Musica Viva Australia’s Melbourne Chamber Music Competition Announces Participants

Open to string quartets and piano trios of all nationalities with members under the age of 35, the competition will be held from July 3–9, 2023

Established in 1991 and held every four years, Musica Viva Australia’s (MVA) Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (MICMC) welcomed participants aged 36 and under this year, to accommodate a postponement. 

With prizes of over $150,000 and a Monash University Grand Prize of $30,000, MICMC is presented in partnership with the Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC) and aims to nurture and cultivate the next generation of chamber music ensembles. 

Selected from over 60 entries in the preliminary round, 14 groups from across the globe will compete in Melbourne in 2023. The ensembles include groups from North and South America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The 2023 MICMC competitors are:

Piano Trios:

• Trio Delyria (Israel)
• Trio Unio (South Korea)
• Trio Gaia (USA)
• Trio Bohémo (Czech Republic)
• Trio Orelon (Germany/Spain/Italy)
• Albéniz Trio (Spain/The Netherlands)
• Trio Pantoum (France/South Korea)

String Quartets:

• Dior Quartet (Israel/USA/Korea-Canada/St. Lucia)
• Risus Quartet (USA/South Korea)
• Terra String Quartet (Australia/USA/Venezuela)
• MILA Quartet (China)
• Affinity Quartet (Australia)
• Quatuor Mona (Latvia/France/USA/South Korea)
• Balourdet Quartet (USA)

The competition will also include commissions from Australian composers Maria Grenfell and Lee Bradshaw, which will be required pieces in the second round of performances.

MVA’s preliminary round judges included Josephine Vains and Caroline Almonte. The live-round jury will comprise Amandine Savary, Cho-Liang Lin, Hsin-Yun Huang, Kirsten Dawes, Louise Hopkins, Lukas Hagen, and Timo-Veikko Valve.

“I am thrilled with the quality of our competitors, and we are assured of a riveting event,” wrote MVA Artistic Director of Competitions, Wilma Smith. “MICMC is an important part of MVA’s commitment to fostering new chamber groups and our lucky Melbourne audiences will undoubtedly experience early-career quartets and trios who will become the future legends of the international stage. 

“We would like to thank all the competitors who entered, our hard-working preliminary round jurors, our live-rounds international jury, and especially those whose ongoing generous support of MVA and MICMC make this Melbourne treasure sustainable for future generations,” Smith added.

The first and second rounds will be held from July 3–6, 2023, at the Hawthorn Arts Centre, where the Semi-Finals will take place on July 7. The Finals will be held in MRC on July 9, 2023. To attend the event, click here. Further details on each of the competitors can be found here.

MVA was founded in Sydney, Australia in 1945 by violist Richard Goldner and has since presented concerts and hosted nation-wide educational and artistic development initiatives for young and emerging artists.