Wandsworth Young Musician of the Year – 2024
Watch last year’s incredible Final below!
We are delighted to announce details of the 14th Wandsworth Young Musician of the Year Competition.
Wandsworth Young Musicians!
This is a brilliant chance for the borough’s musicians to perform and have fun showing off what they have been working on!
Deadline for application forms & video Submissions – 1st April 2024
Entry Criteria:
Musicians who are either resident in Wandsworth, attend a school in the borough or the Wandsworth Music Academy can apply. The competition is divided into 3 categories and is open to all instrumentalists (including electric instruments) and vocalists:
Junior Solo Category – Students aged 12 or under on 31st Aug 2024.
The minimum standard for the Junior category is grade 4 or equivalent.
Senior Solo Category – Students aged 13 – 18 on 31st Aug 2024.
The minimum standard for the Senior category is grade 6 or equivalent.
Ensemble Category – Students aged 18 or under on the 31st Aug 2024.
Open to pupil led small ensembles and choirs of 3 to 12 members.
The recommended minimum standard for the Ensemble category is grade 5 or equivalent. Ensemble performances should be student led and perform without a conductor.
*In the solo categories, entrants shall play no more than one type of instrument in their performance (unless a vocalist is accompanying themselves on guitar or piano).
The competition consists of 2 rounds and finalists will be selected from each of the 3 categories in Round 1 to perform at the Final in July.
Round 1:
Please complete the online application form to enter the competition.
Round 1 will take place through video submission performances. Our adjudicator will review the submissions to choose up to 5 entries from each category to progress to the live finals.
Please create and submit a video of you performing a piece of your own choice which should not exceed 3 minutes total. (Please see below for video recording guidelines).
Solo Category performances must be accompanied (piano or backing track accompaniment is accepted for Round 1 submissions) unless the music is written specifically to be unaccompanied.
Deadline for application forms & video Submissions – 1st April 2024
Video performances must uploaded to the relevant Dropbox folder (see below).
Finalists will be announced the week of the 6th May 2024, by video adjudication on our Wandsworth Music YouTube Channel.
Final Round
The Finals will be a concert held in front of a live audience in July – date TBC.
Finalists are asked to perform a programme of music of their own choice. This should consist of a minimum of 2 pieces of contrasting style; this may comprise differing movements of the same composition. The programme should not exceed 10 minutes total stage time.
Solo performers must have live accompaniment where possible unless the piece is specifically written to be unaccompanied.
The adjudicator will award prizes to the winners of each category.
Prizes awarded:
Junior prize – £50 voucher and Trophy
Senior prize – £50 voucher and the William Lane Trophy
Ensemble Rotary Club Prize – £100 voucher and Trophy
Performance opportunities will also be awarded throughout the next academic year to the winners.
This event showcases and celebrates Wandsworth’s young musicians by providing a platform to perform and receive feedback from a prestigious musician. Both rounds of the competition will be available for the public to view online and we strongly encourage all participants to watch and support other performers throughout the competition period.
Round 1 Video Recording Guidelines:
– Performances should not exceed 3 minutes
– At the start of the video, please state your First name only or Ensemble name and title of the piece(s) of music you are about to play clearly. Make sure all performer’s are easily visible for the duration of the video. The video must be filmed in landscape mode
– It is recommended your video submissions are recorded in school or at the Music Academy (if a member). If this is not possible, film the video in a main room of your home (not your bedroom).
– Set your video to record in high quality (720p or 1080p but not 4k)
– Set your audio to record in high quality (if you have a choice select 44.1k sample quality)
– Do not play directly into the camera (especially brass instruments!) Play slightly off centre about 2m away to avoid clipping and distorting the sound.
– Do a sound check – record a couple of minutes and listen back to check the sound and acoustic (with headphones). Make sure your accompaniment can be heard also.
– Clearly save your videos titled with your First and Surname / Ensemble name and Competition Category
Submit your videos by uploading them to our relevant Dropbox folder. Make sure you upload them to the correct category:
Junior Category – https://www.dropbox.com/request/8VaFJgRG8ltLGSF6RtL7
Senior Category – https://www.dropbox.com/request/3HZKkRFMDCXZwZXYXult
Ensemble Category – https://www.dropbox.com/request/NQMBmeWMgqxLYW49IfgO
How to enter:
Video submissions and applications must be received by 5pm on 1 April 2024 to the relevant Dropbox folder.
Please click here to complete the short application form: CLICK HERE TO APPLY NOW
If you have any questions, please do get in touch with John on jkilshaw@wandsworthmusic.co.uk
We look forward to receiving your Round 1 performances!