History of the Gisborne International Music Competition
Following the devastating 1988 Cyclone Bola, local music and sports retailer Ian Dunsmore initiated the Gisborne International Music Competition, with the backing of the Rotary Club of Gisborne, as a positive event for the Gisborne region and as a vehicle for young players of orchestral instruments to hone their performance skills against their colleagues and to learn from jurors who are themselves practising musicians of the highest calibre. There is still no comparative competition for players of orchestral instruments in Australasia. The first Competition took place in 1989, attracting 29 competitors, and it has been run every year since.
In 2009 Ian Dunsmore was formally appointed Patron of the Gisborne International Music Competition.
Such is the respect with which the Competition is now held internationally that around half the competitor field is typically drawn from overseas, ensuring the standard of competition is as high as you could expect at any equivalent competition, anywhere in the world.
Past finalists of the Gisborne International Music Competition are now playing in leading professional orchestras and chamber groups and as soloists throughout New Zealand, Australia and the world. These include:
1989 finalist Eleanor Carter, Cellist, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
1989 finalist Dianna Cochrane, Principal 2nd Violin, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
1990 and 1992 finalist Robert Orr, Principal Oboe, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra 1992 winner Asmira Woodward-Page, Violinist, International Soloist
1992 finalist Katherine Hebley, Cellist, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra 1993 winner Jun Yi Ma, Concertmaster, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
1993 finalist Ashley Brown, Cellist, New Zealand Trio
1993 finalist Bridget Douglas, Principal Flute, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
1993 finalist Huy Nguyen Bui, Associate Concertmaster, Australia Opera and Ballet Orchestra 1993 finalist Gretchen La Roche, Principal Clarinet, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra 1995 winner David Thomas, Principal Clarinet, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
1996 winner Rowan Harvey-Martin, Principal Violin, Canberra Symphony Orchestra
1996 finalist Rachel Johnston, Cellist, Australian String Quartet 1996 finalist Kathryn Betts, Violist, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
1997 winner Sophie Rowell, First violin, Australian String Quartet
1997 finalist David Bremner, Principal Trombone, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
1997 finalist Chen Gu, Concertmaster, Macau Orchestra
1998 finalist Madeleine Easton, Concertmaster, Hanover Band 1999 winner Natalia Lomeiko, Violinist, International Soloist
1999 finalist Megan Stirling, Principal Flute, Hong Kong Philharmonic
2000 finalist Lerida Delbridge, Violinist, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 2001 finalist Victoria Simonsen, Cellist, International Soloist 2002 finalist Malavika Gopal, Violinist, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra 2003 finalist Madeleine Boud, Violinist, Australian Chamber Orchestra
2004 finalist Marianne Broadfoot, Violinist, Sydney Symphony Orchestra The 2010 will be the 22st running of the Gisborne International Music Competition.
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