The Soloist Competition comprises two sections; Senior (Year 11-13) and Junior (Year 9-10) with two prizes in each section.
The students performed for an external judge and this year we were privileged to have Rachel Fuller, a very well-regarded and successful pianist who is also an experienced vocal accompanist, répétiteur and coach. Rachel has most recently worked at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Linbury Studio), as well as Opera Kristiansund and Opera Nordfjord in Norway, and has worked with British opera companies Diva Opera, Opera della Luna and London Opera Players. She has been a regular accompanist for the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation and is a guest accompanist for the New Zealand National Singing School.
The evening featured a number of technically challenging and polished performances from students. Rachel provided really beneficial feedback to the students regarding their performances, including elements such as stage presence and engagement with the accompanist, and was a thoughtful and considered judge.
The following students were awarded prizes:
Senior
William Wang received the Senior Competition Winner prize with his performance of Poulenc’s Sonata for Oboe (1st Movement) and Colin’s Solo de Concours No. 1 on the oboe.
Alexander Qu received the Senior Competition Best Interpretation prize, performing Tchaikovsky’s Doumka in C Minor, Op.59 on piano.
Junior
Marcus Ho received the Junior Competition Winner prize with his rendition of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major (1st Movement) on cello.
Clement Chan received the Junior Competition Best Interpretation, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 (1st Movement) on violin.
All of the finalists performed exceptionally well. A big congratulations to the above winners.
Thank you to Mr Chris Artley for co-ordinating the competition; Mr Chris Artley, Kim Naden, Evans Chuang and Ellen Pan for accompanying; and Mrs Karen Thompson for behind the scenes logistics.
