Pretoria - Unisa International Music Competition
The first Unisa International Music Competition was held in Pretoria in 1982. The category for the inaugural competition was piano and the first prize was awarded to the Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin who has since then established himself as one of the world’s leading concert artists.
Other prize winners at Unisa include pianists Francois Guy, André Pisarev, Albert Tiu, Dmitri Vorobieff, and Lukáš Vondráček; sopranos René Flemming, Summu Yo, and Cecilia Rangwanasha; tenors Johan Botha and Kobie van Rensburg; cellists Alexander Knasyer and Jerôme Pernoo; violinists Benjamin Schmidt and Dmitri Makhatine; and clarinettist Robert Pickup. Famous judges include Guido Agosti, Georgy Sandor, Marie Claire Alain, Maria Kliegel, Martina Arroyo, John O’Conor, Sergey Dovensky, and many others.
Unisa International Music Competitions take place every two years and alternate between piano and one of the following: strings, voice, organ, and wind. Unisa is the only competition offering both jazz and classical categories which run in parallel. Winners of the competition secure engagements with South Africa’s leading orchestras and recital venues the following year.
Contact
Prof. Thomas Pooley
Unisa Directorate Music
OR Tambo Building, Office 1-32
Preller Street
Pretoria
0002
South Africa