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Queenstown – Semi-final Rounds I & II
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Auckland – Round III (Piano Trios)
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Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (New Zealand) |
Auckland – Final Round (with Orchestra)
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Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (New Zealand) |
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| Photo: Phoebe MacKinnon. |
Born in Winnipeg, Canada, Diedre Irons made her debut with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at the age of 12 playing the Schumann Piano concerto. She graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and was subsequently invited by her teacher, Rudolf Serkin, to join the faculty of that prestigious conservatory where she taught for the next seven years. During those years she toured Canada and the United States as a soloist and as a chamber music player.
Since moving to New Zealand in 1977 she has performed regularly with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia and the Christchurch Symphony, toured many times under the auspices of Chamber Music New Zealand, and recorded extensively for Radio New Zealand. With the Christchurch Symphony and conductor Marc Taddei she has recorded the complete Beethoven Piano Concerti on the Trust label.
She continues to travel internationally having to date presented concerts in 25 countries. In 1989 she was awarded an MBE for services to music and in 2007 received the degree Doctor of Music (honoris causa) from Brandon University in Manitoba, Canada.
She taught at the University of Canterbury from 1992-2003 and has recently retired from her position as head of classical performance at the New Zealand School of Music to be a full time concert pianist.
Sarah Watkins, Piano (New Zealand)
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| Photo: Supplied. |
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. In 2002 Sarah formed NZTrio with violinist Justine Cormack and cellist Ashley Brown, a group which has since become one of New Zealand’s leading music ensembles. Sarah has been an official pianist for the Michael Hill International Violin Competition since its inception in 2001, has performed as a freelance player in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Auckland Chamber Orchestra, and has appeared as concerto soloist with the APO and St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra.
Sarah is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York City, where she earned both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in collaborative piano. Resident in the US for fourteen years, Sarah was 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. During the period 2004-2009 NZTrio was ensemble in residence at the University of Auckland, where Sarah also taught collaborative piano and chamber music.
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| Photo: Supplied. |
John’s music has been commissioned and performed by many great musicians and orchestras around the world. These include Michael Brecker, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Joshua Redman, The New Zealand String Quartet, Federico Mondelci, The New Zealand Trio, Pedro Carneiro, the Takacs Quartet. The Netherlands Blazers Ensemble, the Halle Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, the Melbourne Symphony, the BBC Scottish Symphony, the Auckland Philharmonia, the Vector Wellington Orchestra, the NZSO, and many others.
John has a natural inclination and innate ability for mega-projects. Since writing much of the ceremonial music for the 2004 Olympic Games, John’s music has been on the radar screen of a wider public than that normally associated with contemporary classical music.
To him, music composition is first and foremost a communicative art form. He is constantly seeking ways and means of making intellectual music accessible to a wider audience. He explores connections between contemporary music and age-old musical traditions and he puts together programs, like his “Zeibekiko” that create context for the appreciation of difficult contemporary works.
In 2010 John’s “A Cool Wind” received its Carnegie Hall debut with the Takacs quartet, and he was Distinguished Guest Composer at the Winnipeg’s 2010 New Music Festival. He is currently completing his first feature film score.
LEARN MORE ABOUT JOHN PSATHAS.
Ashley Brown, Cello (New Zealand)
As well as giving many local and international performances in his role as cellist of NZTrio, Ashley keeps a busy schedule of concertos, recitals, chamber concerts, recording and teaching. He has collaborated closely with artists across the spectrum of musical genres including composers Victoria Kelly, Gillian Whitehead, Michael Norris, and Jack Body, and songwriters Bic Runga, Moana Maniapoto, King Kapisi, Mark de Clive-Lowe and Don McGlashan.
Ashley has taught cello at the universities of Waikato, Canterbury and Auckland and now teaches a small studio of gifted young cellists from around New Zealand. He has been Principal Cellist of the National Youth Orchestra, the Yale Philharmonia and the Auckland Philharmonia, and a member of the Turnovsky Trio.
Ashley studied at Canterbury University with Alexander Ivashkin, graduating as a Master of Music with Distinction. During this time he won the TVNZ Young Musicians Competition, the CCMC National Concerto Competition and a special prize at the ROSL Music Competition in London. Ashley spent two years studying with Aldo Parisot at Yale University graduating with the Artist Diploma, and six months with William Pleeth in London before returning to New Zealand.
Ashley plays the 1762 William Forster “Liberte” cello.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ASHLEY BROWN @ NZ TRIO.
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| Photo: Hannah Evans |
Michael Houstoun was born in Timaru, New Zealand in 1952. He became interested in the piano when he was a small child and began lessons at the age of 5. Under the tutelage, first of Sister Mary Eulalie in Timaru, and then of the great Maurice Till in Christchurch and Dunedin, Michael moved through the examination grades and by the age of 18 had won every major competition in New Zealand.
In 1973 he entered the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition where he placed third. Other international competition successes came in 1975 at the Leeds Competition (fourth prize) and in 1982 at the Tchaikowsky Competition (sixth prize).
Michael lived away from New Zealand from 1974 until 1981 and in this time studied with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (‘74/’75) and with Brigitte (‘Gigi’) Wild in London (’78/’79). He performed in the USA, UK, Germany and Holland.
In 1981 Michael followed his heart back to New Zealand where he has continued to live and concertise ever since, performing also in Australia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. He plays from a large repertoire which stretches from JS Bach to the present day, including 40 concertos and chamber music. A strong advocate of New Zealand music, works from Douglas Lilburn to John Psathas are regularly featured in his programmes. During the 1990s he concentrated on the music of Beethoven, playing the complete sonatas in five cycles around New Zealand - Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Napier. He played the concerto cycle in NZ and Australia.
Michael won the Turnovsky Prize in 1982, and in 1999 received an honorary doctorate in literature from Massey University.
In 1996 he collaborated with television producer Tainui Stephens on a documentary about Franz Liszt, ‘Icon in b minor’, and in 2005 was the subject of another documentary, ‘Piano Man’.
Michael frequently adjudicates music competitions in New Zealand, and in 1998 was a juror at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City.
He is Patron of the Nelson School of Music, the Regent on Broadway theatre in Palmerston North, The Institute of Registered Music Teachers of New Zealand, the New Zealand Music Examinations Board and the Kerikeri National Piano Competition.
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (New Zealand)
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From its founding in 1980, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra has established itself as a valued cultural asset for the Auckland region and is the city’s only resident full-time, professional symphony orchestra.
Like the community it serves the APO is made up of a culturally rich and diverse group of musicians, all of whom are proud to be Aucklanders and proud to play for Aucklanders.
Each year, the APO presents a full season of symphonic work in the Auckland region, supports both the NBR New Zealand Opera and the Royal New Zealand Ballet and collaborates with some of New Zealand’s most innovative artists, including The Topp Twins, Mika, Dave Dobbyn, Shapeshifter and Little Bushman.
Renowned for its innovation, passion and versatility, the APO has been and is the orchestra of choice for visiting international artists from Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to popular musicians such as Dianna Krall, Natalie Cole, Burt Bacharach, and Serj Tankian.
The APO is equally recognised for its role in the community. Through its comprehensive Education programme the Orchestra reaches over 25,000 participants each year, providing a wide range of opportunities for students of any age and ability from all over the country.
Fulfilling its aim to make orchestral music available to the widest possible audience, the Orchestra also maintains a comprehensive programme of low-cost and free-access events across the region each year. Additionally, most APO performances are broadcast live nationally and streamed online, allowing everyone the chance to share the excitement of a world-class performance.
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| Photo: APO Madam Butterfly Rehearsal 2010. Supplied. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AUCKLAND PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA. |
Arvo Volmer, Conductor (Estonia/Australia)
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| Photo: Adelaide Now |
The Estonian-born conductor, Arvo Volmer, is widely acclaimed for his performances at the opera as well as on the concert podium. A regular guest with The Bolshoi and the BBC Philharmonic, he is known for his interpretation of Sibelius, Nordic and Russian repertoire, Mahler and contemporary music.
Arvo Volmer studied at the Tallinn State Conservatory (the current Estonian Music and Theatre Academy) with Professor Olev Oja and Professor Roman Matsov (1980 - 85) and at the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory with Professor Ravil Martynov, (1985 - 90). In 1988 he participated in the master classes of Helmuth Rilling in the United States.
Volmer made his professional debut in 1985 with the Estonian National Opera (ENO) at the age of 22 and has been associated there ever since. He made his debut with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ENSO) in 1987, became its Associate Conductor in 1989 and was appointed the Music Director of the ENSO in 1993, a postion he held until 2001.
An international career was launched following his success as prizewinner at the 1989 Nikolai Malko Competition in Copenhagen. From 1994 until 2005 he held the position of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Finland.
In 2004 Arvo Volmer took up the position of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor with the Estonian National Opera. He is equally at home conducting opera or ballet.This effortless versatility has netted him theatre engagements across Europe. He has appeared with the Bolshoi Theatre, the Finnish National Opera, the Norwegian Opera, German National Theatre Mannheim, Chemnitz Theatre, Georgian National Opera in Thbilise, and Malmö Music Theatre among others.
Arvo Volmer became Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in 2004 and has recently extended his contract with the orchestra until 2013. During his directorship the orchestra has toured to Los Angeles and New York, performing at Royce and Carnegie Hallsl. In 2008 he began a Mahler Cycle with the ASO during which all Mahler symphonies are performed over a 5 year period. 2007 featured a Sibelius festival with Volmer conducting performances of all symphonies and other works by Sibelius. This led to the recording of the Sibelius symphonies by ABC Classics.
Arvo Volmer has conducted all major orchestras in Australia and New Zealand since making his Australian debut with the Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras in 2001, He also conducted the ASO for the first time that year.
Future engagements in 2010 include performances with the Singpore Symphony Orchestra, Love for Three Oranges and La Boheme with Estonian National Opera, Mahler Eight and the Schumann Festival with ASO, La Fanciulla with Australian Opera, Sydney, and Sao Paulo Symphony.
He has recorded extensively, including the complete symphonies of Jean Sibelius and Eduard Tubin and the complete worls of Leevi Madetoja as well as discs of Swedish and Estonian contemporary music.
Arvo Volmer has appeared with the BBC Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham SO, L'Orchestrre National de France, Radio-Sinphonieorchester Berlin, the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, the Philharmonic Orchestras of Stuttgart, Dortmund Nürnberg and many others in Germany, Orchestre de Bretagne.
He has conducted most of the symphony orchestras in Scandinavia, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras, Malmö and Gothenburg National Symphony Orchestras and Stockholm's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
He regularly appears with the Iceland SO, and with orchestras in Holland, Switzerland, Portugal and Israel, Poland, Czech Republic and the Baltic countries.
Volmer's most recent guest appearance in Australia was in July 2009 to full houses at the Sydney Opera House, conducting with dramatic effect, a stunning performance of Carmina Burana with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
