Collaborating Artists
Click on the photograph to view further information.
 Sarah Watkins PIANO |
 Bernadette Balkus PIANO |
 Ashley Brown
CELLO |
 New Zealand Trio
|
 Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
|
 Christian Knapp
Final Round Conductor |
 Chamber Music New Zealand
|
 Ross Harris
Composer |
Sarah Watkins - PIANO, New Zealand Trio
Sarah Watkins has enjoyed an impressive career as chamber musician, collaborative partner and recording artist, touring widely throughout Japan, England and the US with some of America’s leading instrumentalists. A graduate of the University of Canterbury, she holds a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in collaborative piano from the Juilliard School in New York City. Resident in the US for fourteen years, Sarah has been a staff pianist at Juilliard, Yale University and the Aspen Music Festival. Among academic highlights was her work as coordinator of the collaborative piano program at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and several years tenure on the music faculty of Purchase College, New York.
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Bernadette Balkus - PIANO
More recently Bernadette has appeared at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and in 2003 she gave the world premiere performance of composer Tim Dargaville’s first piano concerto written for her. She has also formed a duo with soprano Sara Macliver and has given a number of concerts with her including Jane Austen: A Life in Music for Musica Viva which toured throughout
2006 engagements include performances with the Australia Ensemble, Sonic Art Ensemble, Sydney Soloists, at the Huntington Festival for Musica Viva, concerts at the
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Ashley Brown - CELLO, New Zealand Trio
Ashley Brown studied with William Pleeth in London, Aldo Parisot at Yale University and Alexander Ivashkin at Canterbury University. He won the TVNZ Young Musicians Competition and CCMC National Concerto Competition, and was awarded prizes at the Adam International Cello Competition and the ROSL Music Competition in London. He was the Cellist of the Turnovsky Trio, the Cello Tutor at the universities of Waikato and Canterbury, and Principal Cellist of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. He has performed concerts around the world including New York, London, Paris, Brussels, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney, and keeps a busy schedule of engagements throughout New Zealand as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and teacher.> Top
New Zealand Trio
Ensemble in Residence at the University of Auckland
The New Zealand Trio has quickly established itself as one of the most exciting professional chamber music groups to join the thriving creative arts community of New Zealand, being hailed by the media as a "superbly balanced world-class ensemble”. Formed in 2002, the Trio comprises three outstanding artists, each firmly established in their own careers. Justine Cormack (violin), Ashley Brown (cello) and Sarah Watkins (piano) have been delighting audiences around the globe with their work as solo and ensemble musicians. Together as the New Zealand Trio, they are now receiving critical acclaim and becoming an important ambassador for New Zealand and New Zealand music on the international stage. The New Zealand Trio took up residency at The University of Auckland in July 2004, creating in the process a partnership that demonstrates a joint commitment to the growth of the arts in this country. With the University’s support, the Trio is commissioning work by leading New Zealand composers and is focused on broadening the community’s interest in, and love of, chamber music.
In 2005, the trio released its critically acclaimed debut album ‘Spark’, which features an exhilarating collection of New Zealand compositions that span a range of styles, moods, energy and vibrancy.
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The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, now in its 26th year, is Auckland’s own professional symphony orchestra, performing more than 100 performances annually to well over 400,000 New Zealanders.
Its concert calendar includes over 40 different classical concert programmes featuring the full range of classical symphonic repertoire, international soloists, pops, family and outdoor concerts. Additionally, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra regularly accompanies the national and international ballet and opera companies, celebrities, and plays a major part in special events such as the Auckland Harbour Festival and Starlight Symphony. It has commissioned and performed numerous New Zealand compositions and for nearly two decades has benefited from its Composer-in-Residence programme. Diversification and younger audience development are being vigorously pursued with ‘popular’ artists and stadium events, in the past featuring well known names such as Diana Krall, Manhattan Transfer, Meat Loaf, Dave Dobbyn, Goldenhorse, Shapeshifter, Russell Watson and Pavarotti.
An extensive Education programme caters to all age groups through schools concerts and partnership programmes, community outreach concerts, and association with other community organisations such as the Auckland Art Gallery, MOTAT and Living Rhythm. Over 20,000 Auckland students participate annually in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Educational Programs. Each year, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s live concerts are broadcast nationally and the orchestra has recorded CDs and film scores to critical acclaim.
The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra maintains its reputation as being a relevant and tangible arts organisation and is regarded by many as a regional cultural icon. The orchestra receives funding from Creative New Zealand, Auckland City and ASB Trusts, in addition to generous sponsorship from companies and private individuals. The orchestra thrives on community support and loyalty, and is supported by a Board of Directors, a Foundation, a professional management team, and two voluntary community support organisations.
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Christian Knapp, Conducting the Final Round
Christian Knapp has performed in festivals and concerts throughout the world, conducting the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the New World Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Civic Orchestra, among many others. Upcoming appearances include debuts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic. Currently Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, Mr. Knapp has conducted and toured that orchestra extensively over the past two years to frequent critical acclaim. He has collaborated with such renowned artists as Mstislav Rostropovich, Itzhak Perlman, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Vinson Cole, Cecile Licad and Pepe Romero, to name just several.An equally accomplished operatic conductor, Mr. Knapp was Associate Conductor of Broomhill Opera in London from 2000 to 2003 and helped create its sister company in South Africa whose innovative productions brought international recognition and led to several worldwide tours. He has conducted a number of operas including Turn of the Screw, Rake’s Progress, The Marriage of Figaro, Carmen, Der Siblersee and Il trittico. As an assistant conductor, he has worked extensively for the Los Angeles Philharmonic assisting Esa-Pekka Salonen among others, at the Kirov Opera under Leonid Korchmar; and for Michael Tilson Thomas with the New World Symphony, the Russian National Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Born in the United States, Mr. Knapp received a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Tufts University. Mr. Knapp was a prizewinner in the Third International Prokofiev Conducting Competition in 1999. That same year he was also awarded the prestigious Woodhouse Junior Fellowship in Conducting from the Royal College of Music in London and subsequently spent the year in residency studying with John Carewe while working with the Royal College’s orchestras, new music ensembles and opera theater. In 2003 he was selected to participate in the National Conducting Institute at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a project of the National Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin in collaboration with the American Symphony Orchestra League. In 2005 Mr. Knapp and the Seattle Symphony were awarded a grant from the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation.
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Chamber Music New Zealand
Partners
Partners
Chamber Music New Zealand is this country's largest presenter of top quality chamber music concerts throughout New Zealand. Our activities are divided into three strands: the Celebrity Season, which showcases top international artists; the Associate Societies programme, which focuses on New Zealand performers; and the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest, which fosters the musical stars of the future.
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Ross Harris - Composer
Ross Harris was born in the small town of Amberley in North Canterbury in 1945. He was educated in Christchurch and attended University of Canterbury before moving to Victoria University of Wellington to complete his education. He was appointed a Lecturer in Music at Victoria University in 1971 and has recently taken early retirement to pursue a career as a freelance composer. In the 1960s he played tuba and french horn in the National Youth Orchestra and went on to play french horn in the NZSO. More recently he has played jazz saxophone and now concentrates on jazz trumpet and accordion.Ross Harris has written over 100 works including operas, songs, chamber music, electronic music, symphonic music and jazz. In 1985 he was awarded a QSM for Public Service following the premiere of his opera "Waituhi" with libretto by Witi Ihimaera. In 1990 he was awarded the CANZ Citation for Services to New Zealand Music. In 2000 Ross Harris was awarded the SOUNZ Contemporary Award for his chamber work, "To the Memory of I.S. Totzka". He has just been appointed to the position of Composer in Residence with the Auckland Philharmonia for 2005.
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