Star contender settles for a life as concertmaster

Only a few months ago, New Zealander Amalia Hall was battling it out in the finals of major international competitions.

Now the dust has settled, she has signed on back home as concertmaster of Orchestra Wellington.

From the media release:

Orchestra Wellington Music Director Marc Taddei says Hall is a major young star in New Zealand’s musical life, and one whose gifts have already brought her international acclaim.

“I am over the moon that Orchestra Wellington has been able to attract Amalia Hall as our next concertmaster,” Taddei says.

“This is brilliant news for Wellington and New Zealand, and I guarantee that great things will come out of this appointment.”

Hall is considered one of New Zealand’s leading violinists, having won all of its major concerto prizes while still in her teens. She received her education at Auckland University and the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia, and went on to win the Jeunesses Internationales Music Competition Dinu Lupatti, the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition and the Postacchini International Violin Competition, as well as gaining prizes in the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition, the International Violin Competition “Premio R. Lipizer”, and the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians.

Hall is looking forward to leading the orchestra. She will join Orchestra Wellington from its first subscription concert, Firebird, on May 13 next year.

“I feel pretty lucky to be joining such a passionate orchestra and administration team,” she says.