$1 million gift to young musicians
university-of-canterbury
Thu Mar 31 2011 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
$1 million gift to young musicians
Thursday, 31 March 2011, 12:30 pm
Press Release: University of Canterbury
Benefactors’ gift of $1 million set to help make young musicians’ dreams come true
The University of Canterbury’s School of Music recently held a celebratory concert to mark the signing of an agreement that will see Professor Barrie Pettman and Mrs Maureen Pettman increasing the support that they provide for the Pettman Junior Academy to close to $1 million over the next five years.
The Pettmans have given major support to the Pettman Junior Academy at the University of Canterbury for the last five years, providing scholarships that have offered exceptional opportunities to promising young musicians.
The Academy was established in 2005 by distinguished classical musicians in the UC School of Music, Wolfgang Kraemer and Edith Salzmann.
The Pettman Junior Academy of Music offers a comprehensive and high quality programme of music instruction for highly talented young musicians who show potential to pursue a career in music, said Director of the Pettman Junior Academy, Wolfgang Kraemer.
“The programme is aimed at students from all over New Zealand, including international students. Students who are accepted into the Academy will have demonstrated their talent at an early age, along with an outstanding ability to work with focus and purpose. The Academy accepts students on the basis of a performance audition. Acceptance is based on artistic and technical merit.
“To date there have been a maximum of 25 places annually, but with this new gift of increased funding, the Academy will be able to offer 45 scholarships, ensuring that there is a greater opportunity to support the most gifted young musicians.”
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
Successful professional musicians will have typically studied with leading teachers from a very early age, said Mr Kraemer. “Ideally, the musical development for a string player or pianist should start between four and seven years of age. At the age of twelve or thirteen, classical music students should have reached a level where the basic technical problems have been solved and they can perform at a promising level.”
The Pettman Junior Academy provides music students with just such a programme and allows them to study with some of New Zealand’s best artists and teachers from the University of Canterbury’s School of Music, including Edith Salzmann (cello), Stephen Larsen (violin), Michael Endres (piano), Dame Malvina Major (voice), and Tony Ferner (flute).
“We are delighted to support talented young musicians and the world-class teachers who contribute to the learning environment at the Junior Academy,” said Mrs Maureen Pettmann.
“The young musicians who have studied with the Junior Academy over the past five years have achieved remarkable results, winning competitions locally, nationally and internationally, and gaining scholarships to enable further study. We are very proud of their achievements and look forward to witnessing their future successes.”
Professor Ed Adelson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the College of Arts said that the generous support of the Pettmans has given many young musicians in New Zealand a start in their musical studies over the past five years. “The further financial support that they will provide for the Pettman Junior Academy via their gift to the UC Foundation will make dreams come true for the next generation of performers, giving them the very best foundation for a musical career.”
“Barrie and Maureen Pettman are wonderful examples of the power of philanthropy in shaping young people’s lives, and we are thankful for their ongoing support,” said Graeme Steven, Executive Officer of the University of Canterbury Foundation.
Successful alumni from the Pettman Junior Academy include Bryony Gibson-Cornish – an accomplished violist and singer who is now auditioning at major American conservatories to pursue her post-graduate studies.
“Studying at the Pettman Junior Academy made it possible for me to pursue my dream of an international career in music,” said Bryony. “I will forever be grateful to the Pettmans for their generosity and faith in young musicians like myself.”
Auditions for the new scholarship places will be held on Saturday 16 April at the University of Canterbury’s School of Music.
Application forms are available on the UC website and should be sent to UC by Wednesday 13 April.
Ends
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from University of Canterbury on InfoPages.