´óÏó´«Ã½

Six Young Composers win a ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms performance, a broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3 and a coveted ´óÏó´«Ã½ commission

Today the ´óÏó´«Ã½ unveils the six winning works in the Young Composers Competition – the culmination of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms's annual Inspire scheme. The prestigious competition has attracted hundreds of entries from 12 to-18-year-old composers, all vying for the unrivalled opportunity to have their work heard by large audiences at this year's ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms, as well as receiving a sought-after ´óÏó´«Ã½ commission.

Now in its 12th year, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms Inspire Young Composers Competition continues to provide a platform for budding composers across the UK, providing what most composers only dream of – the chance to have their music played by professional musicians and broadcast on Radio 3.

Entries of all genres and for any instrumentation are welcomed: the only rules are that entries should last no longer than five minutes and be scored so that other musicians can perform them.

Past winners of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms Inspire Young Composers Competition include Thomas Hewitt Jones – now hugely celebrated for his commercial and ballet scores – and Alissa Firsova, whose first major ´óÏó´«Ã½ commission will be premiered at this year's ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms on Saturday 14 August.

The winners of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms Inspire Young Composers Competition 2010 are:

12-16 category

• Sebastian Black from Colchester – Post-Scriptum
• Kristina Arakelyan from Watford – New Year!
• Benjamin Wetherfield from Richmond – Word In Edgeways

17-18 category

• Jonathan Woolgar from Pontefract – Dead Sea Scrolls
• Catherine Cheung from London – Fragmented Expanse
• William Marshall from Wirral – Switch

See biographies below for full information on the winners.

Entries are judged by a panel of leading composers from varied musical fields, chaired by composer Fraser Trainer.

He says: "The overall quality and sense of ambition in the entries has been higher than ever this year, so much so that more compositions have made it onto our shortlist than ever before. It's a testament to the strong character, sense of adventure, achievement and wealth of creativity expressed by some of the UK's youngest composers."

Winning works will be performed by the Aurora Orchestra at the Royal College of Music on Monday 2 August, and broadcast on Radio 3 on Friday 6 August. Fragmented Expanse requires a full symphony orchestra and will be performed at a later date.

Each composer also receives a coveted ´óÏó´«Ã½ commission, this year partnered with educational charity Music for Youth. In 2009 winners wrote new pieces for the Last Night of the Proms and had their work broadcast to millions around the world. This year promises to provide another spectacular opportunity for the young composers and full details will be announced later.

The six highly commended entrants are:

12-16 category

• Alex Cook from Cambridge – Owl, Hunting
• Owain Park from Bristol – Tears, Idle Tears

17-18 category

• Azlee Babar from Manchester – Bleak/Brutal/Spectral
• Sebastian Salek from Winchester – A Tale Of Necromancy
• Michael Anthony Hughes from Birmingham – Rondo for Two Guitars and Marimba
• Joaquim Badia Arumi from Watford – Nana Lullaby

As part of the Inspire scheme, Composer Labs were held up and down the UK between February and April, giving aspiring composers the chance to join professional musicians from some of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s performing groups, top composers and the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms team in a day of music making, exploration and discovery. Young people brought along their instruments and ideas and created pieces which were performed by the world-class musicians in attendance at the end of each day. Labs were held in Glasgow, London, Cardiff, Cornwall, Birmingham and Manchester and attracted nearly 200 participants.

All entrants are also invited to attend an Inspire Day on Monday 2 August. The day provides an opportunity for young composers to meet professional performing musicians and composers, their peers and key music industry people, to participate in creative workshops and attend a ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms concert.

Roger Wright, Director ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms & Controller Radio 3, says: "The ´óÏó´«Ã½ remains one of the world's leading commissioners of new music in the world and it is important to provide high level support to the next generation of talent. Through both the Young Composers' Competition and the Composer Labs around the UK we aim to help the broadest range of young composers around the UK to gain skills and confidence in expressing themselves through music and also to provide a rich set of opportunities to the young composers of the future."

Biographies

Sebastian Black (15)
Post-Scriptum for two pianos

Fraser Trainer: "A very daring piece which created a real atmosphere through its spaciousness, brevity and pregnant silences. An intense work of real maturity which cleverly set an on-stage piano against an off-stage piano, combining moments of gentle clouds, clusters and rumblings against more lucid tonal clarity."

Sebastian was born in 1996 and lives in Essex, where he attends Ipswich School. Sebastian learns composition with Joseph Phibbs and piano with Lizzie Leggett. He has also been taught by Oliver Knussen. Sebastian began composing seriously in 2007 and became a member of Aldeburgh Young Musicians in July 2008. Dance, commissioned by Aldeburgh Music for Aldeburgh Young Musicians, was performed in October 2009 at the Jerwood Dance House. Concert, for tuba, two percussionists, children's choir and large choir, is due to be premiered in November 2010. Sebastian has plans for a small chamber opera.

Kristina Arakelyan (16)
New Year! for double SATB choir

Fraser Trainer: "A wonderfully original and ambitious work for choir which used the voices in an extremely inventive and unusual way. A piece which showed great personality through its use of unusual harmonies and arresting accompaniments to melody."

Kristina was born in 1994 in Budapest, Hungary and is of Armenian origin. She began her piano studies at the age of seven and started composing when she was eight years old. In 2006 she was granted a scholarship to study at the Purcell School of Music as joint first study composer and pianist. To date, she has written 26 compositions for various combinations of instruments including chamber ensembles, orchestra, piano and choir. Her compositions have been performed in venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, St Martin in the Fields and the Southbank Centre. Kristina's numerous awards include the EPTA Composition Competition Overall Cup winner 2009/10 and The Purcell School's Tim Stevenson Award for outstanding young composer 2009.

Benjamin Wetherfield (17)
Word In Edgeways for piano

Fraser Trainer: "A very exciting piano piece with a language that is very sure of itself, fluid and full of character and invention. The composer moves effortlessly from one idea to another exploring stark, spiky and stuttering piano sonorities and shows great skill in finding new contexts for recurring ideas and fragments which are suddenly able to adopt new roles within the drama of the music."

Benjamin lives in South West London and is a student at Westminster School. He also attends the Junior Guildhall School of Music where he studies composition with Paul Whitmarsh and jazz piano with Jonathan Taylor. Benjamin took up the piano at the age of seven and composed his first work in the same year. Benjamin has had several works performed at the Guildhall School of Music, including Falling Up, a piece set for mezzo-soprano, and his first orchestral work, Study In A Tone. Word In Edgeways was a commission from Westminster School, and was first performed in January 2010.

Jonathan Woolgar (18)
Dead Sea Scrolls for clarinet, violin and piano

Fraser Trainer: "The composer creates a sound world of expressionist fragments and handles the narrative of the broken musical elements with great flare and panache. It's a compelling piece which unearths an array of colours and character from only three instruments and is the sign of a very mature and talented young composer."

Jonathan was born in 1992 and lives in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. He currently studies at Chetham's School of Music with Dr Jeremy Pike and Dr Gavin Wayte. In March 2010 the Manchester Camerata premiered one of his works at the Bridgewater Hall as a result of his success in the Manchester Composers' Project. His ballet Sinbad is being performed with dancers from The Hammond School, Chester this summer. He hopes to continue his musical studies at university next year.

Catherine Cheung (18)
Fragmented Expanse for full orchestra

Fraser Trainer: "A dark and mysterious orchestral score full of exciting nervous energy. The composer shows she has a great sense of timing and an ear for drama, sound and silence. Until the final climax the orchestra is used skilfully and sparingly with great effect throwing effervescent rhythms and shafts of colour from one group of instruments to another. A remarkable work which on conclusion exuded an affirming 'yes!' from more than one member of the listening panel."

Catherine was born in 1992 and lives in North London. She began playing the piano at the age of five before taking up the violin at eight and is currently a pupil at the Purcell School. Catherine has performed at Steinway Hall, Regent Hall, and the Purcell Room in the Southbank Centre, as well as performing as a soloist at the State Apartments at St. James's Palace for the Elgar Foundation, in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales. Catherine was also a finalist in the Second International Franz Liszt Competition for Young Pianists in 2009. Her piece for solo piano, Anonymous, was Highly Commended at the EPTA Composers Competition in 2009. In 2010, Catherine won the Purcell School Composition Competition, with her orchestral piece Fragmented Expanse, which was premiered by the Purcell School Symphony Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London's Southbank Centre.

William Marshall (18)
Switch for flute, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano and two bongos

Fraser Trainer: "A highly original and unusual piece for an unusual ensemble which came alive from the score and its well though-out notation to confound all expectation. Vibrant and highly colouristic, its sense of ambition and vision was wonderful to hear."

William is a student at the Junior RNCM and studies composition with Gary Carpenter. His music has been performed widely, including concerts by Ensemble 10/10 and the Brodowski Quartet and a broadcast on the Radio 3 programme Hear And Now. For two years he worked as a young composer with the National Youth Orchestra. He attends West Kirby Grammar School on the Wirral and hopes to pursue a musical career.

MC4