Contest crescendos

For the past three months, young musicians have been involved in one of New Zealand's most prestigious musical competitions. Tomorrow it will be the moment of truth for three of them. CHRIS MOORE reports.

In the beginning there were 51. Then there were six - and tomorrow there will be three, a trio of young musicians surrounded by the full orchestra, facing their audience with the knowledge that within a few hours it will all come down to one.

Welcome to the 43rd National Concerto Competition (NCC). Organised by the Christchurch Civic Music Council in association with Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO), the 2009-10 competition is a demanding test of musical prowess for all entrants.

For this year's triumvirate of finalists it is a yardstick to measure individual musicianship and for the winner, another step in the long slow climb towards establishing a career in the highly competitive world of classical music.

On an early autumn Saturday night, the finalists in this year's NCC - Cantabrians Harry Ellerm and Emma Yoon (violin) and Aucklander Edward King (cello) - will walk on to the stage of the Christchurch Town Hall to face the music.

If the past three months have been tough, tomorrow's concert performance will represent the highest hurdle.

They will be familiar with the individual works after performing movements with piano accompaniment during the NCC heats, which began in December. But now they will be surrounded by the sound of a full symphony orchestra, some for the first time, in one of New Zealand's most prestigious competitions for young musicians. This is an event in which past winners and finalists have included Michael Houston, Richard Mapp, Anthony Ferner and Natalie Lomeko.

"An orchestra is like a super-tanker, you can signal that you want to move it but that can take a long time. A soloist is much easier to steer. The challenge is that you can tell the tanker what you want to do but it may be moving at a different pace and often seems immovable," the CSO's artistic administrator and NCC committee member Kevin Lefohn says.

"The orchestra and conductor will be very supportive - the individual soloists will already have had a one-on-one session with the conductor, Sir William Southgate, followed by one rehearsal and a dress rehearsal with the orchestra. They have already gone through an arduous selection procedure. Their music teachers will have worked with them, and to be strategic some will have had them working towards the competition two years in advance.

"What attracts a teacher is how they can help their student towards the next stage of their musical career by testing their skills. The most important factor is the profile and quality of the judges. I see this as something which will attract teachers and students and it's in this area that the National Concerto Competition has gone from strength to strength by getting high- profile judges who are respected in their field."

This year instead of the usual 35 entries, the judges heard 51 young musicians playing 20 minutes of a concerto movement of their choice accompanied by piano.

"They [contestants] must decide how to present their entry in the first two rounds. Do they go for flash and dazzle or something more cerebral and sophisticated? Fast movement or slow? Paganini, Mozart or Shostakovich?" Lefohn says.

"By the time of the semifinals several had dropped out. The original number had been reduced to six, all of whom were very good. "That's why it's important to have a diverse group of adjudicators, one which remains true to the art even after a robust debate. This is fine but you must arrive at a result which also holds the respect of the community of musicians and teachers."

Any spirit of competition among entrants in the NCC is accompanied by "an atmosphere of quiet mutual support and admiration for each other".

"When they reach the semifinals, those who have fallen out are very supportive of those who have got through. Naturally, there will be those who are disappointed, but hopefully their teacher and parents will encourage them to see what they can learn from the valuable experience. Teachers have a huge responsibility for educating students on the value of success or failure. One's failure, once the emotion has subsided, is simply an opportunity to learn."

Teachers, students and parents should be a team, with parents picking up the pieces or celebrating success.

But human nature being human nature, a certain psychology can be played out. Some musicians may play subtle mind games with other competitors by playing "loud and fast" during the preliminary warm-up sessions to each heat.

"Then there are entrants so focused, so cool that they create a protective bubble around themselves. While this is necessary for survival and success, it can be disconcerting to fellow competitors seeking mutual support," Lefohn says.

"The finalists will all be nervous tomorrow night. What they do with their nerves is the real test. Adrenalin - that old fight or flight - will hit them. They will keep any stress under control. But while this is not a sabre-toothed tiger, this is classical music. The real challenge is that any tiger is in their heads. They have to create channels for that adrenalin rush and that will be different for every piece's different technical and emotional demands, aligned with the player's experience.

"Yehudi Menuhin once said that it was wonderful working with young musicians because they don't know how many hundreds of things can go wrong on stage. Youth protects us from fear. You are indestructible because you don't know - and that's beautiful."

For every entrant in the NCC, it will be a night to remember for a lifetime.

But will it be the launch of a new life for the winner?

"Only in their own mind," Lefohn says.

"It's certainly another step on a steep stair.

"An indication, perhaps, they are going in the right direction."

The finalists in tomorrow's National Concerto Competition are: Harry Ellerm (Christchurch) Harry is a year 11 student at St Andrew's College, Christchurch. His early musical training ground was with the Christchurch School of Music as an orchestra and chamber group member. During the past two years he has completed his ABRSM Intermediate and Advanced Chamber Music Certificate and Trinity ATCL Diploma, all with distinction, on violin. Harry performed as a young soloist with the Nelson Symphony Orchestra in September 2009 and later this year will perform with the Canterbury Philharmonia as a soloist. In 2009, Harry was a member of the NZSO National Youth Orchestra for its anniversary celebration season. Harry is taught by Oleg Kotorovych and is a member of Young Blood Violin Masterworks, a programme to encourage young performers to excel as soloists by performing regularly in Christchurch and at other South Island venues. In tomorrow night's NCC final, he will perform Vieuxtemps' Violin Concerto No 5 Op 37. Edward King (Auckland) Nineteen-year-old Edward King began learning the cello at age three and holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Waikato, where he studies under James Tennant. He has been a recipient of the university's Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship. As winner of the 2009 University of Waikato Concerto Competition, he toured as a soloist with the Opus Chamber Orchestra. He is cellist for the Leonari Piano Trio, recipients of the 2009 Pettman/ROSL ARTS International Chamber Ensemble Scholarship. He has been principal cellist for the NZSO National Youth Orchestra for the past two years and has toured in the cello section of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as a contract player. He will play Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No 1 in tomorrow's final. Emma Yoon (Christchurch) Born in 1992, Emma began learning the violin at age five. Since 2001, she has been a student of Stephen Larsen and has worked with many visiting violinists, including Pinchas Zukerman and Charles Castleman. She is a student at the University of Canterbury and was a scholarship holder in the Pettman Junior Academy of Music from 2006-2008. From 2005-2009 Emma attended Burnside High School where she was involved in the specialist music programme. Chamber music is a special passion. She was a member of the Felix Quartet when it won the 2007 New Zealand Secondary Schools Chamber Music Contest. She has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra since 2007. Tomorrow, she will perform Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto.

The 43rd National Concerto Competition. 7.30pm, Saturday, March 13, Christchurch Town Hall. Book at Ticketek.

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