The winner of the 3rd Annual Pettman/ROSLARTS International Scholarship is 'The Duo Giocoso': Helen Bevin (20) viola and Rafaella Garlick Grice (20) piano, both from Dunedin, NZ School of Music, Victoria University of Wellington.  

The Trio was selected from 9 different ensembles nominated by the Universities of Canterbury, Otago, Victoria (NZSM), Waikato and Auckland, at auditions held  22 - 25 November at the WEL Academy of Performing Arts at the University of Waikato, Hamilton.

Three ensembles were selected for the Final Concert in the Gallagher Concert Chamber, WEL Performing Arts Centre on Monday 24 November 2008: The Leonari Duo (Maria Mo, piano, Edward King, cello – University of Waikato), Matariki String Quartet (Chris Park, cello, Charlotte Fetherston, viola, Jessica Alloway, violin, Jonathan Tanner, violin), Duo Giocoso (as above). The Final concert was recorded and will be broadcast on Radio New Zealand Concert.

The adjudicating panel was Director of ROSL ARTS  in London, Roderick Lakin MBE, Chief Executive of Chamber Music New Zealand, Euan Murdoch, cellist Bartosz Woroch*,

violist  Adam Newman*, cellist Brian O’Kane*, pianist Alasdair Beatson* and pianist Brian Sayer, former Head of Performance Studies at the University of Auckland.

The panel was impressed by the quality of music making which all three groups achieved in the final concert. Any one of the groups would have made a worthy winner. The winners, Duo Giocoso, displayed a seriousness and maturity which, in the opinion of the judges made them the group most ready to take full advantage of the intensive performance and coaching opportunities which the Scholarship offers.

* Bartosz Woroch, Adam Newman, Brian O’Kane and Alasdair Beatson are members of the Cappa Ensemble, major prizewinners of the ROSL Annual Music Competition which has been held in the UK for the past 56 years.  As well as acting as adjudicators for this Scholarship, they give concerts in Christchurch, Gisborne, Napier, and Waiheke Island.