Tuesday, 6 May 2008

Young Musician of the Year: the Fast Track to a Musical Career



Kirsten Priddle gave an inspired talk to the Rotary Club of Basildon Concord as Winner of the Young Musician Of the Year for the Basildon District 2007. It's all part of the build up to this year's competition, for each District's local winner progresses to regional level and, if sufficiently talented, can make it to the highly prestigious national level.

As with the BBC Young Musician contest, success can be a fast track to success as a professional musician. However, competition is stiff and the adjudicators are looking for real musicianship that goes beyond proficiency alone.

Last year's event was a first for the Basildon area and organisers are hoping that local young musicians will build on this foundation to show Britain that this area is far from being a culture and talent wilderness.

Of course, exam time means that young people are concentrating on studies. Nevertheless, for those who see music more as a way of life than a hobby, a contest like this is like manna from Heaven:- providing sustenance for their aspirations..

You can download details and entry forms from the link on the front page of this site or pick up the details from the display on the ground floor of the Eastgate Centre in front of Debenhams.

Photo above : Kirsten Priddle with the President of the Rotary Club of Basildon Concord, Syd Thompson.
Below: Kirsten Priddle

Background to Basildon District Young Musician of the Year 2008
by Rotarian Mike Beecher

Calling all young people age 18 or under who play a musical instrument or enjoy singing, or even writing your own music ----

If you're 18 or under and livee, go to school or have music lessons in the Basildon District of Basildon, Wickford and Billericay, then you can be in our competition.

We have trophies, medals and cash prizes worth hundreds of pounds for winners, although everyone in fact will receive an adjudicator's report and get a special Rotary Young Musician certificate on the final Gala night at the Towngate Theatre on July 10th. And the overall winner will go to the Rotary District finals at Chelmsford Cathedral next February. Last year's winner Kirsten Priddle has had a great time performing at community events over the year.

We're in our second year and our big task in the next few weeks is to get the entries in! Last year over 50 entered in just 2 weeks, so this year we are ready to see a lot more entering as we have a little more time.
This is not just another music event, because we want to recognise the talents of our young musicians in the area - everyone will be a winner by having the opportunity to experience competition.

Our singing event is unlike all the other Pop Idol kind of competitions. We judge purely on your singing of a couple of songs - songs from shows are better than pop songs, and songs from ethnic cultures are fine too. There will be separate prizes for girls and boys.

We have other new events in 2008, there is a jrp section for amplified instruments and noisy ones like drum kits - or you can play an orchestral instrument right down to junior school chime bars if you want. So this year we open it up to juniors - there is no lower age limit. Last year we had a 7 yr old, Shiraz Dhuna, who played the piano brilliantly for his age and just loved being on the big stage of the Towngate Theatre. Also all those GCSE music pupils can put their compositions in to be judged and the winning composition will be performed too.

The Towngate Theatre Cafe in Basildon Town Square every Saturday lunchtime is becoming a place where artists young and old pop in to have a chat over a drink or snack and listen to music from local performers. At this time, I am encouraging young musicians who were in last year's contest or entering this year to come along and do a mini performance in front of friends and relations. It's another opportunity to gain experience making music in public and it's all in a good cause for these sessions are creating awareness of the Giraffe Appeal for Basildon Hospital.

The event is being organised by the Rotary Club of Basildon Concord, presenting it for the 2nd year running with support from local clubs in Wickford, Billericay and Basildon.

So all we need is our young musicians entries from instrumentalists to singers and composers age 18 or under! May 15th is the closing date. Get entry forms from Eastgate, Towngate, libraries, sports centres, schools or download at www.gatewayfm.com.




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