2025 Emerging Artists

Concerto Soloists

An Pham

An Pham, a 10-year-old aspiring violinist from Wellington, embarked on her musical journey at the age of 5, learning violin under the guidance of Lynley Culliford and piano with Rachel Thomson. She has also had masterclasses with Helene Pohl, Haruo Goto, Lara Hall, Anna van der Zee and other NZSO violinists. Currently, she plays as the deputy concertmaster in the Wellington Youth Sinfonietta under the baton of Chris van der Zee.

An has achieved notable successes internationally and locally. Her accolades for 2024 include winning the Radda Rise International String Competition, the Fine Master International Violin Competition, as well as being a prize winner at the Malopolska 5th International String Competition and the New Zealand Note-able International Music Competition. Additionally, she was honoured as The Most Outstanding Instrumentalist at the Hutt Valley Performing Arts Competition in 2024 and The Most Promising Musician for School Years 1-5 at the Kapi-Mana Music Festival in 2023, among numerous other regional prizes.

An delights in chamber music and enjoys collaborating with her friends. Her duo won the Under 13 Junior Ensemble category at the Wellington Youth Music Festival in 2024.

Besides music, An loves maths, reading, and playing netball.

Ella Zhang
Supported by A. I. Boddy

Despite her young age of 14, Ella Zhang’s journey as a flutist has been marked by a deep passion for music and a commitment to excellence that has been cultivated over the past decade. She began her musical development at the age of four under the mentorship of Grace Liu, whose guidance has been pivotal to her growth as an artist.

At the age of 12, Ella achieved the ARSM Diploma in Flute with High Distinction, marking a key milestone in her musical development. She has also been honoured with several prestigious music scholarships, including Diocesan School for Girls Music Scholarship (2021–2024), Chiron Lewis Eady Foundation Scholarship 2022 and King’s College Music Scholarship (2025-2027).

Ella has garnered recognition in numerous national and international competitions. She won 2nd place in the Australia Flute Festival 2023 Young Artist Competition (18 years and under). Ella's dedication has also been recognized at the NZCBA National Festival, where she received a Gold Award for her solo performances in both 2019 and 2023.

As she looks ahead, Ella is excited to continue growing as an artist, exploring new repertoire, and pursuing further opportunities for collaboration and artistic development.

David Zhu

David Zhu is a Year 11 student at Pinehurst School. He began studying the oboe at the age of 10 under Bede Hanley, Principal Oboe of the Auckland Philharmonia. Since then, he has established himself as one of New Zealand's leading young oboists, winning first prize in the highest categories of both the New Zealand Double Reed Society (NZDRS) and Australasian Double Reed Society (ADRS) competitions.

At just 13 years old, he was appointed Principal Oboe of the National Youth Orchestra (NZSO-NYO) in 2024. David has performed as a concerto soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia and has been actively engaged in various programmes.

Additionally, David will be attending the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in the United States during the summer break this year. He also has had the privilege of receiving private lessons from esteemed oboists, including Frank Rosenwein and Eugene Izotov. Besides his oboe pursuits, he learns piano under Stephen de Pledge.

Leo Liu

Leo Liu is a Year 11 student at ACG Parnell College. He is currently studying piano with Jian Liu and Bryan Sayer. Leo started learning piano at age 5 and has won many local, national, and international competitions. Highlights include 1st prize at the 2024 New York Classical Debut Awards, leading to a performance at Carnegie Hall, and concerto performances with the Aotea Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House and with the Nelson Symphony Orchestra. He has also placed in the Lewis Eady National Junior Piano Competition and 1st place in Singapore International Piano Competition, North Shore Performing Arts Competition Society (PACS), South Auckland PACS, West Auckland PACS, Tauranga PACS, and taken part in masterclasses with Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Michael Endres. In 2022, Leo earned his Trinity LTCL Piano Performance Diploma with Distinction. He also plays violin in his school orchestra.

Oliver Mar

Oliver Mar is a 14-year-old New Zealand-born cellist who relocated to New York in 2022 after being accepted into the Juilliard Pre-College program, where he studies with Dr. Clara Minhye Kim. In New Zealand, he previously studied with Dr. Lisa Chung, James Tennant, Angelina Zheng, and Margaret Cooke.

Oliver was the youngest finalist and the bronze medal winner at the prestigious 50th Stulberg International String Competition in 2025. He is also a top prize winner in numerous competitions, including the 2025 Bravura Young Artists Concerto Competition, the Island Symphony Young Performers competition, the 2024 Camerata Artists International Competition, the 2024 Young Soloists International Competition, and the 2023 International Grande Music Competition in New York. He has soloed with the Camerata New Jersey Orchestra, the Bravura Philharmonic and Island Symphony Orchestras in 2025. He is also a Fellow with From the Top, a platform dedicated to fostering and promoting talented young classical artists.

In 2024, Oliver attended the Morningside Music Bridge summer program at the New England Conservatory and will be attending the Perlman Music Program for the summer of 2025.

Oliver is also a composer. His works have been performed by members of the New York Philharmonic and featured on WQXR, New York's classical music station.

Ozan Biner-McGrath

Ozan Biner-McGrath was born in Dunedin, where he is currently a Year 12 student at Logan Park High School. He began piano lessons with his father, Tom McGrath, who remains his teacher. Ozan also studied for several years with John Colwill and has participated in masterclasses with Jian Liu, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Paul Rickard-Ford, and Terence Dennis.

In May this year, Ozan won the Dunedin Concerto Competition, performing the first movement of Mozart’s D minor Concerto with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra under James Judd in the Dunedin Town Hall. He was also selected as a soloist for the Nelson Symphony Orchestra’s Solo Spotlight concert. In 2023, he won the IRMTNZ Otago Branch Secondary School Scholarship and performed Haydn’s D major Piano Concerto with the Dunedin Collegiate Orchestra. As a finalist in the 2023 Lewis Eady National Junior Piano Competition, his programme was broadcast by RNZ Concert. In 2024, he was one of 15 pianists under the age of 27 selected for the semi-finals of the Lewis Eady National Piano Competition in Auckland. He also won the Senior Scholarship Recital at the 2023 Dunedin Performing Arts Competitions, where he enjoys accompanying younger instrumentalists.

Ozan enjoys teaching piano and playing chamber music, and has been a member of winning groups in the last four NZCT Otago District contests. He also plays percussion and piano in the Dunedin Youth Orchestra and enjoys both playing and watching cricket.