Josef’s graciousness and spirit of adventure presented the Competition the perfect opportunity for us to “test-drive” our brand new Personalised Professional Development Programme new to the 2011 Competition prize package.
Several days were spent at the beginning of Josef’s tour getting to know him better – discussing his professional goals, identifying his strengths, discovering what differentiates him from other young artists, and providing some professional expertise in areas we felt could encourage Josef and enhance his likelihood to achieve his goals.
BRANDING
Ben Lightfoot, Managing Director and Creative Director of McCann Worldgroup and General Manager Sue-Ellen Craig spent a few hours with Josef – sharing his experience and discussing professional branding needs of violinists just like him. McCanns has jumped on board as major sponsors of the Competition - they will offer workshops for all our semi-finalists and the winner will receive a personalised programme (during the Winners Tour) developing the marketing nous necessary when embarking upon a professional career.
PHYSICAL HEALTH
Playing the violin is somewhat unnatural for the arms and Josef was having some discomfort in his left forearm when he played – nothing profound, but some muscle pain nonetheless. Chiropractor Neki Patel showed Josef how to do a daily 3 minute self massage on his forearm, and Physiotherapist David Woodbridge at Functional Physio introduced Josef to various strengthening exercises and stretches for before practicing and to get back to the body’s “natural” shape after practicing. Josef reports that if he does everything he was shown on a regular basis his arm doesn’t hurt at all. To top it off, Bex Whyte, the massage therapist at The Hills gave Josef a “truly wonderful” 90-minute massage. Bex thought it would take about four massages to get rid of all the knots Josef had in his muscles, so he is now adding regular massage to his schedule.
STAGE PRESENCE
Since Josef and many other younger violinists will spend their careers performing in large concert halls but have not yet had a huge amount of experience walking out on stage for a concerto performance, the Competition thought the concept of stage presence – or BIG HALL stage presence - was worth investigating. The legendary Raymond Hawthorne of New Zealand operatic and theatrical fame, gave Josef an hour’s lesson on scaled up stage presence for a large symphonic hall.
FASHION
Josef had always found that wearing a traditional coat and tie was uncomfortable when playing the violin. Fair enough! However, Chris Dobbs and his wonderful staff at Working Style showed Josef that it’s all about the cut, the fit and fine fabrics when it comes to a quality suit. Through Chris Dobb’s and Michael Hill’s generosity, Josef left Working Style kitted out in a new suit – “incredibly soft material so it doesn’t feel like I’m wearing it” and shifts with small collars that don’t bother him when he holds the violin.
TAX
Brent Goldsack is a senior partner and tax expert at PriceWaterhouseCoopers as well as a trustee of the Competition. Brent and Josef were able to discuss various international tax topics such as dual taxation – interesting for Josef particularly since he is a citizen of the Czech Republic, performs all over the world and files taxes in the US.
CAREER
Ronan Tighe, The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Manager of Artistic Planning, recently moved to Auckland from London where he worked in the Conductor and Instrumentalist division of IMG Artists. He and Josef discussed a variety of career options and the way young artists can best help themselves get noticed by conductors and concert manager.
The Competition wholeheartedly thanks the individual professionals that worked with Michael Hill, Josef, and Anne to bring this fantastic extension into focus.
Michael Houstoun in particular – an artist who has successfully sustained a career over four decades and has managed throughout to call his own shots – was not only a collaborator of the highest possible standard, but a wise yet quiet mentor. He also drove the tour’s Jucy Wheels from tip to tail of New Zealand and shared all sorts of practical knowledge (like where the best coffee in Geraldine can be found). The Competition is indebted to Michael Houstoun and our winners are enormously benefitted from sharing a month with him in his homeland.
The Competition also wishes to recognise the wonderful Competition supporters - the familiar faces and enthusiastic audience members - that provided friendship and the inspiration for Josef night after night in the concert halls.
The Personalised Professional Development Programme will be customised for each winner, so future 1st prize winners may have a completely different set of sessions and will make different contacts.
