This evening, competition director Barry Shiffman announced that the TinAlley String Quartet from Melbourne, Australia, has been awarded First Prize in the 2007 Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) at The Banff Centre. Following six days of juried concerts focused on classical, Romantic, and contemporary repertoire, the winner was chosen from a group of the world’s most accomplished young string quartets.
”The level of artistry in all nine of the quartets heard this week in Banff, coupled with the unparalleled enthusiasm of close to one thousand audience members, created a joyous, festive environment that will be remembered for a long time,” Shiffman says. “We look forward to showcasing the remarkable achievement of Australia’s TinAlley String Quartet in recital tours in Europe and North America beginning this fall and continuing through 2008.”
The RBC Awards First Prize package includes a prize of $20,000 (CND), a European and North American recital tour arranged by The Banff Centre, a quartet of custom bows by renowned bow maker François Malo, and a Banff Centre residency, including the production of a CD recorded and produced by the Centre’s Music & Sound program.
The evening’s other RBC Award winners included:
- Second Prize ($12,000) — Zemlinsky Quartet (Czech Republic)
- Third Prize ($8,000) — Ariel Quartet (Israel / U.S.)
- Fourth Prize ($5,000) — Tokai Quartet (Canada)
- Székely Prize ($3,000 awarded for the best performance of a Bartók quartet during the Recital round) — Ariel Quartet
- Canadian Commission Prize ($2,000 awarded for the best performance of Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Dark Energy, commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and The Banff Centre for the competition) — Koryo String Quartet (U.S.)
TinAlley String Quartet (Australia)
Kristian Winther, violin
Lerida Delbridge, violin
Justin Williams, viola
Michelle Wood, cello
« Justin Williams, Michelle Wood,
Kristian Winther, and Lerida Delbridge
Awarded the grand prize at the 2005 Australian Chamber Music Competition, the TinAlley String Quartet has been invited to participate in the 2007 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. The TinAlley has participated in the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival as part of the Yale Summer School of Music, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar at Stanford University. In 2006 they were resident Visiting Young Artists at the Australian National Academy of Music.
The Banff International String Quartet Competition
Founded in 1983 to mark the 50th anniversary of The Banff Centre, BISQC is a triennial competition that helps support emerging careers, and raise awareness of classical music. Recognized by the World Federation of International Music Competitions, it is among the top events of its kind. During the competition, from August 28 to September 2, each of the participating quartets performed a range of repertoire in multiple performances before an audience of more than 900 listeners, followed by the Finals evening of performances by the four finalist quartets.
The Banff International String Quartet Competition is generously supported by RBC Financial Group through the RBC Foundation.
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Further information on BISQC and bios of all participating quartets.
High resolution, downloadable images of all participating quartets can be found at: