Natalie Lin last night became the first New Zealand violinist in 10 years to make the semifinal of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition.
Romanian violinist Ioana Cristina Goicea, who is sponsored by the Otago Daily Times, is also one of the six semifinalists.
They will be joined by Nikki Chooi (Canada), Sarah Christian (Germany), Wonyoung Jung (South Korea) and Boson Mo (Canada) in the final. The six were judged the finest of 18 hopefuls who competed in two rounds before sold-out audiences in the Queenstown Memorial Centre at the weekend.
''I'm completely shocked and overwhelmed. I really never expected to be here with these incredibly talented musicians,'' Ms Lin said.
She is only the second New Zealander to make the top six, after Natalia Lomeiko, in 2003, who went on to win the competition.
Nikki Chooi won the $2000 award for best performance of the specially commissioned work Caravan, by New Zealand composer Jack Body.
''It's been a fantastic competition. There's an incredible buzz here and to have a New Zealander among the top six is just fantastic,'' Sir Michael said.
The semifinalists now compete in the chamber music round of the contest, performing piano trios with Ashley Brown and Michael Houstoun in the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall, tomorrow and Thursday.
After that, three finalists will be named to compete in the grand final, each performing a concerto with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in the hall on Saturday.
The violin competition has been held every two years since 2001. The winner receives $40,000, a CD recording deal, a winner's tour with Chamber Music New Zealand, and performances with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Harris Theatre, Chicago, and Musica Viva, Australia.
