07.07.2015  South African pianist Megan-Geoffrey Prins (24) has won the inaugural Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (SICMF) International Study Bursary Competition – the largest South African bursary for overseas music studies.

The final round of the competition was held on Monday evening, 6 July, in the Endler Hall in Stellenbosch.

The other finalists were Cape Town flautist Sakhile Humbane (19), Pretoria cellist Jacques-Pierre Malan (26), and pianist Willem de Beer (22), also from Pretoria.

Malan, currently a student at the Peabody Conservatory in America, won the second prize of a R60 000 bursary towards music study at Stellenbosch University (SU) or a recognized institution abroad, which is sponsored by Rand Merchant Bank.

The aim of the competition is “to attract the finest local music students to the SICMF by offering an internationally competitive financial reward that will enable further study abroad,” according to the Non-Voting Chair of the jury panel and SICMF Artistic Director, Prof Nina Schumann.

Prins, who hails from Riversdale in the Southern Cape and studied at SU, won the first prize of R200 000 towards music study at a recognized institution abroad. The prize also includes a “Rising Star” recital in the Endler Concert Series, as well as an apprenticeship position on the faculty of the SICMF 2016.

Besides winning the overall first prize, Prins also received three additional prizes: R10 000 for the best recital programme, R10 000 for the best concerto performance, and the prize for best pianist (a Yamaha Clavinova worth R40 000).

“I am extremely grateful to have won. The standard of the competition was high, and although I thought I might stand a chance to win, I didn’t think it would really happen. It required a lot of hard work to prepare for this competition,” says Prins, who received a standing ovation for his performance of the Finale from Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3, Op.30.

After completing his studies at SU in 2013, Prins moved to America to study with the esteemed Antonio Pompa-Baldi at the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music, where he recently completed the Master of Music programme. While still a student in South Africa, he won several prizes in all the major South African music competitions, including second prize in both the UNISA National Piano Competition and the SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition. The SICMF International Study Bursary will enable Prins to complete his doctoral studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Further special prizes were awarded as follows:
• R10 000 for the best rendition of a South African work: Sakhile Humbane
• R10 000 for the best rendition of a major chamber music work: Jacques-Pierre Malan
• The prize for the best string player (a one-year supply of 4 sets of Evah Pirazzi gold strings): Jacques-Pierre Malan

The competition was adjudicated over three rounds. For the first round candidates submitted a 30-40 minute recorded recital programme. For the second round ten semi-finalists were chosen to perform a 40-50 minute recital programme and a substantial chamber music work on 1 and 2 July.

On Monday, the four finalists each performed a concerto (or part thereof), accompanied by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Boico.

The panel of adjudicators for the second and final rounds were Prof Nina Schumann (Non-voting Chair), American violinist Madeline Adkins, Portuguese flautist Paulo Barros, Stellenbosch pianist Dr Pieter Grobler, American trumpeter Billy Ray Hunter, and Stellenbosch cellist Dalena Roux.

The SICMF runs until Sunday, 12 July. For more information visit http://www.sicmf.co.za. Concert tickets are available from Computicket.

Photo: Sakhile Humbane, Megan-Geoffry Prins, Jacques-Pierre Malan, Willem Botha