Queenstown music festival turbo boosts New Zealand talent
Music fans and the Whakatipu Basin community are in for a treat next Easter as Queenstown’s Whakatipu Music Festival presents a week-long smorgasbord of workshops and performances 14-21 April 2025.
Twelve Young Artists were announced this week, selected through a national audition process to contribute to the impressive artistic line up of the 2025 Festival.
They are:
- Sarah Lee, violin
- Esther Oh, violin and conducting
- Tal Amoore, viola
- Yuxin Chen, viola
- Damon Herlihy-O’Brien, cello
- Marlon Sullivan, clarinet
- Otis Prescott-Mason, piano
- Yixuan (William) Sun, piano
- Felicity Tompkins, soprano
- Austin Haynes, countertenor
- Reuben Brown, conductor
- Euan Safety, conductor
These talents represent New Zealand’s next generation of top classical performers. During the festival they will rehearse and perform chamber music together, participate in career development workshops to hone their professional skills as they receive coaching from worldclass Festival Artists:
- Dr Karen Grylls (Conducting)
- Ioana Cristina Goicea (Winner of the 2017 Michael Hill International Violin Competition)
- Julian Smiles (Cello)
- Bernadette Harvey (Piano)
- Stephen de Pledge (Piano)
These artists will coach and mentor the Young Artists throughout the week as well as performing live public concerts that kick off Friday, 18 April and run throughout the Easter long weekend.
Valuable job opportunities are also on offer for early-career music and event industry professionals, with twelve paid apprenticeships available as part of the Festival’s unique Training Ground Programme.
The apprentices will be responsible for delivering the festival, overseen by experienced industry professionals. These capability-building roles will develop professional skills and bolster CVs and future job opportunities.
Interviews will take place in early 2025 with priority given to district-based locals.
The Whakatipu Music Festival was conceived by the Hill Family Foundation for Arts and Music during the Covid 19 pandemic, as a response to many much-loved festivals closing down. It aims to encourage promising New Zealand artists, invigorate the local communities’ burgeoning creative industries, and to bring economic benefits through cultural tourism.
“The Festival fosters talent and provides opportunities for a broad range of musicians and those who are interested in the arts,” says Foundation Executive Director Anne Rodda. “It weaves together the local community alongside world-class luminaries and emerging artists and delivers an exhilarating event for every taste and ability.”
Free workshops are available to the public throughout the week, with a focus on choral development for singers and conductors, culminating in a gala choral showcase.
Tickets go on sale to the public in early February. Head to the Whakatipu Music Festival website for more details michaelhillviolincompetition.co.nz/whakatipu-music-festival/
