Presenting Beatrice Columbis - winner of the 2026 Michael Hill International Violin Competition
Description
Beatrice Colombis
with Andrew Joyce and Jian Liu
Winner of the 2026 Michael Hill International Violin Competition, Italian-Australian violinist Beatrice Colombis joins NZSO principal cellist Andrew Joyce and acclaimed concert pianist Jian Liu to share a kaleidoscopic programme full of colour and flair.
From Classical favourites, contemporary gems, and the striking recent commission by Salina Fisher Chasm, Beatrice Colombis showcases absolute technical and artistic command of her instrument. Don’t miss this world-class artist on the rise.
PROGRAMME
Grażyna Bacewicz Sonata No. 2 for Solo Violin
Sergei Prokofiev Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80
Franz Schubert Notturno in E♭major, Op. 148
Salina Fisher (NZ) Chasm (2026 MHIVC Commission - for which Beatrice won best prize)
Maurice Ravel Piano Trio in A minor
Come at 5pm for a complimentary glass of wine. Concert starts at 5:30.
Lineup
Beatrice Columbis, violin
Beatrice Colombis, 23, is an Italian-Australian violinist who is currently studying at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Professor Suyeon Kang. In 2024 she completed her Bachelor Degree of Music Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying with Professor Goetz Richter. She began her studies at the age of 3 with renowned teacher of the Suzuki Method, Yasuki Nakamura. Beatrice is the first prize winner of the 2026 Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand. She was also awarded the audience prize, the prize for the commissioned work and the Sheila Smith prize three-year loan of a Domenico Montagnana violin from Rare Violins New York. She has been a prize winner in several Australian competitions, including the 2nd prize in the Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship (2025), and the 1st and audience prizes at the Kendall National Violin Competition (2023). Beatrice enjoys having a varied musical career. She has a particular love of chamber music that stems from her involvement from a young age in a small music workshop run by her family in Pittwater, close to Sydney. Beatrice, her brother and two cousins were the inaugural winners of Musica Viva Australia’s Strike a Chord competition in 2020, performing as the Cousin Quartet. Since then, she has performed and travelled with various string quartets, including as guest violinist in the Alma Moodie Quartet at Adelaide Festival in Ukaria (2026). In 2024 her quartet Elvina gave their debut recital in Melbourne after returning from a residency in Munich with the Schumann Quartet. Beatrice was an Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2023 and 2024. She performs casually with the ACO and Mahler Chamber Orchestra and was selected for the Gustav Mahler Academy in Bolzano in 2025/26.
Lineup
Jian Liu, piano
Dr. Jian Liu is an internationally acclaimed pianist, chamber musician, and educator who has performed extensively across Europe, Asia, and North America. His appearances include major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Steinway Hall in New York; Sprague Hall and Woolsey Hall at Yale University; and Paul Hall at the Juilliard School. As a concerto soloist, he has performed with orchestras including the Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine, China National Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and the Yale Philharmonia, among others. A passionate advocate for New Zealand music, Dr. Liu has premiered and recorded numerous works by leading composers from Aotearoa. In 2022, he edited and published New Zealand Piano Works in both English and Chinese through Shanghai Music Publishing House—the first publication of New Zealand piano music in China. The companion album, Where Fairburn Walked, released by Rattle Records, earned the Best Classical Artist award at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards. His earlier work on the New Zealand Piano Works project was supported by a Creative New Zealand Arts Grant in 2021. Dr. Liu is a prizewinner at several international competitions, including the Horowitz International Piano Competition (Ukraine) and the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition (USA). He has appeared at international festivals in Auckland, Idyllwild, Beijing, Shanghai, Lausanne, and Kraków, and his performances have been broadcast globally on KPHO Public Radio (USA), CCTV (China), Radio Suisse Romande (Switzerland), Kraków Radio (Poland), Kan Radio (Israel), and Radio New Zealand. He is also in demand as an adjudicator for international piano competitions. A committed collaborator, Dr. Liu works regularly with New Zealand’s leading performing arts organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and the New Zealand Festival, alongside partnerships across Asia, Europe, and North America. As a chamber musician, he frequently performs with members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and is the founding pianist of the Te Kōkī Trio, the resident ensemble at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī. The trio has toured widely throughout Singapore, China, Australia, and New Zealand. His international collaborators include the Takács Quartet, violinist Anthony Marwood, cellist Jian Wang, clarinettist David Shifrin, flautist Ransom Wilson, horn player Ben Goldscheider, and pianists Boris Berman, Claude Frank, and Maria João Pires. Equally dedicated to performance and education, Dr. Liu previously served on the faculty of the Yale Department of Music. He is currently Deputy Head of School and Head of Piano Studies at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī at Victoria University of Wellington and serves as a trustee of the New Zealand Music Trust. At NZSM, he has played a leading role in shaping both the performance curriculum and the establishment of the National Music Centre in Wellington and is widely recognised as a distinguished pedagogue. His students have achieved notable success in major international competitions, including the Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians and the Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition in China, the Indonesia Pusaka Piano Competition, and New Zealand’s National Concerto Competition and Lewis Eady National Piano Competition. Dr. Liu has given masterclasses and lectures at leading institutions worldwide, including the Central Conservatory of Music and Shanghai Conservatory of Music (China), the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Israel), Rutgers University, Manhattan School of Music, Wellesley College, and Arizona State University (USA), Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore), HMDK Stuttgart (Germany), the Academy of Music in Kraków (Poland), and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (Australia). He studied with Professor Jin Zhang in China and with Dr. Caio Pagano in the United States. He completed his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the Yale School of Music, where he studied with and served as assistant to the legendary pianist Claude Frank.
Andrew Joyce, cello
Andrew Joyce has been Section Principal Cellist with the New Zealand Symphony since 2010. Before joining the NZSO, Andrew spent five years freelancing in London, during which time he worked regularly with the London Symphony & London Philharmonic Orchestras, touring and performing in the world's great concert halls. He also played as Guest Principal with Northern Sinfonia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Andrew performs regularly across New Zealand in recitals, chamber concerts, and as soloist with many of the orchestras around the country, including regular solo appearances with the NZSO. Andrew was born in Norwich, England, and at 11 he was awarded a place at London’s Purcell School of Music where his teachers were Amanda Truelove and Michal Kaznowski. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music with Alexander Boyarsky and the Musikhochschule Lübeck with Troels Svane, as a holder of the coveted DAAD Scholarship. He has performed in masterclasses with Bernard Greenhouse, Alexander Baillie, David Geringas, Alexander Rudin, Natalia Gutman, Karine Georgian, Leonid Gorokhov, the Takacs Quartet and the Kopelman Quartet.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity