About US
Estrella was formed in 2010 by Somi Kim, Judy Lee, Lorelle McNaughton and Cindy Tsao, when all four were piano performance students at the University of Auckland. In their unique combination of four pianists at two pianos, they present a distinctive visual and listening experience. Performing classical to contemporary works, the Quartet’s repertoire includes pieces dedicated to them by leading New Zealand composers.
The quartet has given performances throughout New Zealand and premiered numerous works by local and overseas composers. They have played for international pianists Read Gainsford, David Lively, Stephen Kovacevich and Richard Mapp in masterclasses, including the New Zealand International Piano Festival and the Dartington International Summer School.
In 2011, Estrella was awarded the Pettman/Royal Overseas League International Scholarship, which enabled them to travel to the United Kingdom to give a six week concert tour. Highlights included performing at St Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James’s Piccadilly and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The quartet also received lessons and masterclasses from prominent UK-based pianists and teachers, including Sophia Rahman, Andrew Zolinsky, Leslie Howard and Ronan O’Hora.
Estrella is the recipient of the University of Auckland Carl and Alberta Rosenfeldt Prize in Chamber Music, the Auckland Chamber Music Society Scholarship, the Bernhardt and Anne Harrison Memorial Scholarship and the Llewelyn Jones Prize in Music for Piano. Their performances have been recorded and broadcast on radio and TV.
Somi Kim
Born in South Korea, Somi began her piano studies at age 8 and moved to New Zealand in 1997. She has been active as a chamber musician from a young age, in 2006 her piano trio ‘Farr from Russia’ was placed first in the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Chamber Music Competition. Somi is an official pianist for the NZ Opera School and was the 2011/2012 recipient of the Auckland Centennial Music Festival Scholarship and Anne Harrison Scholarship. She received the Margaret Doone Memorial Piano Sonata Scholarship as the winner of IRMT’s 2011 Sonata Competition. Somi graduated in May with a Master of Music with first class honours, majoring in performance piano under the tutelage of Rae de Lisle. The 2013 recipient of the Anne Bellam Scholarship, John Baros Scholarship for Music and the Patricia Pratt Scholarship for Musical Performance, Somi moved to London in September last year to study Piano Accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music.
Lorelle McNaughton
Lorelle was born in Manukau, New Zealand and is of mixed Maori, Chinese and Scottish heritage. She started learning the piano at the age of nine, studying with Fleur Chee, and began her Bachelor of Music degree in 2008 at the University of Auckland where she learnt from Read Gainsford, Natalia Ricci and Rae de Lisle. During her studies at Auckland University, Lorelle was named Best Student in Performance and was awarded the Kathleen Mary Reardon Memorial Scholarship, the Janetta McStay Prize for Pianists, the Tuakana Scholarship and the Anne Bellam Scholarship for further studies overseas. After completing her degree in Auckland, Lorelle moved to Sydney to continue her studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she gained First Class Honours. She was awarded first prize in the Greville/Coughtrey Piano Scholarship Competition, which she used to further her studies in Barcelona last year. Lorelle is currently undertaking her Masters at the Sydney Conservatorium, supported by the Sonja Hanke Memorial Scholarship and an Australian Postgraduate Award.
Judy Lee
Born in Taiwan, Judy’s love for music was discovered and cultivated from an early age. Her successes in piano competitions include placing second in the Tauranga Performing Arts Concerto Competition at age 9 and playing as soloist with youth orchestras. She gained her AMusTCL in 2004 with top marks in New Zealand, receiving her LTCL in piano the subsequent year. Judy was the Concertmaster of the Epsom Symphonia and awarded colours in both music and debating at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, as well as the David Hamilton Cup for composition and the Verna Dowdle Prize. She is the recipient of a New Zealand Qualifications Authority top scholar scholarship, the Bernhardt and Anne Harrison Scholarship and the University of Auckland Cultural Blues Award. Judy completed her Bachelor of Music and Science conjoint under the tutelage of Rae de Lisle in 2009 – majoring in piano performance, pharmacology and psychology, and graduated with First Class Honours in Piano Performance in 2010. She holds a Master of Audiology and currently works as a clinician at Bay Audiology.
CINDY TSAO
Originally from Taiwan, Cindy came to New Zealand in 1991 when she was one. She grew up in the small town of Katikati, and began her piano studies with Margaret Carryer of Tauranga from 1997-2007. She has topped New Zealand in Trinity examinations regularly, gaining her LTCL with 94% in 2006, and also performed as a soloist with orchestras on both piano and violin, as well as being concertmaster of NZSSSO. She recently completed a Masters degree with First Class Honours in Piano performance, studying with Rae de Lisle. During her time at University she has been awarded the University of Auckland Scholarship, Anne Bellam Scholarship, Auckland Centennial Music Festival Scholarship, the Constance Herbert Memorial Scholarship, been named the best Performance Student, University of Auckland Blues Award and Senior Scholar. Cindy currently resides in Hamilton, and is an official accompanist for the University of Waikato. She also teaches piano at St Paul’s Collegiate and at her own private studio.