Established composer, conductor and lecturer Prof Anthony Ritchie and up-and-coming composer, musician and conductor Nathaniel Otley will lead the performances by three finalists, the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, and Dunedin Youth Orchestra, at Dunedin Town Hall next Saturday.
The competition’s three finalists, Boudewijn Keenan (cello), Elio Oh (violin), and Cameron Monteath (piano) were selected during preliminary rounds of the competition in March, and will each perform as soloist with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and 17 Dunedin Youth Orchestra (DYO) players.
Keenan will play Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, Oh will play the first movement of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, and Monteath will play Poulenc’s Piano Concerto.
The concerto performances will make up the concert’s second half and will be conducted by Ritchie, with leading New Zealand musicians Richard Mapp, Debbie Rawson, and Donald Maurice selecting the winner.
The first half will feature the DYO, performing a variety of short pieces conducted by Otley, before he swaps his baton for a violin to perform in the orchestra accompanying the finalists. Otley has been a member of the DSO violin section since 2016.
"It’s going to be a busy night for me, and a quick change from conducting to playing, but I relish the challenge," Otley said.
The DYO will start its bracket with Sibelius’ Finlandia, moving on to tackle John Rimmer’s Waitaki Reflections, new works by local composers Grace Shaw (Heroica), and Maddie Parkins-Craig (Canvas Bags Won’t Save Us), before finishing with Danzon No. 2 by Arturo Marquez.
"It will be a great chance for the DYO to have the experience of filling a space like the town hall — it’s going to be exciting for them.
"It has also been special to be able to work alongside the Dunedin composers and get their input as the orchestra learns their new music.
"The concert will be a big play for the DYO musicians, especially those who jump across to play with the DSO , but it will be a valuable experience for them," he said.
For Ritchie, the role of conductor for the Dunedin Concerto Competition involves helping to ensure that things go smoothly for the young soloists as they integrate their performance with the orchestra.
Each of the three have been preparing with the support of their own music teachers — cellist and lecturer Dr Heleen du Plessis for Keenan, pianist and lecturer Prof Terence Dennis for Monteath, and Auckland University violin lecturer Stephen Larsen for Oh.
Both conductors were impressed by the young talent highlighted by the Dunedin Concerto Competition, and the "tremendous experience" it offered to them.
"From the preliminary rounds to the town hall stage, the level of performance has been incredible," Otley said.
The competition is made possible through the work of the Dunedin Concerto Competition committee, and the funding support of the Towers Charitable Trust, Otago Community Trust, DCC Creative Communities Fund, DCC Arts Fund, University of Otago School of Performing Arts, individual sponsors and donors.
