Chamber music future in good hands with these young winners

Musica Viva has announced their first-round prize winners and finalists for the 2022 Strike a Chord chamber music competition. Meet some of our future stars.

Musica Viva has announced their first-round prize winners and finalists for the 2022 Strike a Chord chamber music competition.

Open to all Australian high school students, Strike a Chord provides young musicians the opportunity to strengthen their musical skills and abilities to work collectively as an ensemble.

Amir Farid, a first round juror in Strike a Chord, loved listening to all the groups and is “fill[ed] with excitement for the future of classical music in Australia.”

“It was such a pleasure hearing and watching these inspirational young musicians demonstrate not only their incredible musical skills, but also their immense passion and commitment towards the difficult and complex art of chamber music,” Mr Farid said.

Out of the twelve finalists, four ensembles were picked from New South Wales. The groups include Amazon Trio, Bajeshka Piano Quartet, Piccolo String Quartet and Pier String Quartet.

Meet some of the finalists:

HAYLEY LAU — FINALIST FROM PICCOLO STRING QUARTET AND BAJESHKA PIANO QUARTET

15-year-old viola player Hayley Lau is a part of Piccolo String Quartet and Bajeshka Piano Quartet and has been playing her instrument since she was 11, saying she was “captivated towards the viola’s rich tone colour,” when she first started to learn.

“I realised there was endless amounts to discover with this instrument,” Ms Lau said.

Piccolo. Picture: Supplied

With the “priceless” opportunities that Strike a Chord has given her, Ms Lau said it would be “an absolute victory” if her group won the finals.

“Winning this year’s Strike a Chord competition would be surreal, and will, without a doubt, support our quartet in new musical opportunities,” she said.

ISABELLA SUN — FINALIST FROM PICCOLO STRING QUARTET AND BAJESHKA PIANO QUARTET

Also a member of both Piccolo String Quartet and Bajeshka Piano Quartet, 15-year-old Isabella Sun has played the violin since she was six years old. For Ms Sun, her interest in her instrument sparked when she realized she had “made a lot of progress in a short period of time” and was interested in seeing how far she could go with the violin.

Ms Sun’s love for performing, however, began when she participated in the Zhuhai International Mozart Competition.

“I really enjoyed performing in the hall, as well as listening to the other competitors from all over the world,” Ms Sun said. “The environment was very different from what I was used to and so that really pushed me to work harder for future events.”

For Ms Sun, winning the finals would be a testament to her group’s “reflect[ion] on our past mistakes and preserve[rance] through the tough times.”

ANNIE OO — FINALIST FROM AMAZON TRIO

Coming from a family who are “avid classical music fans,” 14-year-old Annie Oo started playing the clarinet when she was nine years old. At a very early age, Ms Oo was on a path to be a musician.

“My brother and I grew up in an environment with exposure to classical music in all its various genres, so very early on, I fell in love with the sound of the clarinet,” Ms Oo said.

The young musician is part of the Amazon Trio, a name that was chosen to honour the Amazons in Greek mythology.

Amazon Trio. Picture: Supplied

“We seek to magnify each other’s strengths to become musically complete, and like the legendary Amazons, we may look delicate, but equally, we can be strong and full of passion,” Ms Oo said.

Although this is a competition, Ms Oo shows her gratitude for her group after getting into the finals.

“Playing with [the group] in this little ensemble and getting into the grand finals is perhaps even special in its own way,” Ms Oo said. “The way we inspire each other musically is incredibly satisfying and enriching.”

The Strike a Chord music competition will hold their finals on August 27 at the Melbourne Recital Centre. For more information, click here.