Inspiration from the best

Our final masterclass for 2023 is in Perth, with Dutch violinist Noa Wildschut. It is the culmination of a year that has seen artists including Garrick Ohlsson, Adam Walker, Anneleen Lenaerts and the Vision String Quartet share their experience and expertise with talented early-career artists and young music students. 

It's always exciting to watch how artists can inspire young musicians, but it's particularly exciting for us to see so many familiar faces from our Strike A Chord competition and workshops. 

In August, Joshua Jones, part of Amogus Trio (2021 Strike A Chord winners), and Noah Lawrence, part of VDUB and Trio Finifugal (2021 finalist groups), joined us for a masterclass led by cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, a performer in Silk Metal Wood, in Melbourne, Victoria.

Over at the Sydney Conservatorium, Beatrice Colombis, part of Cousin Quartet (winners of the very first Strike A Chord), joined us at a masterclass with Vision String Quartet. She is pictured here with her quartet at Sydney Conservatorium where she now studies. Beatrice has now gone on to be an Australian Chamber Orchestra Emerging Artist, and this year took first prize and audience prize at the Kendall National Violin Competition. 

Trio Bellissimo (Monash Chamber Music Prize and 2022 finalists) and The Incredibows (2022 finalists) joined us in September in Queensland at an improvisation masterclass by Florian Willeitner from Vision String Quartet. The Timli Trio - participants in this year's Monash University Strike A Chord Winter Workshop – were also a part of this masterclass and it was a joy to see them!             

Strike A Chord is a national chamber music competition for Australian school-aged students. The competition culminates in a grand final at the Melbourne Recital Centre, but the activities throughout the year are all about participation and discovery, with workshops and masterclasses to help ensembles prepare and learn. In 2023 we launched the Monash University Strike A Chord Winter Workshop, a two-day workshop for young musicians to hone their skills. 

Strike a Chord returns in 2024 and we invite emerging artists of all ages and experiences to join us in the future. Be sure to follow Musica Viva Australia on Facebook, Instagram or X and sign up to our mailing lists to stay up to date. Or if you're a school-aged musician, follow Strike A Chord on Facebook and Instagram to be involved in our 2024 competition.