NZCT Chamber Contest - SOUNZ Prize

Since 1965 Chamber Music New Zealand has run a chamber music contest, a performance competition for secondary school students. An original composition competition runs concurrently, with student groups performing the scores written by secondary school composers. Since 1999 SOUNZ has provided the prize for the overall winner of this competition. The winning piece is performed at the National Final. 

The standard and range of the compositions is always an exciting aspect of the event and a number of pieces featured in the contest have gone on to be performed by professional musicians.

For example, September's Scars by Jenny Thomas which won the award in 2002, was performed by the Eroica Trio from USA in their 2003 CMNZ Celebrity Season tour (photo, left).

• The 2005 winner of the SOUNZ Composition Award was Karlo Margetic of Hutt Valley High School for his Chamber Concertino for clarinet, piano and string quartet. Karlo also won the competition in 2004.
• In 2006, Onslow College student Tabea Squire scored a double by winning both this prize for her string quartet Random Berg 7 as well as the SOUNZ -NZCF Choral Composition Prize as part of the BIG SING.
  
• The 2007 winner of this prize was Corwin Newall from Kaikorai Valley College in Dunedin with The Budgie for flute, clarinet and piano.
• In 2008, the winner is David Taylor from Macleans College in Auckland for his piece Myrrh, written for flute, clarinet, bassoon and piano. 

For more information, check out the NZCT Chamber Music Contest website here or contact SOUNZ.

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