CAVATINA Intercollegiate Chamber Music Competition

In memory of Pamela Majaro

2023 Competition

We’re delighted to announce this year’s winners:
First Prize ⋅ Fibonacci Quartet from Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Second Prize ⋅ Treske Quartet from Royal Northern College of Music
Audience Prize ⋅ Fibonacci Quartet from Guildhall School of Music & Drama

In case you missed it, you can catch up here: CAVATINA Intercollegiate Chamber Music Competition - Live at Wigmore Hall - YouTube

Details of our 2024 competition will be announced soon.

The origins of the present intercollegiate chamber music competition go back to the Gerard Heller Memorial Quartet Fund, founded and endowed in 1961 by Rosemary Rapaport in memory of her husband, Gerard Heller. Gerard was an amateur pianist with a passion for chamber music, particularly string quartets, hosting many concerts in his home, including the Griller Quartet's first performance in Manchester. Rosemary was a violinist who studied and subsequently taught at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1962, along with her friend Irene Foster, she established the Purcell School.

In 2012 the competition was given a fresh endowment by CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust. String quartets now alternate annually with piano trios to compete for the prizes.

The competition was dedicated to one of CAVATINA's two founders, Pamela Majaro, who sadly died in February 2016.

CAVATINA gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Laurie & Gillian Marsh Charitable Trust in making the competition possible.