The Tasman String Quartet
Last year, during a tour of the Vector
Wellington Orchestra, four old friends and colleagues came together for the
first time in several years. All of us were the same age, and had recently
completed our individual studies first in New
Zealand, then in Europe (Germany
and the Netherlands), England and the United States. We decided
spontaneously to play some quartets, perhaps even do a concert or two together.
From the start it was clear that this was a
group with the right musicians, the right circumstances and an incredibly
strong desire from all four people to make it work.
We soon devoted all our energies to the future
of this quartet. After only a few months together, we successfully auditioned
to become the Graduate Quartet in residence in 2007 at the New Zealand School
of Music studying with the New Zealand String Quartet. Looking to create a
future for ourselves, we immediately went on to making our first recording
together in order to apply for a Graduate Residency with one of the world’s
leading string quartets, the Takács Quartet. On 19 February 2007 we received
the news that we had been invited to become the Graduate Quartet in Residence
at the University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado, USA), studying with the
Takács Quartet. This offer includes full scholarships including living expenses
for two years. This is one of the best opportunities for a young string quartet
to start a career in a very competitive environment. As far as we are aware, we
are the first New Zealand
formed quartet to undertake a project of this kind.
As the Tasman String Quartet, we have already
become very involved in the New
Zealand music scene. We have given recitals
in Auckland, Paeroa and Wellington
and will be undertaking a short tour for Chamber Music
New Zealand
in August. The centres will include Blenheim (3 August), Nelson (5 August) and
Wanganui (7 August). We will also give recitals in Wellington
including a lunch time concert at St Andrews
on the terrace on 11 April, a lunch time concert in the Adam Concert room at
New Zealand School of Music on 12 April and an evening recital at the Hunter
Council Chamber on 10 August. We all enjoy teaching and have been doing so
privately as well as in kids’ and young people’s chamber music programmes like
CHAMPS and the NZSM
Academy.
Something
about each of us
Anna van der Zee (violin I) studied with Douglas Beilman at Victoria University,
gaining her BMus(Hons) in 2000. She went on to Germany
to study at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold with renowned
violinist Ulrike-Anima
Mathé. To fund her study, Anna won several scholarships including the Barbara
Finlayson Scholarship (Victoria University Foundation) for two years running
and a prestigious DAAD Scholarship from the German Government. Her standing as a violinist has been
recognized everywhere she has been, being made concertmaster of University
Orchestra in Wellington, the Hochschule
Orchestra in Detmold
and on occasion acting as concertmaster in the New Zealand Symphony. She has
also performed as a soloist with orchestras in the concertos of Mozart,
Sibelius, Vivaldi, Bach and Mendelssohn. She has participated in master classes
with some of the world’s most celebrated musicians, including Andras Schiff,
the Guarneri Quartet, the Auryn Quartet, the Michelangelo Quartet, Diemut
Poppen, Nobuko Imai, and Hariolf Schlichtig. Anna will be researching for a
Master of Music in 2007 at the New Zealand School of Music.
James Andrewes (violin II) grew up in Dunedin and completed a
Bachelor of Music with First Class honours at the University of Otago,
studying performance violin under Donald Maurice and Kevin Lefohn. During his
second year he was awarded a scholarship to and attended the Aspen Music
Festival in Colorado.
Following his studies at Otago, he was awarded a Graduate Teaching Fellow to
study at the University
of Oregon with Kathryn
Lucktenberg, completing his Master’s Degree in 2004. A scholarship from the
Alex Lindsay Memorial Trust also helped him with the cost of his studies. James
has achieved the highest levels in all aspects of music: as an orchestral
musician he has performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Eugene
Symphony Orchestra (Oregon) and has been
Concertmaster of the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra and University of Oregon
Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist he has performed
concertos with the Southern Sinfonia and University of Oregon
Symphony Orchestra. He was also first prize
winner of the North Queensland Concerto and Vocal Competition in 2000. As a
chamber musician he has attended festivals such as the Nelson Summer School and
the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville. He was also a member of
a professional piano trio in Oregon.
James has an active interest in Early Music and attended the San Francisco Early
Music Society summer workshops in 2004 and performed in an orchestra as part of
the prestigious Oregon Bach Festival.
Christiaan van der Zee (viola) was born in South Africa
where he received his first violin lessons at the age of 7. In 1998 he began his
studies in Stellenbosch, South Africa. At the end of that
year he immigrated to New
Zealand and under the guidance of Gillian
Ansell, violist of the NewZealand String Quartet,
continued to finish his BMus (Hons) at Victoria University of Wellington in 2001.
During his time at Victoria,
he started playing the viola and found a great affinity with the instrument. In
2001 he was Principle violist with the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra.
Various scholarships include the Barbara Finlayson Scholarship for overseas
study from Victoria
University (for three
years running) and the Alex Lindsay memorial award from the NZ National Youth
Orchestra. These enabled Chris to continue his studies in Germany under
the distinguished violists Nobuko Imai and later Diemut Poppen. He attended
chamber music masterclasses with prominent artists like Andras Schiff, the
Guarneri Quartet, Auryn Quartet, Nobuko Imai, Hariolf Schlichtig, Frans
Helmerson and Stephan Picard. In recent
years, he has performed extensively as a soloist, in chamber music, as well as
in various orchestras and chamber orchestras in Germany,
The Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, South
Africa, Taiwan
and China.
Miranda Wilson (cello) studied with Alexander Ivashkin and Natalia Pavlutskaya at the University of Canterbury, where she graduated with
prizes for the top grades in cello performance. She was also principal cellist
of the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra. She continued her studies with
Professors Ivashkin and Pavlutskaya as a British Airways Travelling Fellow at
Goldsmiths’ College, University
of London, where she
graduated with a Master of Music (Distinction) in 2000. She worked as a
freelance cellist in London for a further two
years, performing in concerts in honour of Mstislav Rostropovich, the opening
of the London Prokofiev Archive, the Gubaidulina Weekend and the Russian Easter
Weekend in London’s
Purcell Room, and participating in a compact disc of Sofia Gubaidulina’s cello
works for the Chandos Label. She then continued her studies at the University of Texas with Phyllis Young, supported by a
Fulbright Scholarship, the International Peace Scholarship, funding from
Creative New Zealand, the New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women Travelling
Fellowship, and the Todd Foundation Travelling Fellowship. She graduated with a
doctorate in cello and musicology in 2005 and returned to New Zealand,
where she worked as a freelance orchestral musician with the Vector Wellington
Orchestra and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra before joining the Tasman String
Quartet. She has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player
in New Zealand, England, America,
Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She is also
a qualified Suzuki teacher and enjoys teaching cello and chamber music to
students of all ages.
Studying with the NZSQ
We are very
fortunate to be studying with the New Zealand String Quartet at the New Zealand School of music this year. We began by
attending the Adam Nelson Chamber Music Summer School this year and have found
their tuition and support tremendous. We are privileged to have them right here
and are soaking up their experience and musicianship as we prepare our quartet
for what lies ahead. It is very challenging (and rewarding) to make a string
quartet work and their guidance has been invaluable.
Studying with the Takács
The Takács don’t
need an introduction from us. They are one of the most prominent string
quartets of our time. The Program we will be doing is called a Post-Masters
Professional Certificate in String Quartet Playing and will run for two years.
They only accept one Quartet into the program. The program is concentrated on
the quartet practice and performance. We will be studying with the Takács Quartet and other members of
the string faculty at the University
of Colorado. This will
include individual tuition alongside the quartet tuition in the first year. All
tuition expenses are covered and we will each receive a stipend of approx.
US$7500 per year plus US$2500 each for development
grants: travel to competitions, festivals, concerts, master classes, etc.
