Three outstanding musicians awarded Kiwi Music Scholarships

The Kiwi Music Scholarship has been awarded to three outstanding young performers – a violist, baritone and mezzo soprano - to continue their musical development.

Violist Alexander McFarlane, aged 21, has been funded $20,000 towards his Master of Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, under the renowned teacher David Takeno. Last year he graduated with his Bachelor of Music from the University of Auckland.

Alexander’s soloist experience includes performing Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher with King’s College London Symphony Orchestra and Bartok’s Viola Concerto in four concerts with the Auckland Youth Orchestra. He has also performed in concerts with the National Youth Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra. Last year he reached the finals of the prestigious Brahms competition in Austria.

Baritone Julien Van Mellaerts, aged 28, has been funded $15,000 towards his Artist Diploma in Opera at London’s Royal College of Music. Last year Julien completed a Masters in Vocal Performance with Distinction at the Royal College, prior to which he gained a Masters of Music with Distinction from the University of Otago.

Last year he was one of only four to gain a place in the Royal College of Music International Opera School. Julien has won a number of competitions including the 2016 Brooks-van der Pump English Song Competition, 2015 Maureen Lehane Vocal Arts Award, and the Joan Chissell Schumann Competition at the RCM. He is currently performing the role of Schaunard in La Boheme with Opera Holland Park and the City of London Sinfonia as a Christine Collins Young Artist.

Mezzo soprano Bianca Andrew, a 2015 Kiwi Music Scholar, has received additional funding of $20,000 towards a Master of Performance, under Yvonne Kenny, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. This follows her extraordinarily successful first year in London where she was awarded the Song Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier competition. Bianca was awarded the Kiri Te Kanawa Scholarship for outstanding potential in the 2014 New Zealand Lexus Song Quest. She has a Postgraduate Diploma of Music from the School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington.

Peter Walls of the Selection Committee said the standard of applicants was very high this year. “However these three performers were clearly outstanding and are worthy recipients of the scholarship. The panel members and I will follow their future careers with great interest and high expectations.”

The Kiwi Music Scholarship was established in 2009 by Mr Sven Stenbäck in memory of his wife Maida Stenbäck née Saunders, a New Zealander who loved classical music. Funding for the scholarship is made available through the Kiwi Music Scholarship Trust.

The scholarship is to assist New Zealand citizens who have demonstrated accomplishment in musical performance (including vocal performance) or conducting, to enable them to further their musical education.

Applications for the 2017 Kiwi Music Scholarship close on 1 March next year.