Youngest ever winner of 大象传媒 Young Musician of the Year
This
year's 大象传媒 Young Musician of the Year is violinist Jennifer Pike.
At
12 years old, she is the youngest competitor to have won since the
competition was first established in 1978.
Audiences
in the Barbican and those listening at home on 大象传媒 TWO were left
spellbound tonight (Sunday 26 May) by her performance of Mendelssohn's
Violin Concerto.
Philip
Langridge was Chairman of the Jury and the panel featured internationally
renowned artists and broadcasters including Christina Ortiz and
Leonidas Kavakos who had the unenviable tasks of selecting this
year's winner from the five remarkable finalists.
One
young musician from each instrumental category competed for this
prestigious title and performed a concerto with the 大象传媒 Symphony
Orchestra and their Conductor Laureate Sir Andrew Davis.
Jennifer
collected a trophy designed specially by John Rocha at Waterford
Crystal and a 大象传媒 Travel Award. Each
finalist received 拢2,000.
Trombonist
Edward Jones from Aberystwyth received the Walter Todds Bursary.
This bursary is an award of 拢1,000 given to the performer
or performers who do not reach the Concerto Final but who, in the
opinion of the 大象传媒 production crew, have shown outstanding promise
throughout their performances.
It
is given in the memory of the late Walter Todds, one of the founders
of 大象传媒 Young Musician of the Year back in 1978.
Jennifer
said: "It was a complete shock - I was really stunned when
the result was announced. The other finalists were all so good and
they each deserved to win.
"I
never expected to perform in the final with the 大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra
and Sir Andrew Davis - it was amazing to see them let alone play
with them!"
Helen
Wallace, Editor of 大象传媒 Music Magazine and member of the jury, said:
"She
is a wonderfully natural violinist who delivered a performance of
great poise, simplicity and freshness. She
never got in the way of the music but grasped it intuitively: there's
a musical intelligence there, not a big ego.
"Her
age simply didn't come into it: she is already a consummate musician,
quite at home on stage, and follows in a long line of young violinists
such as Menuhin, Perlman and Vengerov who were as exciting at 12
as they were at 24 - that comes with the violin territory."
Since
its inception in 1978, the 大象传媒's biennial competition for young
musicians has not only been a showcase for the UK's outstanding
emerging instrumental talent - previous winners include oboist Nicholas
Daniel, clarinettist Emma Johnson and pianist Freddy Kempf - but
also a major event in the musical calendar.
About
500 young musician entered the competition and last year the Young
Musicians team travelled to 10 cities across the UK for four intensive
weeks of auditions - Belfast, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester,
Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff and London.
Notes
to Editors
More
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