Violins, violas and Vivaldi will ignite on stage at the Young Artists Concerto Competition, as mini musicians compete to play with one of the UAE’s most prominent orchestras.
They’re all over. They’re hidden in school music rooms or curled up at home with their headphones. They’re the ones on the bus, tapping their feet. They are the classical musicians and music lovers of the UAE who are coming together to celebrate their shared passion.
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is hosting the second annual Young Artist’s Concerto Competition on February 28 at 9am at Brighton College Abu Dhabi. The competition, which is free and open to the public, will see 14 accomplished musicians under the age of 18 competing for the honour of performing alongside the UAE’s National Symphony Orchestra.
The competition will feature nine pianists, four violinists and two cellists, with one contestant performing on both the piano and violin. All of them have already demonstrated a high level of musical proficiency. The director of the competition, Ioannis Potamousis, says, ‘These musicians have earned the right to compete based on recommendations from the most prominent instructors in the country.’
The young musicians will each perform a concerto of their choosing. A concerto is a musical composition that is performed by one musician accompanied by an orchestra. In this case, however, the contestants will each perform with the accompaniment of a single professional pianist. Ioannis says, ‘The contestants will play with a pianist who will serve as the orchestra on a smaller scale. This way, the panel will be able to determine whether they are ready to handle collaborating with an orchestra if they win.’
Viewers can expect to hear some classic concertos by some of the world’s most famous composers such as Mozart, JS Bach, Felix Mendelssohn and Antonio Vivaldi as well as Joseph Haydn – whose Third Movement won the Young Artist’s Concerto Competition for Gary Liu last year.
Three musicians will be selected and given the chance to perform onstage with the NSO in a concert during its 2014-2015 season. They will also have the chance to consult with NSO conductor Andrew Berryman about which piece they will perform.
The three winners will be selected by a three-person panel of judges – all accomplished musicians and conductors. Andrew will serve as the president of the competition and thus the head judge. The other two judges’ identities will remain secret until the day of the competition in the interest of fairness; as the musical community in the UAE is small, Ioannis believes revealing the judges’ identity could call their neutrality into question.
The judges will be looking for technique, dexterity and interpretation; they want to see how quickly and accurately the musician can perform. They will also note how creative the artist is with the composition and judge the dynamics of the student’s performance – whether the piece is flat, sharp or varied. They will take stage presence – whether the musician is nervous or composed on stage – into consideration, too.
Finally, the judges will determine how the performance went overall. While this seems like it could be subjective, Ioannis maintains that the expertise of the judges will ensure that the contestants receive an objective evaluation.
The Young Artist’s Concerto Competition will take place at Brighton College on Friday February 28 9am-noon. Free. Email competition@uaenso.org. Brighton College Abu Dhabi, Al Matar, www.brightoncollege.ae (02 815 6500).
Music lessons
If you have a mini Mozart or a budding Bach in your house but aren’t sure where they can hone their talents, here are some of Abu Dhabi’s most popular music institutes. Who knows? Maybe soon your child will be performing with the National Symphony Orchestra.
Amadeus Music Institute offers classes in piano, violin, flute, saxophone, classical and electric guitar, trumpet and voice. Individual lessons start at Dhs90 for 30 minutes; group lessons start at Dhs60 for 45 minutes. Hamdan Street, www.amadeusmusicinst.com (050 415 6934).
International Music Institute has courses in stringed instruments such as the violin, viola, cello and guitar; wind instruments such as the recorder, flute, saxophone, trumpet and clarinet; and percussion such as drums and bongos. Classes start at Dhs1,430 for 13 weeks. Al Khalidiyah, www.imi-jmc.net (02 621 1949).
Modern Art Music Institute has courses in almost every instrument you can think of. Learn piano, guitar, violin, double bass, percussion instruments, trumpet, trombone, flute, saxophone and more. They even have classes in oud, a pear-shaped stringed instrument. Classes start at Dhs450 for four lessons. Al Meena Tower, www.emiratesjazz.com (02 673 8380).
