BRIDGET DOUGLAS (NZ) is Section Principal Flute of the NZSO and an Artist Teacher in Flute at the New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkī. She graduated from Victoria and Otago Universities before travelling to the USA for postgraduate study with the assistance of a Fulbright Graduate Award. While in New York Bridget won the New York Flute Club and Artists International Competitions resulting in debut recitals at Carnegie and CAMI Halls.
Bridget mentors young musicians throughout NZ and is passionate about collaborative ways of making music. She is a founding member of the contemporary music ensemble Stroma and enjoys playing a diverse range of chamber music.
Bridget is actively involved in performing and commissioning NZ composers to create music that is unique to Aotearoa. She has released several CDs of both New Zealand and international music, three of which were shortlisted for Best Classical Album by the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. In 2020 she was awarded the CANZ (Composers Association of NZ) KBB Citation for Services to NZ Music.
Early keyboard performer and concert pianist Dr. Michael Tsalka (Israel) has won numerous prizes in Europe, the U.S.A., the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. Tsalka is a versatile musician, who performs solo and chamber music repertoire from the early Baroque era to our day.
Dr. Tsalka maintains a busy concert schedule, performing circa 110 concerts a year worldwide. Recent engagements include the Forbidden City Hall in Beijing, Bellas Artes Theater in Mexico City, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, St. Denis Festival in Paris, Beethoven House in Bonn.
Michael Tsalka has recorded twenty-seven critically acclaimed CDs for labels such as NAXOS, Grand Piano (HK), Paladino (Vienna), Brilliant Classics (Amsterdam), IMI (Tel-Aviv).
Michael Tsalka is currently serving as an Assistant Professor at the School of Music, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen.
Dr. Tsalka’s students have been accepted to many prestigious institutions: including the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the HDK in Berlin, Grieg Academy in Norway, and the Julliard School of Music.
Born in Scotland, Lissa Cowie emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 12. She studied cello at Auckland University with Coral Bognuda and postgraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Her orchestral experience includes: the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, National Symphony Orchestra of Scotland and Scottish Festival Orchestra. She was a member of the Elgin Piano Trio for 12 years. They performed the Beethoven Triple concerto in 2002 and were trio in residence that summer at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada. Lissa’s string quartets gave concerts in Scotland, the Isle of Mann, Belgium and England, including at Clarence House and St. Martin-in-the-Fields. She taught at various schools in London and Glasgow including at the Junior Department of the Royal Scottish Conservatoire.
Lissa moved to Nelson with her family 13 years ago and enjoys being part of the Top of the South’s vibrant music scene.
John Thomson (NZ) studied violin in Auckland before completing masters and doctoral degrees in violin performance in the USA. He remained in America for 25 years where he served as a university professor of violin while at the same time developing his performing career giving concerto performances and recitals throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. He is featured on recordings released by Albany Records and AK Coburg and his research and been published in the USA and Australasia. Critics have praised his “brilliant technique and appealing cantabile” and his “remarkable ability in performing the music of Paganini.” He returned to New Zealand in 2009 and is the itinerant teacher of violin based at Auckland Grammar School. He also serves as concertmaster of the Nelson Symphony Orchestra and as an examiner for the New Zealand Music Examinations Board. He is happy to share his experience with THE next generation of New Zealand musicians.