BY JESSIE WANG, LEAD WRITER (COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL AWARENESS)
Musica Viva has had numerous programs aiming to make classical music more accessible for young people — their Regional Concerts series and Teacher Resources spring to mind. Following on from the success and popularity of these programs, Musica Viva has recently introduced Strike A Chord – a new chamber music competition for high school students.
With not only a competition, but also a coaching program and teacher conference, Strike A Chord aims to encourage young people of all communities to participate in chamber music.
We chat with Musica Viva’s artistic director for competitions Wilma Smith about Strike A Chord.
So, what is Strike A Chord?
Strike A Chord is Musica Viva’s brand-new National Chamber Music Championship for secondary school age young musicians.
Who came up with the idea? And was there a story behind the inspiration?
As Musica Viva’s artistic director for competitions, I was motivated by my own experience as a young musician in New Zealand where a similar annual contest has been going for 54 years.
I took part as a teenager and have been an adjudicator for more recent contests, including the 2018 one in which first prize went to an all-Maori string quartet from a small town called Whangarei. When their win was announced, the father of three of them got up in the middle of the audience and delivered an impromptu haka. It was moving, and a coming-of-age for the contest. It was no longer the case that quality chamber music came only from privileged parts of big cities.
We hope, over time, to similarly expand the idea of playing chamber music [in Australia] so that it becomes something everybody can enjoy doing at any level and in any community.
Why do you think these kinds of programs are important for young people?
Strike A Chord will give young musicians at any stage of their musical development the forum to play for, and get feedback from, the best of our professional musicians. But more importantly, it gives them a structure and a reason to put together a group of three to eight friends and play music together.
Through working hard on their chosen piece of music together, they’ll not only have a lot of fun but also learn a lot of life skills.
How is Strike A Chord different to other chamber music competitions that already exist?
Strike A Chord is the only national competition for this age group for any kind of group of three to eight musicians, including singers.
So, how can one enter the competition? Are there any special criteria?
All you need to enter the competition is a group of three to eight instrumentalists or singers in any combination; a piece of music four to 12 minutes long; time to rehearse your piece together, preferably with the help of a teacher; and a way of filming your performance, such as a phone, in front of an audience of at least 15 people.
The music should be Classical in genre — i.e. not a rock band. But if there are any specific queries, you’re welcome to contact Musica Viva and we’re happy to give guidance.
Musica Viva has launched numerous programs aiming to make classical music more accessible for young people. What are you hoping the kids would get out of participating in this championship?
We hope that by actually doing the chamber music playing themselves, kids will realise how much fun it is to work on fine-tuning a piece of music with their friends, and will begin a rewarding journey of participation in music that will give them pleasure their whole lives.
To find out more about Strike A Chord, including how to enter, visit the Musica Viva website.
Images supplied.
