Success for Weimar Cello Class
Luka Coetzee wins 1st prize at the VII. International Paulo Cello Competition in Finland
The cello class of Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar has a great success to report: Bachelor student Luka Coetzee won the 1st prize endowed with 20,000 euros at the VII. International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki (Finland) - and a cello bow from the workshop of Risto Vainio.
With this, the 19-year-old prevailed in a field of 108 applicants from 23 countries, 26 of whom had been invited to the competition in Helsinki (1-12 October). The 2nd prize (15,000€) was won by Petar Pejčić from Serbia, the 3rd prize (12,000€) by Samuel Niederhauser from Switzerland.
"I am at a loss for words," says her Weimar principal professor Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. "Luka delivered an incredible performance throughout the competition, incredibly versatile and confident stylistically and artistically through all the rounds. Her performance of Penderecki's 2nd Cello Concerto at the end of the competition in the final was simply outstanding. It was incredibly intense, at once soulful and fulfilling, and technically out of this world."
The first round of judging consisted of a solo and chamber music recital at the Helsinki Music Centre. In the semi-final, Luka Coetzee played Edgar Elgar's Cello Concerto with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra at the Sibelius Hall in Lahti. In the two-part final, Boccherini's 6th Cello Concerto was performed first at the Espoo Cultural Centre in Tapiola with the Tapiola Sinfonietta - and finally Penderecki's 2nd Cello Concerto with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra at the Helsinki Music Centre.
The Canadian cellist Luka Coetzee, born in 2004, has already performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician. She made her solo debut at the age of eleven with the Calgary Civic Symphony as winner of the Rotary Calgary Concerto Competition. Most recently, she received 1st prize at the Pablo Casals International Award in El Vendrell, Spain in November 2022. In September 2022, she won the Frans Helmerson Sponsorship Award of the Kronberg Academy and performed as a soloist with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.
As a member of the Echo Klassik nominated LGT Young Soloists, Luka Coetzee has performed in numerous concert halls around the world, including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berlin Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zurich, Victoria Hall Singapore, Rheingau Music Festival and Woordfees Festival in Stellenbosch, South Africa. She has worked with major artists and string quartets including Johannes Moser, Frans Helmerson, Nicolas Alsteadt, Jens Peter Maintz, Laurence Lesser, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Calidore String Quartet, Kronos Quartet and Schumann Quartet.
At the age of one, Luka Coetzee received her first cello lessons from Christine Bootland. Other previous mentors were John Kadz, Johanne Perron and Horacio Contreras. She started playing the piano at the age of three and graduated with distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Music ARCT under the tutelage of Derek Chiu. She is currently studying violoncello at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar with Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt.
[13 October 2023]