Violinist Pieter Joubert wins the first prize of R30,000 (£1,300)
The final round of the third University of Cape Town Strings Competition took place on 11 October at the Baxter Concert Hall in Cape Town, South Africa. The competition was open to current, incoming, and recently graduated students at the university, with a new category for high school string players.
In the university student division, the first prize of R30,000 (£1,300) was awarded to violinist Pieter Joubert. He also won the R4,000 (£175) prize for the best performance of a South African work, performing Matthijs van Dijk’s second sonata for violin and piano i asked for a peppermint (i asked for her to get one). The runners up, violist Micaela Arries and cellist Ashlin Grobbelaar, each received R17,000 (£740). The jury award for the most promising semi-finalist went to violinist Helen Liu.
In the high school student division, the first prize of R12,000 (£500) was won by 17-year-old violinist Emma Steenkamp. The runners up were cellist Luke Stamer and violinist Bianke van Staden.
Joubert is in the final year of his bachelor degree at the University of Cape Town, specialising in violin performance with Farida Bacharova. He has won numerous competitions including the Human-Naudé Bursary Competition, the UNISA Scholarship competition, as well as the inaugural edition of the UCT Strings Competition in 2022.
Steenkamp is currently studying with Catherine Lord at the Wells Cathedral School in Somerset, UK, where she has led the Early Music Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. She has previously won competitions including the junior division of the South African String Foundation Competition, and was recognised as one of the top 50 instrumentalists for the BBC Young Musician 2024.
This year’s jury comprised Bernhard Gueller, Petrus Coetzee, and Francois du Toit.
Read: 2023 UCT Strings Competition announces winners
Read: My experience: cellist Chris Njapa, University of Cape Town
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