Salina Fisher
Salina Fisher is currently in her first year of studies towards a Bachelor of Music degree, majoring in composition (under Michael Norris and Prof John Psathas) and violin performance (under Dr Martin Riseley) at the New Zealand School of Music, Wellington. Until 2010, Salina lived in Christchurch where she studied composition under Dr Patrick Shepherd, and violin under Stephen Larsen, through the Pettman Junior Academy of Music (University of Canterbury).
She discovered her love for composition when her first work Suite No.1 won the 2002 National Tower Young Composers Competition, and was then performed by the Netherlands Blazers Ensemble as part of the New Zealand International Arts Festival. Her works have also been performed by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, the Christchurch Youth Orchestra, and the Christchurch Primary Schools Music Festival Orchestra.
In April 2008, Salina travelled to Beijing to attend the International Congress of Women in Music, where her solo piano pieces Raindrops on a Misty Pond and Moths in the Light were selected and performed by pianist Ross Carey. She also has a great interest in chamber music, and was a member of the Felix Octet in 2007 and the Bedrich Quartet in 2008 on violin, and the Genzmer Trio in 2010 on piano: all winning groups of the National Final of the Secondary Schools' Chamber Music Competition. Salina has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra for the past 2 years, was placed second in the composition section of The Big Sing competition in 2010, and also holds a Diploma ABRSM in piano performance (studied with Rosemary Stott).
In the future, Salina hopes to further her studies in both performance and composition overseas, and has a particular interest in writing music for films. Salina was awarded a Lilburn Trust Composition Award in 2009 (Canterbury University) and 2011 (New Zealand School of Music).
(Updated September 2011)
