Two classical music events, established as a result of Covid, will permanently sit alongside the Michael Hill International Violin Competition.
The new Whakatipu Music Festival, first held last year, and the inaugural National String Competition, held for the first time in February, will now go on a three-yearly rotation with the international violin competition, which will return next June.
The violin competition’s Winner’s Tour and National String Competition will be held in 2024 and the music festival in 2025.
The events have been made possible through the significant support of the Hill family, including Sir Michael and his wife, Christine, Lady Hill.
To recognise that commitment, the Michael Hill International Violin Competition Trust will be renamed The Hill Family Foundation for Art and Music.
Its executive director, Anne Rodda, said the pandemic was a "boot to the throat of all performing artists", but the top of the profession’s musicians paid the "dearest price".
"No longer able to travel for concerts, festivals, study, auditions and competitions, it was the high-performance musicians that have lost critical years," she said.
“With New Zealand’s international borders shut, the MHIVC Trust and the Hill family reflected on its 20-year history of success and responded by giving back to the community of Queenstown that was adversely affected with the loss of tourists, and to New Zealand musicians whose career paths and livelihoods were devastated."
