Tomorrow's jazz greats were on show at a well-attended event at the Millennium Hotel ballroom on Sunday evening, when the winners of this year's NZONE Emerging Talent Competition were chosen.
The competition was open to 18 to 25-year-olds as part of the JazzFest Jump Start competitions.
Twelve finalists chosen from a preliminary round conducted via DVD or YouTube submissions performed in front of an audience and a judging panel.
They competitors were split into two categories: solo vocal and solo instrumental.
The vocal category was won by Saelyn Guyton, of Invercargill, with Amy Jensen, of Christchurch, runner-up.
Queenstown singer David Bell was third.
In the instrumental category, the top honour went to Jeremy Hantler, of Wellington, on drums.
The runner-up was Burke Goffe, of Christchurch, on guitar, followed by Blair Clarke, of Wellington, on saxophone.
The winner of each category received $1000, the runners-up $400, and top three placegetters in both categories were awarded a NZONE skydive.
The winners were to perform on the Village Green in Queenstown at noon yesterday.
However, rain meant the concert was moved indoors to the nearby venue at Brazz on the Green, where all the winners were given another chance to perform for an audience.
Organiser Stephanie Percysaid the evening was successful.
"It was great to see an enthusiastic crowd supporting the talented young performers.
"The standard was very high this year, and the judges expressed that they had a tough job deciding between the highly competent competitors," Ms Percy said.
JazzFest trustee Peter Howe attended the event on Sunday evening, and was impressed by the performances.
"It was the kind of evening that gives you faith that the future of jazz is in good hands," he said.
