The Young Musician of Dyfed competition

The Young Musician of Dyfed competition began with the vision of one man.

In 1990, the late Michael Dobson organised the first competition as part of the Carmarthen Festival, now defunct (though there are plans to revive it). The event took much the same form as it still does. Youngsters under 19 years old were invited to play, on the instrument of their choice, a varied 15 minute programme of music. There were and are no restrictions on the type of instrument or the genre of music, but only one instrument is allowed each competitor.

One of the most pleasant aspects of the event is the camaraderie evident among contestants. These young people are often nervous but never overawed.

When the Carmarthen Festival folded in 1994, the competition was taken over by the Carmarthen Arts Club (now just 'Carmarthen Arts'). By then, Michael had died and his torch had been taken up by Dr Madeline Mayne, a retired chest physician. The competition was moved from June, the month of the former festival, to November, which seemed easier on the entrants, given the school calendar. It had remained there ever since.

The whole competition is open to the public. It comprises an initial round which lasts most of the day and a final in the evening. The five finalists are chosen by three adjudicators who have long experience of judging music competitions. All finalists receive cash prizes, and that for the winner is significant, especially if that individual is very young (the 2004 winner was 14 years old). In addition, there are opportunities for many of the finalists to make concert appearances at several local festivals. These include that at St David's Cathedral, the Drovers Festival organised by Lampeter Music Club and the Aberystwyth Musicfest.

Madeline died in 1999. At the same time the Young Musician of Dyfed Competition became a registered charitable trust, separating amicably from Carmarthen Arts. A prime reason was the break-up of the County of Dyfed into its former three counties (for those uncertain of their Welsh geography, these are Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire). It was felt important to begin to rotate the event around the three counties, where formerly it had been held each year in Carmarthen. In addition, fundraising was becoming a more complex process which required approaches to County Councils, businesses and individuals, often in respect of only one of the counties.

There are generally between 17 and 23 entrants to the competition, though in the early days it fell as low as nine, and there was once 25. One serious problem has always been to avoid clashes with other, more outwardly prestigious, events. These grow steadily in number and, especially where they involve entries from school groups, mean that many who would like to enter are unable to do so.

That we have been successful can be seen by noting that we have just held our twentieth event, that we have a reasonable bank balance, and that we have had, passing through on their way to musical success, several real luminaries. Finalists in the BBC Young Musician competition and other important competitions include Catrin Hughes, clarinettist, in 1992; Catrin Finch, harpist, 1993; Rakhi Singh, violinist, 1995; Ed Jones, trombonist, 1996; the other two Singh Siblings, Davi and Simmy, violinists, in 2002 and 2004, to name just some. The musical talent in West Wales never ceases to amaze and shows no sign of diminishing. True, there are phases in which one instrument or instrumental group seems in the ascendant. In the early days there was a plethora of fine young cellists, then it was the turn of the violin, and there has always been a steady stream of good brass players from the Aberystwyth area. It is clear that these relate to the presence of exceptional teachers of these instruments, who come and go as one might expect. However, four of the fifteen winners have played woodwind instruments (three clarinettists and a flautist) and woodwind has been prominent in many finals, so this trend is not absolute.

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