It was huge day of music and fun on Sunday the 18th of September. The 6th annual Cooma Music Competition was a resounding success. This year we had over 80 contestants performing in 19 heats during the day. The Finals Concert capped off the day with 22 performances and a presentation of 8 trophies. The Finals Concert included performances by all the winners of the daytime heats as well as special performances by The Snowy Mountains Ensemble and Snowy Mountains Christian School Concert Band, pilule both conducted by Rodney Clancy, as well as a rock band from Bombala, “Critical Acclaim”.
The guest judges were the head of  The Alfred Deakin High School music department and prolific musician and composer, Marian Budos and his wife Ivana Troselj. Ivana is a wonderful singer and composer. Marian and Ivana have performed together all over the world. Marian’s compositions are still regularly performed in Europe and the USA.
I’d like to give a special thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who made this competition work so well.
and the winners are…
| HEAT | NAME | PRIZE |
| SOLO CLASSICAL GUITAR-PRIMARY | OSCAR LITCHFIELD | MEDAL |
| SOLO CLASSICAL GUITAR-SECONDARY | ANNAKA DYKSTRA | MEDAL |
| SOLO MODERN GUITAR-SECONDARY | ANNAKA DYKSTRA | MEDAL |
| SOLO PIANO-PRIMARY | ANNA STOLZ | MEDAL |
| SOLO PIANO-SECONDARY | NIKO BAKKER & MATTHEW VENTURA | MEDAL |
| SOLO STRINGS-PRIMARY | SARAH VENTURA | MEDAL |
| SOLO STRINGS-SECONDARY | TAMARA JOHN-NATLEY | MEDAL |
| SOLO WOODWIND BRASS-PRIMARY | ELLIOT PEARSON | MEDAL |
| SOLO WOODWIND BRASS-SECONDARY | CAITLYN VENTURA | MEDAL |
| SOLO VOICE-PRIMARY | KAYLA GAY | MEDAL |
| SOLO VOICE-SECONDARY | VENDULKA WICKTA | MEDAL |
| SOLO VOICE-OPEN | ROWENA EVANS | MEDAL |
| ORIGINAL COMPOSITION-PRIMARY | KAYLA GAY | MEDAL |
| ORIGINAL COMPOSITION-SECONDARY/OPEN | MATTHEW VENTURA | MEDAL |
| VOCAL GROUP-PRIMARY/SECONDARY | DARA SMITH, MIRANDA EVANS, HAPPI HUMAN | TROPHY |
| VOCAL GROUP-OPEN | MARK SALVESTRO & MIRANDA EVANS | TROPHY |
| SMALL INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE-PRIMARY | INDIA & JADE OLD | TROPHY |
| SMALL INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE-SECONDARY | CAITLYN & MATTHEW VENTURA | TROPHY |
and the overall winners from the Concert of Finalists…
| CAITLYN VENTURA | Frank Scott Music Award
Trophy & $50 cash |
| MATTHEW VENTURA | Russell & Jackie Fox Music Award
Trophy & $50 cash |
| KAYLA GAY | Ron Cox Music Award
Trophy & $50 cash |
| TAMARA JOHN-NATLEY | Strings Award
Trophy & $50 cash & a Peak Music Stand donated by The Sydney String Centre |
| VENDULKA WICHTA | Robert Shearer Vocal Encouragement Award (under 18)
Certificate & $50 cash |
| NIKO BAKKER | Peter de Jager Piano Prize
Trophy & $200 cash & a Gift from the Snowy Monaro Arts Council |
| ANNAKA DYKSTRA | Narrawong Classical Guitar Award
Trophy & $200 cash |
| KAYLA GAY | The People’s Choice -“Voted Best Overall Performance†chosen by the audience
Trophy & $100 cash |
Congratulations to all the winners and all the performers for a wonderful contest and concert!
(Click on the thumbnails for a larger image)
