Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition

🏆 This week! 🏆

Excitement is building as 12 incredible ensembles prepare to compete in the Strike A Chord Grand Final, taking place at the Melbourne Recital Centre this Friday 31 August, 2pm (AEST).

Who will you be cheering for?

• Aneres Piano Trio, VIC
• The Astra Octet, NSW
• The Fritzi Trio, NSW
• The Frosty Shosty Quartet, NSW
• JPMS Ensemble Animato, QLD
• Kingussie Trio, VIC
• Lumina Quartet, NSW
• Marryatville High School Baroque Ensemble, SA
• Syncopact, ACT
• Take Six, QLD
• Timli Trio, QLD
• Trio Fantastique, WA

Tickets are still available OR tune in via our livestream: https://bit.ly/4ckXVqu

Happy International Youth Day! 🌟

Musica Viva Australia, are dedicated to nurturing the talents of young musicians across the country. From our Musica Viva Australia In Schools performances that inspire thousands of students each year, to our Strike A Chord competition that showcases the extraordinary skills of emerging artists, we're passionate about empowering the next generation through music.

We're also thrilled to bring youth performances to our mainstage programming, like the recent The Choir of King's College tour which captivated audiences with their stunning voices. Here's to the young musicians who inspire us all!

Musica Viva Australia is thrilled to announce that the Ngutu Ipila Kumangka Ensemble from Ngutu College has achieved remarkable success at the 2024 Strike A Chord competition. This talented group of eight students from Years 5-10 won both the Novice Highly Commended Prize and an Innovation Prize with their extraordinary composition "Purka Mukaparrinthi" ("Old Man Thinking To One's Self"), competing against groups from across the nation.

Ngutu College is in its third year of the MVA Music Education Residency program. This achievement not only highlights the students' talent but also showcases the importance of programs like MVA’s Music Education Residency Program and Strike A Chord in providing young musicians with opportunities to shine.

We are incredibly proud of Ngutu Ipila Kumangka and excited for their future!

"A beautifully evocative performance - some incredible sounds and textures in this work...wonderful playing from all" Juror – Jonathan Bekes

Enjoy this snippet here

https://youtu.be/cygUprQN7G8?si=S8bF7EMh4lMBzBax

Today is the first day of National NAIDOC Week, when Australians take the opportunity to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. ‘Urapun Muy’, from the Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect of the Top Western Islands of the Torres Strait, means ‘One Fire’.

What will you do to celebrate NAIDOC Week? Find out about NAIDOC Week events near you at https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/naidoc-week.

Tapping toes, clapping along, dancing, or humming - there's so many ways we can but what we always love seeing is the myriad of ways kids react to performances we bring to their school.

We spark creativity in 215,000 students and teachers through our Musica Viva Australia In Schools program. Many of these children are so inspired after the performances they draw a picture or send letters of thanks to the musicians. Aren't they adorable!

Support our activities with a tax-deductible gift today: https://bit.ly/3WYBFPb

Image: Student pictures inspired by Two Wheel Time Machine’s visit to Jerrabomberra Public School

Our Masterclasses program gives music students the opportunity to play for and be mentored by some of the world’s finest chamber musicians.

Next week, cellist Yeeun Heo will deliver the first of her two masterclasses in Perth, which will be followed by a masterclass in Sydney featuring the full quartet and then Yeeun's final Masterclass in Brisbane.

Cello Masterclass with Yeeun Heo, 30 April, Perth - https://bit.ly/3UhELuB
Masterclass with Esmé Quartet, 6 May Sydney - https://bit.ly/44dWSq1
Cello Masterclass with Yeeun Heo, 13 May Brisbane - https://bit.ly/44geMs8


https://www.musicaviva.com.au/emerging-artists/masterclasses/

Katie Yap, one of Musica Viva Australia's FutureMakers for 2023-24, is artistic director of Music, She Wrote, a three day festival presented by 3MBS celebrating women in music. She'll be appearing at Brunswick’s Tempo Rubato on 21 March, alongside fellow FutureMaker Helen Svoboda. In anticipation of International Women's Day, Harriet Cunningham caught up with her as she put the finishing touches to the program. Follow the link to read.

https://www.musicaviva.com.au/news-stories/2024/mar/music-she-wrote/

Meet Melbourne's Partridge String Quartet. As Musica Viva Australia's 2020 - 2022 FutureMakers artists, the award-winning Partridge String Quartet are fast becoming a force in the Australian classical music scene. You can watch and read all about the Partridge String Quartet project on the Musica Viva Australia site.

Musica Viva Australia - Black Angels: the movie The Partridge Quartet's two year tenure as FutureMakers has come to an end but, as Paul Kildea, Artistic Director of Musica Viva Australia, says, ‘once a FutureMaker, always a FutureMaker'. For the Quartet, this means ongoing plans to keep pushing the boundaries of traditional chamber music.  

We spied some Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition finalists at the ARD Competition in Munich. Congratulations to MICMC Piano Trio First Prize Winners, Trio Orelon, who have taken First Prize and the Audience Prize. And a huge well done to Trio Pantoum, our MICMC Piano Trio Second Prize winners, who won Third Prize in the competition.

Trio Orelon, winners of the First Prize for Piano Trios, spoke with CutCommon about their experience at Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition 2023.

Read the full interview below.

“Have the courage to be yourself”: How Trio Orelon won $25k at this international music competition In conversation with the winning piano trio of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.

Exactly one month has passed since the excitement of MICMC 2023, which saw thirteen of the world's best emerging chamber music ensembles compete for the title.

We can't wait to follow the progress of all the groups involved in this year's competition. The winning ensemble, Melbourne's own Affinity Quartet, is set to perform across VIC and NSW in the coming months, so check their website for more details here: https://bit.ly/3KLTcDB

And for those who love the thrill of competition, our Strike A Chord secondary school chamber music competition is back in 2024. Stay tuned for more details!

📸James Grant Photography & Sean Moloney

MICMC Grand Prize winners Affinity Quartet visited Parliament House Canberra on Tuesday, repeating their prize-winning performance of Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden' and inspiring the next generation in the audience.

Trio Bohémo have been enjoying mentoring young musicians in Canberra. They also took the time yesterday to say hello to some Australian wildlife.

Limelight called the MICMC Grand Finals a 5-star affair ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Read Peter Tregear's review below.

Grand Finals ★★★★★ Read the Limelight review.

👏 Melbourne's own Affinity Quartet are the winners of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, Monash University Grand Prize.

"One of the dreams of MICMC's founders was that it would lead to Australian groups competing at an international standard in their home country. It's wonderful to see this vision realised so powerfully, with the Affinity Quartet's sensational performance of Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden' on the stage of the Melbourne Recital Centre earning the coveted Monash University Grand Prize." - Musica Viva Australia CEO, Anne Frankenberg

String Quartet Prize Winners

First Prize (Robert Salzer Foundation Prize) Affinity Quartet
2nd The Terra String Quartet
3rd Risus Quartet
Audience Prize Affinity Quartet
Quartet Commission Prize Risus Quartet

Piano Trio Prize Winners

First Prize (Tony Berg Prize) Trio Orelon
2nd Trio Pantoum
3rd Trio Bohémo
Audience Prize Trio Bohémo
Piano Trio Commission Prize Trio Orelon

To see the winners and supporters of all the prizes, visit: https://www.musicaviva.com.au/micmc/

Congratulations and thank you to all the finalists, competitors, jurors, partners and all involved in this week-long celebration of chamber music. As our host, Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyandekwe said yesterday, it takes a village to put on a competition like MICMC.

The grand finalists for the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition are...

Piano Trios:
Trio Orelon
Trio Pantoum
Trio Bohémo

String Quartets:
The Terra String Quartet
Affinity Quartet
Risus Quartet

Join us this Sunday 9 July at Melbourne Recital Centre for the Grand Final events! If you're not in Melbourne, tune into the free live video stream: https://bit.ly/MICMC-Stream

Check out the schedule for Sunday here:https://www.musicaviva.com.au/media/2eedntyq/micmc-grand-finals-2.pdf

Photo credit: James Grant Photography

Raise a glass of Huntington Estate Wines to our wonderful volunteers, some of whom have been involved in Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition for many years!

We are so excited to announce the semifinalists for the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.

Piano Trios:
Trio Bohémo
Trio Delyria
Trio Orelon
Trio Pantoum
Trio Unio

String Quartets:
Abeo Quartet
Affinity Quartet
Dior Quartet
Risus Quartet
The Terra String Quartet

Be sure to catch them this Friday 7 July! Day passes and single tickets available: https://www.musicaviva.com.au/concert-season/2023/micmc-semi-final/

Photo credit: James Grant Photography

It’s the last day of the preliminary rounds of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, here at Boroondara Arts. Have you got a favourite ensemble?

Don’t forget, you can join us via live stream for the finals. Register for free here: https://bit.ly/MICMC-Stream

Photo credit: James Grant Photography

Performing today:
Abeo Quartet
Trio Bohémo
Balourdet Quartet
Trio Unio
Terra Quartet
Trio Pantoum

Round 2, day 1 wrap up 🎶

PS. Don't forget to register for the free Semi Final audio stream and Grand Final video live streams here 👉 https://bit.ly/MICMC-Stream

“If you can’t see it and hear it and experience it, you can’t aspire to it.”
- Lin Bender, Co-founder, MICMC

Right from the start, back in 1991, MICMC set its sights on lighting the pathway to aspiring artists.

Thank you to all our partners who help us light this pathway, as presenting an event of the size and scale of MICMC is only possible with your support.

https://www.musicaviva.com.au/micmc/

Experience the thrills and spills of the MICMC Semi Finals and Grand Final via our free live stream and chat.

Register for FREE below to receive your link to listen to the Semi Final on Friday July 7, 10am-7.30pm and watch the video live stream of the Grand Final on Sunday July 9, 1pm (Piano Trio final) and 6pm (String Quartet final).

https://bit.ly/MICMC-Stream

We're into round two of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition at Hawthorn Arts Centre. Hear Affinity Quartet Dior Quartet MILA Quartet and Risus Quartet play a new work by Lee Bradshaw - Composer. (pictured)

The best performance of this work in Round 2 will win the Quartet Commission Prize of $4000.

It's been so great to welcome competitors from around the world to Melbourne.

Competitors are able to use the incredible facilities at MLC Kew for rehearsals. A huge thanks to Bernies Music Land for providing practice pianos for our Piano Trios.