The Yerevan Trio - winners of the 2016 NZCT Chamber Music Contest Photo: RNZ/Tim Dodd
Hamilton ensemble Yerevan Trio has won the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest for 2016, the first time a Hamilton group has won the contest.
Clarissa Dunn speaks with the Yerevan Trio about their winning performance of Babadjanian’s Piano Trio. NZTrio pianist Sarah Watkins was part of the judging panel and discusses the outcome.
Marianna Kang (piano), Sophie Zheng (violin), and Hyein Kim (cello) won the contest performing Babadjanian’s Piano Trio in F-sharp minor (movements 2 and 3). Yerevan Trio received the Arthur Hilton Platinum Award and the Wallace Foundation Prize of $6000.
Trio pianist Marianna Kang (16) said they were very happy with the win. “It’s been an amazing experience and I think that this was the best performance we had ever given in front of an audience. We took on board the feedback from the adjudicators after the semi-final and I think that really made the difference.
The National Finals were adjudicated by NZTrio and British clarinettist Julian Bliss. NZTrio cellist Ashley Brown said the judging decision was based solely on the performances at the National Final.
“Yerevan Trio presented a very assured performance and a strong sense of musical intent. We had a long discussion about all the finalist ensembles and when we looked at the criteria we had set, we had a clear winner.”
Listen to the performances of all the ensembles at the semi-final and the final.
