ Chamber Ensemble

Royal Over-Seas League

Inaugural Pettman/ROSL ARTS International Scholarship for a New Zealand Chamber Ensemble: Winner Announced

The winner of the inaugural Pettman/ROSL ARTS International Scholarship is The New Zealand School of Music Graduate String Quartet.

Christobel Lin (20) violin: born Christchurch, University of Auckland, NZ School of
Music, Wellington
Sophie Bird (21) violin: born Auckland, University of Auckland, NZ School of Music,
Wellington
Nicholas Hancox (21) viola: born Wellington, NZ School of Music, Wellington
Sarah Dobbs (24) cello: born Christchurch, NZ School of Music, Wellington

They were selected from 20 different ensembles from the Universities of Canterbury, Victoria, Waikato and Auckland at auditions held 20 - 30 October in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.

The adjudicating panel were the Scottish pianist Martin Cousin*, Australian saxophonist Amy Dickson*, Director of ROSL ARTS in London, Roderick Lakin MBE and Chief Executive of Chamber Music New Zealand, Euan Murdoch.

The panel were impressed by the diversity of repertoire from Haydn to Robyn Toan which the NZSM Quartet had prepared, and felt they were the most ready of the ensembles auditioned to take full advantage of the intensive performance and coaching opportunities which this scholarship offers.

The scholarship includes:
 Return flights from New Zealand to London
 Accommodation and hospitality for four weeks in the UK (Aug/Sept 2007) (London, Edinburgh and Dartington)
 Cash award of $1500 each
 Lunch time concert in London at St Martin in the Fields
 Concerts for ROSL in London and Edinburgh (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
 Consultation lessons and coaching with prominent UK based teachers
 Visits to major UK Conservatoires
 Tickets for cultural events including BBC Proms & Edinburgh Festival

The panel also wished to commend the innate musicality of the Dvorak Trio (Amalia Hall, violin; Cameron Stewart, cello; John-Paul Muir, piano) from the University of Auckland who individually and collectively showed great promise.

* Martin Cousin and Amy Dickson were the 2003 and 2004 Gold Medalllists in the ROSL Annual Music Competition which has been held in the U.K. for the past 54 years. As well as acting as adjudicators for this Scholarship, they gave concerts in Christchurch, Wellington (to be broadcast on Concert FM) and Auckland.

PROFESSOR BARRIE PETTMAN AND THE ROSL ARTS NZ International Scholarship

Professor Pettman’s generosity and great passion for both chamber music and New Zealand, has enabled ROSL ARTS to expand its annual NZ Scholarship from one musician to a chamber ensemble (duo, trio or quartet). The prize winning ensemble will be given a unique opportunity at the outset of their careers to experience the richness and diversity of professional musical life and explore possibilities for post-graduate study in the U.K.

QUOTES FROM ADJUDICATING PANEL

Martin Cousin, piano ROSL Music Competition Gold Medal winner 2003

From a solo pianist’s perspective, participating in chamber music is a great joy. I’m sure that the winning quartet will find that the intense focus this scholarship will bring, will benefit them, not only as a group, but also enhance their playing as individuals enormously. The stimulus of being together for a month in the UK is an enviable opportunity and the experience will hopefully serve as an inspiration to other groups.

Amy Dickson, saxophone, ROSL Music Competition Gold Medal winner 2004

Classical Music is a language without international boundaries, and to speak it and to understand it we must experience it in its many contexts. This scholarship has been created to allow musicians the opportunity to come to the UK to be immersed in a cultural life so abundant with opportunities that the experience will open the minds of the recipients to a myriad of new possibilities for professional music-making.

Roderick Lakin MBE, Director of ROSL ARTS, London

The quartet chosen for this year’s Pettman/ROSL ARTS scholarship will, I am sure, be excellent cultural ambassadors for NZ. I hope that their experiences in the UK and this scholarship in the future, will stimulate NZ musicians to think beyond their solo studies and academic courses, and use their imagination and enthusiasm to create their own chamber music ensembles and projects.

Euan Murdoch, Chief Executive, Chamber Music New Zealand

I am delighted to be associated with this Scholarship for New Zealand chamber groups. This extremely generous award will further the profile of chamber music in New Zealand and builds on the success of the NZCT Secondary Schools Chamber Music Contest now in its forty-second year. Many of the ensembles we’ve auditioned for this scholarship have graduated from the Contest and it is wonderful to have this new opportunity for them to aspire to a career as ensemble musicians.

THE ROYAL OVER-SEAS LEAGUE

Links between New Zealand and the UK have been strengthened with the use of its two superbly located Clubhouses available to New Zealanders in London and Edinburgh, offering all the facilities needed for holiday makers and business travelers.

Originally founded in 1910 to encourage international friendship and understanding, ROSL is a non-profit organization with HM The Queen as Patron. With its 20,000 members worldwide and strong membership throughout New Zealand we are also able to offer our members a network of contacts through our 60 reciprocal clubs.

ROSL ARTS has developed an impressive portfolio of arts activities and projects devoted to the career development of young professional artists and musicians from the UK and the Commonwealth. The principal aim of ROSL ARTS is to provide performance and exhibition opportunities for our prize-winning artists and musicians early in their careers and thus to bring their work to the attention of the professional arts community, the media and the general public.

The ROSL has a particularly distinguished record in the field of music. The ROSL Annual Music Competition, now in its 54th year, is one of the most comprehensive and highly regarded of major competitions held in the UK. Past first prize-winners have included a number of outstanding New Zealand musicians including Ross Pople, cello (1963); Patricia Payne, contralto (1969); Keith Lewis, tenor (1975) and Jonathan Lemalu, bass-baritone (2000).

Recent prizewinners include trumpet player Bede Williams (2005), soprano Anna Leese (2004), piano Carolyn Johnson-Wu (2003, 2004), cellist Victoria Simonsen (2004), mezzo-soprano Wendy Dawn Thompson (2003, 2002), oboist Stacey Dixon (2002), pianist Lindy Tennant-Brown (2002), pianist Stephen De Pledge (1995, 1998, 1999), violinist Natalie Tantrum (1997), cellist Ashley Brown (1996), soprano Annelies Chapman (1995), clarinettist Gretchen Dunsmore (1995), mezzo soprano Sarah Castle (1994), bass Martin Snell (1993) and pianist Read Gainsford (1988).

The 2005 ROSL/NZ Scholarship was won by clarinetist Ellen Deverall. Previous winners are soprano Sarah Paek (2004), pianist Grace Chan (2003), cellist Victoria Simonsen (2002), bassoonist Jane Kircher (2001), baritone James Harrison (2000), pianist Diana Khiteva (1999), violinist Peau Halapua (1998), cellist Rachel Johnston (1998), trumpet player John Lewis (1997), pianist Timothy Evans (1996), soprano Morag Atchison (1995) and cellist Ashley Brown (1994).

FURTHER INFORMATION
Roderick Lakin, Director of ROSL ARTS, Royal Over-Seas League,
Park Place, St James’s Street, London SW1A 1LR
Tel 00 44 (0)20 7408 0214 x325
Fax 00 44 (0)20 7499 6738
Email rlakin@rosl.org.uk
www.roslarts.co.uk

ENDS

© Scoop Media