The finest chamber musicians in this corner of the world are about to descend on Melbourne – and here’s why.

There are no borders in the world of contemporary music-making. Students go all over the world to study and form friendships with people who will influence their careers in unexpected ways. The Australian/Korean pianist, Young-Kwon Choi, is an example of this. He is the keyboard winner of last year’s ABC Young Performers competition who spends much of his time working in the South Korean capital, Seoul. But he remains based in Sydney after studying in Austria and London.

Now he is in Melbourne giving concerts as a member of the trio Viazza (pictured right) and rehearsing intensely for the 2013 Asia-Pacific Competition being held on July 8-14 between eight of the region’s best trios and quartets. Only half of the entrants are from Australia – two of the others are Chinese ensembles, with one each coming from Japan and Singapore.

While Viazza is predominantly Australian, its members share varied backgrounds. “There is an advantage in being an international group because we able to use what we have learned from an amazing variety of academies and mentors,” Choi says. Viazza’s...