Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Wilma Smith, who was born in Fiji and raised in Auckland, is making her debut as a judge for an international violin competition.
She said the standard displayed by the 18 semifinalists in Queenstown was "wonderful".
"I'm looking for a very communicative type of musician, someone who understands different styles, who has obviously thought about their interpretation and an individual performance that's interesting.
"[That's] on top of the prerequisite of being technically assured, which I'm sure all of these guys will be.
"We're just like any other listener. We want to be captivated," Ms Smith said.
Violinist Jinjoo Cho (21), of Korea, played Bach's Grave and Fuga from Sonata No 2 in A minor and Mozart's Allegro Aperto from Concerto No 5 in A major KV 219 yesterday for the semifinal round one.
She plays Paganini's Caprices No 4 and 11 from Caprices Op 1, Farr's Wakatipu, first and fourth movements of Prokofieff's Sonata No 2 in D major and Waxmen's Carmen Fantasy for round two today.
Miss Cho said the competition was "super friendly" compared with other competitions and the audience was incredibly supportive.
"It's always a bit worrisome. I thought [my performance] went OK. It's a privilege to be at one of the most beautiful places I've ever been and play music.
"Michael Hill [competition] is on the way to being pretty much known to all the music world and I believe it can grow exponentially into something meaningful and unique."
The cream of international violin playing talent compete in rounds one and two of the semifinals over three days in the Queenstown Memorial Hall.
The top six will go on to the semifinal third round in the Auckland Town Hall, on June 6 to 9, and the final round in the Auckland hall on June 11.
• Bulgarian Bella Hristova, winner of the 2007 competition, returns for a ticketed public recital with competition pianist Sarah Watkins in the Queenstown Memorial Hall, at 1pm on Sunday.
