To be able to go out and hear live music is rewarding enough. To hear excerpts of several works, including two new to me, was a bonus. To hear seven instrumentalists, all brilliant, was sublime – I only wish the concertos had been played to completion but one o’clock in the morning might have been a bit late for the theatre staff!
The NSW Secondary Schools Concerto Competition has been held since 1984, skipping only last year due to Covid, and has spawned several successful soloists.
In the Junior section…
We heard Isabella Sun playing the third movement of Bruch’s first violin Concerto, Jade Park in the third movement of Hummel’s trumpet Concerto and Lara Dowdeswell bowing the violin in Barber’s Op 14. All were brilliant but Lara was my favourite – perhaps influenced by the excellence of the music which was spritely and attractive even at first hearing.
In the Senior section which followed…
We heard Alicia Poon playing the first movement of Sibelius’ violin concerto, Phoebe Xu the first section of Mozart’s oboe concerto K 314 and Christina Kwok the familiar entrée of Mendelssohn’s violin Concerto. In addition, we were treated to a sublime rendition of the first movement of Bruch’s work for double violin which was previously unknown to me.
I certainly didn’t envy the two judges, Roger Benedict and Emma Scholl, in their task. Mistakes, glitches – there just weren’t any, nor was there any lack of feeling from any competitor.
After a long deliberation, Alicia Poon was awarded first prize and I’m sure we’ll see her name in lights before too long.
The Orchestra was accurate and gave an excellent setting for the soloists. Paul Terracini has worked wonders. One tends to judge an orchestra by the horn section, traditionally the most difficult instrument to play, and here they were excellent – how could they be otherwise when they featured as their leader Tina Brain, niece of Dennis Brain renowned as the best ever exponent of the instrument before his tragic early death.
Tony Burke 16/11/2021
2021 is the 37th year Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra (KPO) has run the NSW Secondary Schools Concerto Competition.
The competition is open to secondary school pupils in years 7-12 at schools throughout NSW and the ACT and this year attracted over 80 entrants, eager to compete for a coveted position in the Finals Concert and for the prize money of up to $10,000.
Regarded as a stepping stone to national and international success, the competition has been held annually since 1984 and provides an invaluable performance opportunity for young musicians to showcase their talents as concerto soloists accompanied by the orchestra. The list of previous winners includes many well known personalities in the music world, such as Amy Dickson, Natalie Chee, Grace Clifford and Simon Tedeschi.
