Tenor and violinist win Otago Arts Excellence Awards

Tenor and violinist win Dame Malvina Major Foundation Otago Arts Excellence Awards

Two Otago performing artists have been recognised by the Dame Malvina Major Foundation for their talent and potential.

The Foundation’s Otago Committee has awarded Arts Excellence Awards worth $2,500 each to tenor Matthew Wilson and violinist Annabel Drummond.

Otago-trained tenor Matthew Wilson is studying towards an Artist Certificate at the University of Missouri, Kansas City with renowned tenor Vinson Cole. He completed a Bachelor of Music in Performance Voice and Piano Accompaniment with Judy Bellingham and Terence Dennis at the University of Otago, and a Master’s in Teaching and Learning.

Dunedin-born violinist Annabel Drummond is studying towards a Master of Music at the University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig, Germany. A former Columba College student, Annabel graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Victoria University’s Te Koki New Zealand School of Music last year.

The Dame Malvina Major Foundation Arts Excellence Awards support young New Zealanders of outstanding ability in the performing arts who are preparing for a professional career. Arts Excellence Awards are awarded annually by regional committees in Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, Taranaki, Otago and the Waikato.

Dame Malvina Major said it was a privilege for the Foundation to support talented young artists with real potential and congratulated Matthew and Annabel.

“The Foundation’s Arts Excellence Awards truly exemplify the Foundation’s ethos of ‘from grass roots to excellence’,” she said.

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