59th year of schools Chamber Music Contest

BEST GROUP OVERALL at the Regional Chamber Music Contest was... 'BEATS BY BARTOK', from Whanganui High School.  L-R: Joseph Petersen, Ben Power, Ahimsha Saravanapavan and Sophie Andrews.

About 80 students from the Whanganui region took to the stage to compete in the New Zealand Community Trust Schools Chamber Music Contest.

Whanganui Collegiate hosted the event at the Prince Edward Auditorium.

Six schools from the region competed for multiple awards.

Ingrid Culliford, the district contest organiser, said the event was a great learning experience for students and it could really help them advance in music.

“You see them develop an enthusiasm for music and in this competition, you see them all really coming together and they don’t want to let their teammates down,” she said.

The talent included 27 ensembles from six hands on one piano, percussion groups and ensembles with flute, cellos, violin, saxophone, clarinet trumpets and piano all playing classical music at last week’s event.

“Pianists can find it can be lonely playing by themselves at times so playing alongside others with six hands can be really fun,” Culliford said.

Beats by Bartok, from Whanganui High School, won the best overall group, with members Ahimsha Saravanapaven and Benjamin Power on piano and Sophie Andrews and Joseph Petersen on percussion.

Highly commended were The Manchester Trio, Trois pour Deux, Pot of Gold and From A Farr.

Whanganui Collegiate students TJ Sunthornyanakit, Hannah Kemenater and Rada Punnarujawong, from Trois pour Deux, all said the competition was a nice opportunity to pay together as a group because it was much nicer than playing by themselves.

Rada, who plays the piano for the group, said she did not think about winning.

“We just try to do our best and think about the prize after,” she said.

Hannah, who plays flute, said it was really nice to be able to watch other groups’ performances and celebrate everyone at the end of the night.

“It’s just nice to play with other students, winning is just a bonus.”

Adjudicating the event was Richard Mapp, a well-known pianist who appeared as a soloist with the NZSO, Auckland Philharmonia, Auckland Chamber Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony.

“There is nothing else quite like it in the country,” Mapp said.

In its 59th year, the competition was one of 15 district contests being held nationwide.

The top ensembles of the evening will now travel to the Central Regional Finals on June 22 in Napier.

From there, the top 12 ensembles from the three nationwide regionals will go on to compete in the national finals on August 2 and 3 in Auckland.

Winners of Whanganui NZCT Schools Chamber Music Contest:

● Best group overall: Beats by Bartok, Whanganui High School.

● Highly commended: The Manchester Trio, Whanganui High School/ Whanganui Collegiate School; Trois pour Deux, Whanganui Collegiate School; Pot of Gold, Whanganui High School; From A Farr, Whanganui Collegiate School.

● Adjudicator’s Award: Ling Ling Ling, Whanganui Collegiate School.

● KBB Music Awards: The Buzz Rolls, Whanganui High School; Home Grown, Nga Tawa School.

● Best Performance of a New Zealand work: From A Farr, Whanganui Collegiate School.

● IRMT Most Promising Junior Group: Emineminem.

● Wanganui Music Society prize for Best Ensemble featuring a vocalist: Pot of Gold.

● Chamber Music Wanganui Prize for the Winning group: Beats By Bartok. 

By Lucy Drake
Whanganui Chronicle 17/6/19