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A History
of Young Composer of Dyfed
In 2001 the ‘’ Young Musician of Dyfed Competition started the
Young Composer of Dyfed competition. Under the
wing of Carmarthen Arts it developed a competition similar to that of Young Musician.
Clearly rounds at which the works were presented for the first time were impracticable.
Entrants would instead submit – a composition for adjudication. From these
an adjudicator would choose six finalists. These would be given a masterclass during the day, and a public performance in the evening, after which winners would be announced.
We divided the entrants into three age groups, up to 16 (roughly GCSE), between 16 and 18 (A-level), and from 19 to 22 (undergraduate/just postgraduate).
We engaged five musicians to work with the finalists. The first were a string trio, a pianist and a soprano. Entrants writing •• outside of this group would
have to find their own musicians. For the first competition, in April 2002, entrants
mainly stuck to the forces they had been offered. The winner was Jayne Evans from Newquay, Ceredigion, with a fine piece for clarinet quintet in which she herself played the clarinet part. However, with the exception of the finalists, the standard
of entries was weak.
In 2003 we substituted flute, clarinet and bassoon for the string trio and the response was chaotic. Of the finalists ‘commended’ only five wrote within the engaged
group. Others wrote for string orchestra and timpani, for brass quintet, for saxophone quartet (the winner, Dan Laxton from Carmarthen). These composers thus had to find their own performers. The first of these brought her school string orchestra down for the occasion.
However, non-professional performers cannot not do justice to the compositions, and the masterclasses tended to concentrate on how to play the works, rather than how to refine the writing. The composers, the performers and the adjudicator all found this unsatisfactory.
We decided to re-think our whole approach. One thing was clear; the Young Composers
had little assistance to help them compose worthwhile pieces. One reason for this was that school Heads of Music are mostly not themselves composers. So, while they knew enough music theory to see students through their examinations, they couldn’t help sufficiently with something more demanding.
Over 2003/2004 we reshaped the programme (no competition was held in 2004). An educational element within our programme was clearly needed. We wanted to provide the lacking element in schools, both for Heads of Music and for pupils.
With minor changes each year the format is now as follows:
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the appointment of an Ensemble-in-Residence, a Resident Composer and an Adjudicator;•
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an initial presentation in each county to introduce pupils to composition for the •Ensemble-in-Residence, run by it and the Resident Composer;
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a ‘Resident Composer scheme’, in which we offer our Resident Composer
to secondary schools (each year one third of those in Dyfed) for two half-days each;
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individual tutorials by the Resident Composer for each entrant;
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a final in much the same format as before.
Our Resident Composers are appointed for three years, and are both highly regarded
Welsh composers. The first was the Lampeter-based John Metcalf, formerly the Adjudicator.
The current resident is Lynne Plowman, from Cowbridge.
Adjudicators
and Ensembles-in-Residence change each year. Our Adjudicators since 2005 Metcalf’s day’s have been:
2005: Pwyll ap Sîon, Lecturer in Composition from Bangor Dyfed’s University;
2006: Peter Reynolds,
distinguished composer based in Cardiff;
2007: Lynne Plowman, who subsequently became our Resident Composer;
2008 Timothy Raymond, Head of Composition studies, Royal Welsh College of Music
and Drama;
2009 Dr Lyn Davies, Head of Vocal and Opera Studies, RWCMD
Our Ensembles-in-Residence have been:
2004/05 the Celtaidd Wind Ensemble, a young all-female Welsh wind quintet;
2005/06 the Athena String Quartet, front desk players from the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera;
2006/07 Alba Brass, a young brass quintet from Glasgow;
2007/08 The Electric Voice Theatre, an experimental vocal and electronic group from
London;
2008/09 O Duo,
a percussion duo, now rising stars among these ensembles, based in London, but with
strong Welsh connections.
In 2009/10 the
Ensemble-in-Residence will be the Lunar Saxophone Quartet.
Entrants are required to limit the forces for which they write. At least one of
the instruments must belong to the Ensemble-in-Residence. The usual maximum is a
sextet, but this year it is a trio, and in 2007/08 entrants could only write for
one or more of the four voices with or without electronics. There is no restriction on the musical genre of a composition.
This schema has worked very well indeed. The standard of submitted works is higher and most pieces are significantly longer than previously. Entrants write within
the regulations (though there’s always one or two who don’t!). Those not chosen for the final received constructive critiques of their works from the Adjudicator.
There are cash prizes for the winners in each group, for an overall winner and for a favourite chosen by the concert audience. However, the main prize is clearly the chance for each finalist to hear his or her work professionally performed, and the possibility that the composition will be performed on subsequent occasions. Everyone
in the final is given a recording of the event.
The Trust now
commissions the winner of Young Composer to write a work for the winner of the Young
Musician of Dyfed competition in the same year. This is given its première at the
St David’s Cathedral Festival in June the following year, where the Young Musician
is given a concert opportunity.
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