2010 Competition Results
Results
First prize (£1000 + National Trust recital)
Osman Tack (17), piano.
Scarlatti: Sonata in D major k491
Scarlatti: Sonata in B minor k27
Schubert: Impromptu No. 3 Op 90
Chopin: Etude No. 12 op 25 "Oceanic"
Second prize (£300+ National Trust recital)
Edward Pether (18), violin.
Bach: Sonata BWV 1001 Adagio and Fugue
Sarasate: Caprice Basque
Third prize (£200+ National Trust recital)
Andrew McDade (18), tuba.
J.B. Senaillé: Introduction & Allegro Spiritoso
Carl Michael Bergerheim: The Death of Moses
Jean Baptiste Arban: Le Carnival de Venice
Finalists (£25 & music vouchers)
Alessandro Ruisi, (19), violin.
Samual Au, (19), violin.
Report
The Chandos Symphony Orchestra Young Musician Competition, St Edmunds Hall, Malvern College, Malvern, Saturday January 30
2010.
Exciting news preceded the competition this year — just in time for the new round of applications — that Making
Music West Midlands had doubled their sponsorship of the first prize to £1000.00. This created a great buzz, added to which we
acquired three new sponsors: Hop Vine
Music and All Music Plus
to support the runners up; and The National
Trust came on board with the opportunity of a recital for the first, second and third place winners at the
recently-opened property, Croome Court
near Pershore. All of which set the atmosphere up for a hotly contested competition.
Competitors came from around the newly extended catchment area (which now includes all the West Midlands counties), with a
strong showing this year from the Birmingham
Conservatoire. Fourteen competitors gave performances on violin, clarinet, trombone, tuba, piano and voice from a
stimulating range of composers: Ravel, Ireland, Kovacs, Richard Strauss, Chopin, Bach, Haydn and Senaillé amongst others.
The level of performance was significantly higher this year — with some breathtaking performances. In his summing up
Michael Lloyd stressed that he and the other adjudicators — Wynne Harries and Sheila Joynes (both players from Chandos
Symphony Orchestra) — "were looking for musicians, not technicians." The ability to communicate the music to the audience
being a quintessential part of the process.
During the adjudicators' deliberations, last year’s winner oboist Lydia Griffiths, a third year student from Hereford at the
Guildhall school of Music, gave a delightful recital accompanied by Becky Griffiths. Lydia's programme included Two Etudes by
Silvestrini, Colin's Solo de concours; Britten's The Grasshopper and a whizzy arrangment of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Flight of the
Bumble Bee.
The hall was packed for the results along with the five finalists: in third place, tuba player Andrew McDade of Malvern, for
his virtuosic performance of works by Senaillé, Bergerheim and Arban, collected the £200 prize from Eric Jones of the English
Speaking Union; second place was awarded to violinist Edward Pether of Solihull, with a fine performance of unaccompanied Bach
and the sparkling Caprice Basque by Sarasate. The prize of £300 was presented by Richard Brooks on behalf of the Mike Simpson
Memorial Fund.
The winner was 17 year-old pianist Osman Tack (left) from Abingdon who received the Eleanor Lloyd Shield and the first prize
cheque for £1000 from Robin Brighton, on behalf of Making Music West Midlands. Osman gave a fine performance of the Scarlatti
Sonata in B minor demonstrating great clarity of musical lines and voicing, along with an intensely musical reading of the
Schubert Impromptu No 3, all played from memory.
Special mention was given to the youngest player 12 year-old Rhiannon Symonds from the Forest of Dean and a member of the
National Children's Brass Band, whose tenor trombone performance had been commended as very promising. Also worthy of mention in
the adjudicators' summary was the high standard of accompanying this year.
Sue Johns, the competitions organiser for the last five years was given a vote of thanks by orchestra chair, Richard Brooks,
as she handed over the job of running the seventeenth Young Musician Competition to orchestra member Nicola Shorland.
Linda Fowler