Postgraduate student profiles

Jun Bouterey-Ishido

 

Born in Christchurch, Jun began playing piano at the age of five under the tutelage of Veronica Van der Knaap then Diedre Irons. He received his Bachelor of Music (Hons) at Canterbury University in 2008, and went on to study at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and in Stuttgart under Péter Nagy and Kirill Gerstein, graduating with a Konzertexamen (Concert Diploma) with Distinction in 2014. As a founding member of the Calvino Trio, he completed a Masters in Chamber Music (with Distinction) at the Academy of Music, Basel, in 2016, where the Trio’s mentors were Anton Kernjak and Rainer Schmidt. In addition to this, Jun has continued to receive invaluable mentoring from Rita Wagner in Budapest.

 

Jun has received numerous awards including 2nd Prize at the 2017 Maj Lind International Piano Competition, Finland, 1st Prize at the 2015 “Orpheus” Swiss Chamber Music Competition and the 2014 Jeunesses Musicales Suisse (Calvino Trio), and 1st Prize at the 2008 Kerikeri International Piano Competition. In 2019, Jun became a Bösendorfer artist on invitation.

 

Jun’s research interests centre around the influence of non-Classical traditions of music-making (particularly the folk music of Eastern Europe) in the works of composers György Ligeti and György Kurtág.

 

 

 

Changmuwei Wei was the first Chinese student to study choral conducting at the Gdansk Music Academy in Poland. During his four-year bachelor’s degree he performed with the Gdansk University Chorus and the Choir of Gdansk Music Academy, and won the Outstanding Student Award at the Estonia Music Academy of the Dean’s Master Class. 

 

He returned to China in 2013 to perform with the Youth Symphony Orchestra in Hubei Province. In 2016, Wei joined the University of North Carolina’s Department of Choral Conducting and was appointed Assistant Conductor of the University Chorale. He returned to Poland in 2018 to complete his studies, being awarded a Master of Arts degree. During this time he worked as assistant conductor of the Choir of the University of Gdansk. On 23 May 2018, he staged Fly with the Wind, a celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Gdansk University Choir. 

Recently, Wei was invited to China to give lecture, rehearsal and conducting concerts every year. He is continuing his doctoral studies in the University of Canterbury under the supervision of Professor Uwe Grodd and Dr. Glenda Keam. 

 

 

 

Yoomia began her musical training on piano at the age of six and on the violin at the age of nine. She gained her Bachelor of Music at the age of 19 from University of Canterbury also continued her studies in Italy and Spain to further her musical training. 

 

She has appeared on the stage with the world class artists: Michael Bolton, Florence and the Machine, Il Divo and Olivia Newton-John. Performing has taken her to over 50 countries so far, featured on World class stages including New York St. Patrick’s, Montreal Notre Dame, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Town Hall, Sidney Myer Ball, Vector arena, Melbourne MCG. 

 

Yoomia’s interest in improvisation and original composition led her to reinvent her musical style and Yoomia – Modern Violinist was launched in 2011. Since then she has collaborated with electronic music producers and headlined performances in Bali and Thailand. 

 

Beyond her musical career, Yoomia is a born adventurer, her proudest achievements include cycling all the way from the UK to Prague, helping to build an animal sanctuary in the Amazon, and becoming a divemaster in the Caribbean. 

 

Yoomia has been teaching "Music Industry" and "Music in Community" courses at the University of Canterbury since 2014. 

 

 

 

Ricardo Stuani is a percussionist from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He has a Bachelor in Percussion and a Master in Music from the University of Sao Paulo. During this period he played in symphonic orchestras, jazz and rock bands, and percussion ensembles in Latin America. After graduating, he moved to Europe where he studied jazz performance at the Rotterdam Conservatorium in Holland, working as a performer in European music scenario. 

 

Currently a Ph.D. student in Music at Canterbury University his research is on performance interpretational process on graphic scores, multi-percussion, and experimental music from Brazil. 

 

 

 

Marlene Verwey Cooper was born in Delareyville, rural South Africa and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Music from the University of Pretoria, a Masters in Music from the Carnegie Mellon University, USA and an Artist Diploma from the Royal College of Music in London. Her teachers during these studies include Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza, Paul-Edmund Davies and John Hinch. A scholarship from the Italian Consulate in South Africa enabled Marlene to study privately with Raffaele Trevisani in Milan, Italy. She was the overall winner of the SAMRO International Scholarship competition as well as a prize winner in the International de Lorenzo Flute competition, the Sir James Galway Masterclass in 2009 in Switzerland and was a Flutist with the Southbank Sinfonia in London. Marlene commissioned works for flute and piano by contemporary South African composers Hendrik Hofmeyr and Stefans Grové and was a member of the World Youth Orchestra, performing at the United Nations Head Quarters in New York, as well as Palestine and Israel. Marlene was named the 2012 Rising Star by Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway in Weggis, Switzerland. She is currently studying towards a Doctorate in Musical Arts at the University of Canterbury, with her research focusing on the suitability of transcription of Robert Schumann’s instrumental works for the Modern Boehm Flute.