Cousin Quartet Win Musica Viva’s Inaugural Strike A Chord National Chamber Music Championship

Congratulations to the Cousin Quartet who are the inaugural winners of Musica Viva’s Strike A Chord, the first National Chamber Music Championship for secondary school ensembles.

Performing live from the City Recital Hall in Sydney, the group claimed the Robert Salzer Prize, worth $5, 000. This inaugural Strike A Chord Grand Final was livestreamed from six cities across Australia. The jury and nationwide audience watched from the comfort of their homes with smaller groups at the live broadcast locations before deliberating online, and awarding the first prize to the Cousin Quartet, the second prize ($4,000) to JPMS Ensemble Brilliante, and the third prize (2,000) to the Lashavi Trio. The audience prize of ($2,000) also went to JPMS Ensemble Brilliante

The jury was chaired by Artistic Director of Strike A Chord, Wilma Smith, alongside clarinettist David Griffiths, CEO of Melbourne Recital Centre, Euan Murdoch, contemporary percussionist Louise Devenish, trumpeter Rosie Turner and pianist Timothy Young.

The Strike A Chord competition was developed by Musica Viva Australia as a new annual initiative for its 75th anniversary in 2020, with support from Creative Victoria and presented in partnership with Melbourne Recital Centre and the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). In partnership with the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, the competition was able to move to an online format, successfully navigating restrictions arising from the COVID19 pandemic. Wherever possible, the ensembles performed live on Saturday, from cities all over Australia. For those groups unable to do so because of lockdown restrictions, a broadcast of their first-round performance was livestreamed.

For the complete list of prizes and further details, visit: https://musicaviva.com.au/strikeachord/