Millenium Trio in Musica Viva Grand Final
Founded in Sydney in 1945, Musica Viva has grown to be one of the world’s largest presenters of chamber music. To celebrate its 75th Anniversary at the start of 2020 they introduced the National Chamber Music Championship, Strike-A-Chord. The Annual championship will give secondary school students from all over Australia the opportunity to experience the joy of making chamber music and the chance to win a share in over $40,000 of cash and development prizes.
Open to ensembles of between three and eight performers, the competition will enable 12 groups representing at least six states and territories to travel to Victoria for a finals weekend. The first-round judges were overwhelmed by the quality of entries with over 400 young musicians and 103 ensembles taking on the challenge of preparing and recording an entry. After a difficult selection process, the judges have selected twelve finalist groups who will perform before Artistic Director Wilma Smith and a distinguished jury at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
Being the only ensemble representing Western Australia -
The Millennium Trio will be joining the twelve finalist groups from around Australia to perform at the Grand Final.
The trio consists of:
Kai Ning Wang from Hale School (Piano),
William Ji (Cello), and
Daniel Zhou (Violin), both from Christ Church Grammar.
They will be performing :
Felix MENDELSSOHN – Piano Trio No.1 in D minor Op.49, 1st movement.
Award-winning pianist Kai Ning Wang started playing piano when he was only 5 years old, and first performed with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at the age of 10 (in 2015). In the same year, he also obtained his A.Mus.A (Distinction) and ATCL associate diplomas in piano performance.
In 2018 Kai Ning won First Prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Szafarnia, Poland (10-13 Age Group)
The MetSO are thrilled to have been of assistance to Kai Ning on his journey towards his astounding achievements in Australia and around the world, and eagerly await the Millenium Trio’s performance at the Grand Final this Saturday.
Best wishes from the MetSO to Kai Ning, William and Daniel!
The championships will be live streamed across Australia on the 12 September 2020 at 2PM AEST from the Melbourne Recital Centre. Being the only ensemble from Western Australia, the Perth Concert Hall will also be hosting the Grand Final performance live on the big screen the same day at 12PM AWST. You can also register for free on the Musica Viva website to watch the Grand Final live.