Southern Strings Charitable Trust

Shlomo Mintz Critics, colleagues and audiences regard Shlomo Mintz as one of the foremost violinists of our time, esteemed for his impeccable musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique alike. Mr. Mintz regularly appears with the most celebrated orchestras and conductors on the international scene and is heard in recitals and chamber music concerts all around the world. He also frequently performs as a violist with leading string quartets and chamber ensembles, as well as in recitals.

Shlomo Mintz is the recipient of several prestigious music prizes including the Premio Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Siena, the Diapason D’Or, the Grand Prix du Disque (thrice), the Gramophone Award and the Edison Award (twice). Born in Moscow in 1957, he emigrated with his family two years later to Israel, where he studied with the renowned Ilona Feher. At the age of eleven, he made his concerto debut with the Israel Philharmonic; soon afterwards, he was called on a week's notice by Zubin Mehta to play Paganini's first Violin Concerto with the orchestra when Itzhak Perlman fell ill.

He made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of sixteen in a concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra that was presented under the auspices of Isaac Stern and the American-Israel Cultural Foundation, and subsequently began his studies with Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. At the age of eighteen, Shlomo Mintz added the role of conductor to his artistic endeavours and has since conducted acclaimed orchestras worldwide, such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (United Kingdom), the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Japan) and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Mintz was Music Advisor of the Israel Chamber Orchestra from 1989 to 1993. In March 1994 he was named Artistic Advisor and Principal Guest Conductor of the Maastricht Symphony Orchestra (The Netherlands). He led the orchestra in weeks of concerts during four seasons, including some as both conductor and violin soloist.

Shlomo Mintz is patron and one of the founders of the Keshet Eilon International Violin Mastercourse in Israel, an advanced-level summer programme for young talented violinists from all around the world in Kibbutz Eilon, and gives master classes worldwide.

He has been a member of the jury of several important international competitions, such as the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1993) and the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Brussels (1993 and 2001). In October 2001 Mr. Mintz was President of the Jury of the International Henryk Wieniawski Competition for the Violin in Poznan, Poland. Since 2002 he is President of the Jury of the Sion Valais International Violin Competition in Sion, Switzerland.

John Drummond BA, MusB, PhD is Blair Professor of Music at the University of Otago and Dean Academic of the University's Division of Humanities. His professional career has focussed on opera and music education. His achievements in opera include a major book (Opera in Perspective, 1980), the direction of over thirty opera productions, and the composition of three full-length operas and six one-act operas. In music education he was President of the New Zealand Society for Music Education for ten years, and has contributed to the leadership of the International Society for Music Education, including the Presidency from 2000 to 2002. John is married to Louise, a music teacher, and has four musical children including a violin-playing daughter, Annabel.

Dr Dan Bendrups is Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Dr Bendrups became established as a freelance trombonist across classical and contemporary fields before joining the staff at Otago as a specialist in Pacific ethnomusicology. As a past tutor for the Melbourne Youth Music Council (Now 'Melbourne Youth Music') and Melbourne Youth Music summer schools, Dr Bendrups has a longstanding commitment to youth music education. Presently, Dr Bendrups coordinates wind and brass performance at the University of Otago and performs with regional ensembles such as the Southern Sinfonia and internationally.

Kevin A. Lefohn maintains an international career as recital soloist, chamber musician, pedagogue and arts administrator. He studied with Dorothy DeLay, Piotr Milewski, and Kurt Sassmannshaus at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (USA) and Kathryn Lucktenberg at the University of Oregon (USA). As an experienced chamber musician, he has studied with members of both the Emerson and the Tokyo String Quartets. His performance and teaching have earned international prominence, with performances, workshops, and masterclasses presented on tours throughout Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and South East Asia. He is a National Recording Artist for Radio New Zealand Concert. Much sought after as a teacher and adjudicator, he is dedicated to the technical and musical training of talented young string players and has served as a jury member of several international violin competitions. He was the founding director of the renowned Marama Strings Project at the University of Otago where he was Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Violin from 1998-2007. In 2009 he taught at the University of Oregon (USA) as visiting Professor of violin and is now the Executive Director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic in Portland, Oregon (USA).

Janice Murray is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, University of Otago. Originally from Canada, she comes from a family with a long-standing tradition of involvement in theatre and music. She brings experience as a 10-year member of the Management Committee of the Otago University Childcare Association. Her commitment to the advancement of excellence in music in the community is reflected in her long-time support of the Queenstown Violin Summer School, of which she was Managing Director for six years. She is a founding member of the Southern Strings Charitable Trust and served for seven years as the Trust’s chairperson.

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