The Artists at
the World’s Edge

A meeting of spectacular talent, a showcase of local and international musicians: our festival performers are the storytellers of the musical world, weaving us into the journey and sharing with us the most intimate moments of chamber music in New Zealand.

Festival Directors

Artistic Director Benjamin Baker and Festival Director Justine Cormack are the inspired hands and hearts behind AWE, shaping the festival as founders, directors and performers since its launch in 2021.

This year, they will again perform at the AWE Festival, playing alongside a fellow host of internationally renowned musicians handpicked from around the globe.

Benjamin Baker

AWE Artistic Director, Violin
NZ | UK

Described by the New York Times as bringing ‘virtuosity, refinement, and youthful exuberance’ to his Merkin Concert Hall debut, Benjamin Baker has established a strong presence as a sought-after soloist and chamber musician both internationally and in New Zealand.

  • Recent highlights include performances at Wigmore Hall, BBC Radio 3 appearances, and debuts with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Fort Worth Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, alongside solo appearances with the Auckland Philharmonia and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras.

    This season, he debuts with the Mobile, Columbus, and Newport Symphony Orchestras in the USA, the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, and premieres Matthew Kaner’s Violin Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Amarillo Symphony.

    Born in Aotearoa New Zealand, Benjamin studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music, where he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Rose Bowl by HRH Prince Charles. Key catalysts in his musical journey include prize-winning successes at the YCAT International Auditions in London, the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York, the Michael Hill Violin Competition in New Zealand, and the Windsor International String Competition.

    Benjamin plays a 1694 Giovanni Grancino violin, generously loaned by a Charitable Trust.

Artistic Director generously supported by Tony Trapp MBE

Justine Cormack

AWE Festival Director, Violin
NZ

A staunch advocate for creativity, Justine Cormack actively supports and promotes creative arts communities both internationally and throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Concertmaster of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Justine also collaborates broadly as a chamber soloist and guest concertmaster.

  • Through her creative performance coaching business, ListenFeelPlay, Justine supports professional musicians, encouraging them to maximise their performance success and optimise their musical enjoyment through insightful mind and body awareness.

    From 2002 to mid-2017, as a founding member and violinist of NZTrio, Justine performed throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia, South America, the USA, Europe and Scandinavia. During this time, the group’s commitment and passion for promoting New Zealand music saw the commissioning and performing of close to 40 works from New Zealand composers, proudly showcasing these compositions within the trio’s diverse programmes on the national and global stage.

    Other career highlights include her role as concertmaster with the Auckland Philharmonia from 2000-2004, and as lecturer in violin at The University of Auckland following the completion of her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Stony Brook University, NY, in 2001.

    An active recording artist, Justine has soloed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and released duo recordings with pianists Michael Houstoun and Sarah Watkins, in addition to a varied catalogue of award-winning releases with NZTrio.

    Justine plays an 1868 J.B.Vuillaume violin.

Festival Artists

Anthony Marwood

Violin
UK

Anthony Marwood enjoys a wide-ranging international career as a soloist, director and chamber musician. He regularly collaborates with the likes of Steven Isserlis, Aleksandar Madžar, Alexander Melnikov, Denes Varjon and James Crabb. Many leading composers have written concertos for him, including Thomas Adès (Anthony also made the first recording of the work, for EMI) Steven Mackey, Sally Beamish and Samuel Carl Adams. 

  • Recent solo engagements include performances with the Hallé Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony, the Boston Symphony, St Louis Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New World Symphony, London Philharmonic, Spanish National Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony. He has worked with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Sir Andrew Davis, Thomas Søndergård, David Robertson, Gerard Korsten, Ilan Volkov, Jaime Martin, Douglas Boyd, Chloé van Soeterstède and Gemma New.

    As director and soloist, Anthony regularly collaborates with leading chamber orchestras, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, Orchestre de chambre de Paris and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

    Anthony is a prolific recording artist, with close to forty albums on the Hyperion label alone – most recently a recording of Walton’s Violin Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins. The disc received wide critical acclaim, including a 5-star review in The Guardian and a ‘Recommended Recording’ in The Strad Magazine, whilst the Sunday Times described him as “a thrilling, virtuosic soloist”. His latest release is Steven Mackey’s “Beautiful Passing” with David Robertson and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on the Canary Classics label.

    He uses a bow by Joseph René LaFleur and plays a 1736 Carlo Bergonzi violin, kindly bought by a syndicate of purchasers, and a 2018 violin made by Christian Bayon.

Supported by AWE UK Music Foundation

Marike Kruup

AWE Education Leader, Violin
Estonia | UK

Marike Kruup is an accomplished Estonian violinist based in London, known for her captivating performances and dedication to music and music education. Her vibrant artistry and versatility have earned her recognition as a sought-after chamber musician in small and large ensembles around Europe, including as a founding member of the Estonian Festival Orchestra with conductor Paavo Järvi.

  • Another key part of her musical identity is the Alkyona String Quartet, which Marike joined in 2020. As current String Quartet Fellows at the Royal College of Music in London, the Quartet performs regularly around the UK and the Netherlands. In 2023, the Alkyonas were one of the ensembles in residence at the ANAM Quartetthaus Festival in Melbourne, alongside the Australian and Marmen String Quartets.

    Marike's musical journey began in Tallinn under the guidance of Mari Tampere-Bezrodny. Later, she moved to London to further her education at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music, completing her studies with Krzysztof Smietana and Radu Blidar.

    Beyond her performances, Marike is dedicated to pedagogy and carries on a family legacy of teaching. Since 2019, she has served as a faculty member at the Rachmaninov Music Academy in London, nurturing a talented class of violin students. She actively engages in educational projects to inspire and educate young musicians, including as Education Leader for the At the World’s Edge Festival.

Jordan Brooks

Viola
South Africa | UK

Jordan Brooks is currently a second year undergraduate student at the Royal College of Music under a full scholarship from the ABRSM, and joins AWE as a Royal Over-Seas League 2024 String Prize winner. Playing on a Storioni violin, he studies under the tuition of violin pedagogue, Radu Blidar. 

  • Jordan is a very active chamber musician, being a regular participant at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in addition to the SANYO baroque ensemble. In 2021, Jordan also took part in the Quatro Corde Festival in Italy, performing in masterclasses across multiple venues. In Manchester, he was involved with various collaborative chamber music projects with the Manchester Collective, as well as The Barret Duo School in Norway. He further took part in Masterclasses with the Emerson Quartet, as well as student-led projects.

    Most recently, he won first prize at the Royal Over-Seas League Strings Competition in February, as well as first prize for the overseas round of the competition in March. Jordan is a member of the Making Music Philip and Dorothy Green Scheme, which allows him even more opportunities to perform around the UK.

    In September, Jordan will be participating at the Enescu International Violin Competition in Romania. Future Concerts include solo performances with The City of Cambridge Orchestra and the Hillingdon Philharmonic Orchestra.

Supported by Royal Over-Seas League

Yura Lee

Viola
USA

Violinist and violist Yura Lee is a multifaceted musician. Both as a soloist and a chamber musician, Yura is one of the very few that is equally virtuosic on both violin and viola. Her career spans various musical mediums, captivating audiences with music from baroque to modern, and enjoying a global career that spans three decades and locations all over the world.

  • Yura has performed with major orchestras, including New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. She has given recitals in London’s Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, Salzburg’s Mozarteum, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. At age 12, she became the youngest artist ever to receive the Debut Artist of the Year prize at the Performance Today Awards given by National Public Radio. She is the recipient of a 2007 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and has received numerous other international accolades, including top prizes in the Mozart, Indianapolis, Hannover, Kreisler, Bashmet, and Paganini competitions.

    Yura Lee was the only first-prize winner awarded across four categories at the 2013 ARD Competition in Germany. Her CD Mozart in Paris, with Reinhard Goebel and the Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, received the prestigious Diapason d’Or Award. As a chamber musician, she regularly takes part in festivals throughout Seattle, Marlboro, Salzburg, Verbier, La Jolla, and Caramoor, to name a few. Yura is currently a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City, as both violinist and violist. She is also a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society.

    Yura is a professor at the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music, holding the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld Endowed Chair. She plays a viola made in 2002 by Douglas Cox, who resides in Vermont.

Supported by AWE Music Foundation

Serenity Thurlow

Viola
NZ (Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui)

Serenity Thurlow is a celebrated chamber musician in Aotearoa, as well as Principal Viola of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra since 2010. In 2012, she was Principal Viola of the Aldeburgh World Orchestra, who were part of the Britten-Pears Festival before touring Europe. In 2016, she premiered Chris Cree Brown's Viola Concerto for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. Serenity has played actively throughout Aotearoa, including touring with the New Zealand String Quartet in 2021 and performing with Diedre Irons.

  • After her undergraduate studies at the University of Canterbury in violin and viola with Jan Tawroscewicz, Serenity was included within the inaugural Graduate Ensemble Programme at Victoria University. There she studied string quartet with the New Zealand String Quartet.

    Serenity moved to Austria in 2006 to undertake further study at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She completed her Masters there with Peter Langgartner and postgraduate studies with Thomas Riebl. While in Austria she was an active chamber and orchestral musician, performing across Europe and the USA with orchestras such as the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, Camerata Salzburg, and Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss among numerous others.

Andrew Joyce

Cello
UK | NZ

Andrew Joyce returns to AWE in 2025, having performed within the inaugural AWE Festival in 2021. Before joining the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as their Principal Cellist in September 2010, Andrew spent five years freelancing in London, where he worked regularly with the London Symphony & London Philharmonic Orchestras.

  • Andrew has toured and performed in some of the world’s greatest concert halls, including as Guest Principal with Northern Sinfonia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. A dedicated chamber musician, Andrew co-founded the Puertas Quartet, who have performed in both the UK and New Zealand to great critical acclaim. He performs regularly in a trio with pianist Diedre Irons and NZSO Concertmaster, Vesa-Matti Leppanen, and has also recorded two CDs for Atoll Records.

    Born in Norwich, England, Andrew began his musical studies in London at the Purcell School of Music under the guidance of Amanda Truelove and Michal Kaznowski. He furthered his education at the Royal College of Music with Alexander Boyarsky and the Musikhochschule Lübeck with Troels Svane, thanks to a coveted DAAD Scholarship.

    Andrew plays a beautiful old English cello by Thomas Dodd, c.1800, kindly loaned to him by Old and New Strings Ltd.

James Bush

Cello
NZ

Winner of the TVNZ Young Musicians Competition and the National Concerto Competition of New Zealand, James has performed as soloist with almost all of New Zealand’s leading orchestras. During his time living in Berlin, he performed regularly with many of Europe’s leading baroque orchestras including Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln and as principal cello of Al Ayre Español.

  • James has collaborated with renowned dance company Sasha Waltz and Guests many times over the years, playing the Bach cello suites from the dance work 'Gezeiten' in over fifty performances worldwide. He has performed on recordings released by SONY, Harmonia Mundi, Winter & Winter and Challenge Classics. Since returning to New Zealand, James has performed on numerous occasions with the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, the Australian Haydn Ensemble, and regularly as a guest with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

    Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, James studied with Ellen Doyle before leaving to complete his undergraduate studies with Christopher Bunting and Derek Simpson at the Royal Academy of Music, London, later graduating with first-class honours. This was followed by a Master of Music degree with Timothy Eddy at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. James later studied baroque cello with Phoebe Carrai and Markus Möllenbeck at the Hochschule der Künste, Berlin.

    James’ long and continued association with the Swiss-based Jonas Foundation, who combat the social exclusion of young people through music, led him to establish a music school in the poorer eastern suburbs of Berlin, which he directed for seven years.

    Advanced studies in England, America, and Germany have given James a broad knowledge of the prevalent streams of pedagogical thinking. His teaching philosophy includes a special interest in encouraging children to learn to improvise within classical models.

Michael Houstoun

Piano
NZ

Michael Houstoun is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated musicians. At the age of twenty, Michael placed third in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, which led to a year of study with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 1975, he placed fourth in the Leeds International Piano Competition; in 1982, he placed sixth in the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition.

  • After living overseas for six years, including a valuable period of study with Brigitte Wild in London, Michael followed his heart back to New Zealand in 1981. Here, he has continued to live and perform, as well as performing in Australia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. He plays from a large repertoire stretching from JS Bach to the present day, including 40 concertos and chamber music. As a strong advocate of New Zealand music, works from Douglas Lilburn to John Psathas are regularly featured in his programmes. 

    During the 1990s, Michael concentrated on the music of Beethoven, playing the complete sonatas in five cycles around New Zealand: Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Napier. He also played the concerto cycle in New Zealand and Australia. Since 1999, he has recorded for Rattle Records, winning five Classical Record of the Year awards.

    Michael holds honorary degrees from Massey and Victoria Universities, is a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and a Laureate of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. He was a recipient of an Arts Foundation Laureate Award in 2007 and won Best Classical Album with Inland at the 2008 Vodafone Music Awards. In 2012 he was announced as a Companion of the Said Order (CNZM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours, for services as a pianist.

Erin Helyard

Harpsichord
AU

Erin Helyard has been acclaimed as an inspiring conductor, a virtuosic and expressive performer of the harpsichord and fortepiano, and a lucid scholar who is passionate about promoting discourse between musicology and performance. As Artistic Director and co-founder of the celebrated Pinchgut Opera and the Orchestra of the Antipodes (Sydney) he has forged new standards of excellence in historically-informed performance in Australia.

  • Erin graduated in Harpsichord Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with first-class honours and the University Medal. He completed his Masters in Fortepiano Performance, and completed a PhD in musicology with Tom Beghin at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal. His monograph was published by Oxford University Studies in Enlightenment in 2022.

    Erin’s company won Best Rediscovered Opera (2019) for Hasse’s Artaserse at the International Opera Awards in London. Pinchgut’s opera film, A Delicate Fire, won Best Australian Feature Film at the Sydney Women’s International Film Festival in 2021. Operas under his direction have been awarded Best Opera at the Helpmann Awards for three consecutive years (2015-2017). He has received two Helpmann Awards for Best Musical Direction: one for a fêted revival of Saul (Adelaide Festival) in 2017 and the other for Hasse’s Artaserse (Pinchgut Opera) in 2019. Together with Richard Tognetti, Erin won an ARIA and an AIR award for Best Classical Album in 2020.

    Erin regularly appears as a collaborator with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and has distinguished himself as a conductor in dynamic performances with the Sydney, Adelaide, Tasmanian, and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, ACO Collective, the Australian National Academy of Music, the Australian Haydn Ensemble, and as a duo partner on historical pianos with David Greco (baritone) and Stephanie McCallum (piano). In 2018 he was recognised with a Music and Opera Singers Trust Achievement Award (MAA) for contribution to the arts in Australia. In 2022 Erin was an Artist in Residence at the Melbourne Recital Centre and in 2024 will be Artist in Residence with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In 2023 he was named Limelight’s Critics’ Choice Australian Artist of the Year. 

AWE Fellows &
2024 ROSL Pettman Scholars

An extension of our AWE Emerging Artist Mentoring Pathway, AWE Fellows return to perform as Festival Artists within this year’s programme. Our 2025 Fellows have both been awarded ROSL Pettman Scholarships, in partnership with London’s Royal Over-seas League, designed to assist future study and career opportunities for emerging New Zealand musicians showing exceptional career promise. Find out more about the scholarship here.

Sarah Lee

ROSL Pettman Scholar, Violin
NZ

Sarah is currently in the third year of her Bachelor of Music degree at The University of Auckland, studying under the guidance of Stephen Larsen. Her passion for music has led to various achievements, including second place at the National String Competition 2024 and PACANZ National Competition 2022, the Chiron Lewis Eady Foundation Scholarship in 2022, and a Gold award at the NZCT Chamber Music Competition in 2021.

  • She has also performed as a first violinist in the NZSO National Youth Orchestra in 2022, and was selected as the Emerging Artist for the At the World’s Edge music festival 2024 in Central Otago. This year, she has been selected as a recipient for the 2025 ROSL Pettman Scholarship and the Young Artist Programme at the 2025 Whakatipu Music Festival. 

    Sarah has performed in masterclasses for internationally renowned artists such as Maxim Vengerov, Augustin Hadelich, and Ning Feng. She plays on a violin generously on loan to her through the Hill Family Foundation’s Instrument Bank.

Tal Amoore

Associate ROSL Pettman Scholar, Viola
NZ

Violist Tal Amoore is swiftly establishing himself as a prominent figure in New Zealand's musical landscape. A recipient of the Te Kōki New Zealand School of Music Director’s Award, Tal is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Music at Te Kōki under the tutelage of Peter Clark and Gillian Ansell, violinist and violist of the New Zealand String Quartet respectively.

  • His orchestral engagements feature regular performances with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and guest principal roles with esteemed regional orchestras. A dedicated chamber musician, Tal founded the Eden Quartet and has since joined the Antipodes Quartet, a fellowship ensemble under the auspices of Chamber Music New Zealand and the NZSQ. He has also performed internationally with the Afflatus Ensemble. Recognition of his artistry includes selection as a 2025 Whakatipu Music Festival Young Artist, and his participation as an Emerging Artist at the World’s Edge Festival in 2022 and 2024, where he returns in 2025 as a Royal Over-Seas League Pettman Scholar.

    Tal’s repertoire spans diverse collaborations, from premiering contemporary works to performances under distinguished conductors, and cross-genre projects. Committed to fostering musical appreciation, he engages in extensive outreach initiatives, introducing classical music to audiences across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Composer in Residence

John Psathas

Composer in Residence, AWE Festival 2025
NZ

This year’s AWE Composer in Residence is Ioannis (John) Psathas, an accomplished New Zealand-Greek composer. John has a history of large-scale collaborative projects, including writing for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games ceremonies, and collaborating with iconic artists such as Salman Rushdie, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Serj Tankian, and Oum El Ghait, amongst many others. John will be writing a double cello string quintet for premiere within AWE 2025.

  • Born in Wellington, New Zealand, John’s musical journey weaves through a myriad of genres: from projects with jazz legends Michael Brecker and Joshua Redman to an e-book scoring collaboration with Salman Rushdie, a recording session with the Grand Mufti in Paris's Grand Mosque, a Billboard classical-chart-topping album with System of a Down front man Serj Tankian, and more. His compositions have moved concert audiences in more than fifty countries on all seven continents - even Antarctica. His music emerges from a dazzling 21st-century backdrop, where dynamic collaborations with creative masters from all corners of the physical and artistic globe result in outcomes that are visionary, moving, and inspired.

    Early collaborations included working with luminaries like Sir Mark Elder, Kristjan Jarvi, the Takacs Quartet, Lara St. John, the Netherlands Blazers Ensemble, Evelyn Glennie, Edo de Wart, Joanna MacGregor, Pedro Carneiro, the Halle Orchestra, The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and many more. From there, he followed a period of intense creative exploration in the worlds of electronica and jazz, and a series of mega-projects which included scoring much of the opening ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. These projects have led John to an explosion of first-hand collaborations with artists from dozens of musical traditions spanning Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Australasia.

    John is now developing projects that integrate the many strands of this creative journey. Much of his recent work has social and historical commentary at its core. Recently, the epic and experimental No Man’s Land project challenged the accepted handling of WWI commemoration. No Man's Land involved filming and integrating 150 musicians from more than 25 different countries, including Oum El Ghait (Morocco), Meeta Pandit (India), Bijan Chemirani (Iran/France), Marta Sebestyen (Hungary), Vagelis Karipis (Greece), Refugees of Rap (Syria), Derya Turkan and Saddredin Ozcimi (Turkey) and many more.

Supported by the SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music