Young Composer of Dyfed Final

Saturday 17 April 2010 at 7:30 pm  

The Lunar Saxophone Quartet has always been enthusiastic about performing young composers' work and it is very exciting to have their enthusiasm and skill available to our local talented composers in West Wales

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Please note that all three competitions now accept entries from young people in full-time education within Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire even if they live outside the area.

Click HERE to download the latest Chairman's Report for 2006

Young Composer of Dyfed 2008/09

The Final of Young Composer of Dyfed took place in the Oak Hall at Rhos y Gilwen, Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire on April 2^nd and 3^rd 2009.

There were nine finalists, all of whom had written works of high quality, making the task of Adjudicator Lyn Davies, Head of Vocal Studies at the RWCMD, particularly difficult. Our Ensemble-in-Residence, O Duo Percussion, performed these often difficult works with skill and panache, ably accompanied in one work by pianist Dorothy Singh, and in his own piece by finalist Steffan Ciccotti (himself a fine marimba player). The eventual winners were:

Group A: Amane Suganami, with ‘LIH’, for Marimba and Vibraphone

Group B: Siôn Hupfield with ‘Three Variations on a Twelve-Tone Scale’, for 2 Marimbas, Vibraphone and full Drum Kit

Group C: Aled Start with ‘Habib’s Circle’, for Piano, Vibes, Marimba, Gong and foot stamping

Young Composer of Dyfed 2009: Claire Roberts with ‘Duet for Marimbas’ (also known as ‘Tide’, for, unsurprisingly, two marimbas).

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Arts Council of Wales comes up TRUMPS!

This month we are happy to have received an offer of up to £16,000 jointly (ie: for the 2 charities) from the Arts Council of Wales. We clearly meet with their approval as there are no extra conditions attached.

The money will be divided approximately 2/3 for Young Composer and 1/3 for Young Musicians, reflecting the relative annual costs of the two charities.

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Young Composer of Dyfed

The Young Composer programme goes from strength to strength. Last year we were fortunate to receive substantial funds from three sources, the Arts Council of Wales (jointly with Young Musicians of Dyfed), the Performing Right Society Foundation and Carmarthenshire County Council Education Fund. There were also significant contributions from Sefydliad (the Community Foundation in Wales) and Pembrokeshire County Council. All this added up to give us the freedom to explore new avenues of activity and put new ideas into action.

The entry for the 2005/06 competition, following upon the initial workshops and accompanied by John Metcalf's work in schools under our Resident Composer Scheme, was huge. Fifty seven young people expressed an interest in writing a composition and thirty eight of them actually submitted one. This compares with figures of 18 and 13 in 2004/05.

Two schools, Ysgol Gyfun y Strade, Lanelli and Sir Thomas Picton School, Haverfordwest, deserve especial mention, as their pupils submitted 20 and six compositions respectively, well above the three required in our agreement with them as part of the Resident Composer scheme. Even more form those schools expressed an interest in entering, but could not find the time to do so.

The standard of composition was even higher than in the previous year, and our adjudicator, composer Peter Reynolds found choosing among them a difficult task. In the event, he chose six finalists, but four of these from the middle age group (Group B: 16 to 18) and only one from each of the other groups. He also chose six 'highly commended' compositions to be included in the final masterclass and concert, two from Group A (under 16) and four from Group B.
The final was held on Saturday, April 22nd, at Theatr Gwaun, Fishguard. During the day John Metcalf, our Ensemble-in-Residence, the Athena String Quartet worked on the compositions with each of the twelve composers in turn. For one composition they were joined by harpist Catrin Hughes, Head of Music at Strade school. It was very hard work, and, after only a short break, the performers had to give a concert of the pieces; they were exhausted by the end of the day and more than earned their fees.

The winners were:

Group A: Claire Roberts, aged 13, from Ferryside, with the astonishingly mature and complex 'Movement';

Group B: Steffan Huw Watkins, 17, and Eirlys Myfanwy Davies, 18, both from the Llanelli area, with 'A Suite Taste for Strings' and 'Tic-Toc' respectively;

Group C: Jack Westmore, 20, from Llanybydder but studying at Sussex University, for the very impressive 'Roha';

The Greenhalgh Audience Prize: Matthew Wallace, 16, from Ammanford, for the second year in a row, with 'The Low-down Hoedown';

The Young Composer of 2006: Jack Westmore.

The winner, Jack, as Group C winner last year, had also been commissioned to write a work for the Young Musician of Dyfed 2005. This commission should normally go to the Young Composer, but Emma Downer did not at the time feel able to take up the work. In the coming year Jack has agreed to give over the commission to Emma, who is now in a position to accept it.
In the coming cycle, our Resident Composer is again John Metcalf, while our Ensemble-in-Residence will be the Alba Brass Quintet from Glasgow. A noted composer from North Wales is being sought as adjudicator and will be added here if and when he has agreed to work with us.

Some changes to the regulations and programme have been agreed by the Trustees:

• Entries will be accepted not only from Dyfed residents, but also from young people in full-time education at Dyfed schools. This allows entries from youngsters living over the border (in Powys, say) who go to school in one of the three counties, and from those in the area's three private schools, which take pupils from far and wide;

•We are abandoning the distinction between 'finalists' and 'highly commended' composers. Our adjudicator will be asked to select up to twelve finalists and the choice of works to be played in the concert will be made following the masterclass, noting that brass players have limits on how much their lips can take);

• The final will be spread over three days. On the afternoons of the Thursday and Friday we will hold the masterclasses, and on the Saturday evening the concert will take place. This will give the ensemble more time to hone their performances and decide with the Resident Composer on the 'before and after' illustrative excerpts to include with each piece.

This year, in addition to the initial workshops (in early October - see the calendar) the Ensemble will be giving workshops at each of the area's three special schools. Additionally, the Trust is holding its 'Open Meeting' on October 4th, with a concert by Alba Brass to seduce people into attending. (again, see the calendar).

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Young Ensemble of Dyfed 2006

This is a sad tale. We had to abandon the competition, which had been scheduled for March 18th, at Ysgol Emlyn, Newcastle Emlyn, for lack of entries. Only three ensembles sent in entry forms. This was a contrast from the two previous years, when we received around fifteen.

We have thought long and hard about the reasons for this, and have concluded that the competition is faced with difficulties which for the other two do not present ant problem. The most difficult of these is that school life so fluid that it is as difficult to maintain a viable ensemble as it is to initiate one. We have to find ways to make it easier to form ensembles of young people with similar capabilities, and to get and keep them together.

The Young Ensemble Organising Committee met and considered this matter, making recommendations to the Trustees which were debated at their last meeting, on May 10th last. A number of changes in the regulations were agreed, among them that:

• This web site include an 'ensemble matchmaking service' to allow young musicians to enter their names and some other details and to be brought together by the Trust in appropriate ways;

• There shall be two categories of ensemble, with and without one adult (over 19 years old) performer. This will in particular help to counter the problem that in much chamber music including piano that part is of much greater difficulty than the parts of the other instruments;

• The prize for each of the winning ensembles shall be a day of masterclass/workshop with noted musicians of their choice;

• The cash prizes previously awarded to the winning ensembles shall instead be awarded to the school or schools the performers attend;

There are a couple of other changes which are still under consideration.

This is a competition which we were proud to develop and greatly wish to see continue. We are open to other ideas which will ensure its viability each year for the foreseeable future. Should anything occur to you which you feel hasn't been considered, suggest it to Ian Barton, the organiser and prime mover of the event.

When all the changes have been approved, you will be able to download application forms in .PDF format from this site.

If you are interested in playing in an ensemble, please click HERE to fill out a form where you can find like-minded young musicians with whom to form an ensemble.

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We always need your help...

Both our charities are run entirely by volunteers and there are never enough of us. Whether you wish to become a Trustee or not, any assistance you can offer will be accepted with gratitude. Just contact any of the current Trustees, but especially Antony or Dot Griew to discuss how best you can work with us.

May we suggest two other ways of supporting us:

• Make www.everyclick.com the front page of your Internet browser and choose Young Musicians of Dyfed as your charity of choice. This search engine site gives half its profits to charities in proportion to the number of 'hits' it receives in favour of each one they have registered. Should you find the facilities weaker than those of Google (or your other favoured search engine), then go to that engine and drag its icon from the front of the command line into the lowest bar of the heading. Then you'll be able to move instantly to that site and still support Young Musicians;

• Send us your used Inkjet cartridges. Young Composer of Dyfed can send these away for good money (we have made well over £100 in the last year from this. All makes other than Epson are acceptable.

As with the other competitions, you can find the application form for Young Composer of Dyfed on this site as a .PFD file.

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