Nikki Chooi Photo: Supplied
Tinged with sadness: Nikki Chooi with the man who gave the Michael Hill Competition its name. Photo: Jeremy Brick
Twelve years after he won it, Canadian Nikki Chooi is returning to the Michael Hill International Violin Competition - this time as a judge.
In December, Chooi will join fellow violinists Amalia Hall, Andrew Beer, and Mark Menzies as part of a four-strong jury that will select next year's 16 quarter finalists.
Chooi spoke with RNZ Concert ahead of his jury service for the Michael Hill competition, a commitment which is tinged with sadness given this will be the first time the event has taken place without its founder, who died in July this year.
"He was such a force behind this competition, behind supporting young artists... I always send him a New Year's greeting, and he always replies with a comic and it always has inspiring words... Going through with this competition without him, it's going to be challenging."
Like two of his fellow jurors, Amalia Hall (who leads Orchestra Wellington) and Andrew Beer (who leads the Auckland Philharmonia), Chooi spends a fair bit of his professional life leading an orchestra. In his case, the Buffulo Philharmonic in upstate New York, USA.
Chooi says as a judge he'll be looking for performers that "make me want to keep listening, that keep me interested, that inspire me".
