College concerto competition now open to Shropshire students
A Shropshire college’s concerto competition is open to students aged 18 or under from across the county for the first time.
And Acton Burnell-based Concord College is today inviting entries from talented young musicians.
The competition will culminate in an evening concert next March which will be a showcase and celebration of the capabilities of exceptional young instrumentalists.
Concord’s music department explained that the concerto competition had previously been restricted to Concord students.
“However, in opening up the competition, we would love to see plenty of entries from Shropshire’s talented young musicians,” said a spokesperson.
For an entry form and further information musicians are asked to email head of music at Concord College, Stavros Kokkinos at stavros.kokkinos@concordcollege.org.uk
The college announced that the competition is open to musicians aged 18 or under on the date of the final and who play at grade seven distinction level or higher.
“The competition offers the opportunity for finalists to perform a movement from a concerto with a professional orchestra and the winner will be crowned ‘Concord College Concerto Competition Winner of the Year 2022’,” said Mr Kokkinos.
The audition round closes on Friday, November 26 and entrants must submit a recording of themselves playing a movement - or part of a movement - from a concerto of their own choice.
An independent adjudicator will then decide which entrants to invite to the final round.
Those who are selected will be invited to compete in the final on March 12, 2022 at Concord College.
Finalists will play their chosen movement from a concerto alongside a professional orchestra and in front of a live audience in Concord College’s Morris Theatre. The event will be open to the public with tickets sold raising funds for the Anthony Morris Foundation.
Performances will be judged by an independent guest adjudicator and the concert will be streamed live on YouTube.
Previous winner, Davon Halim, now 18, an exceptional pianist who is now an organ scholar at Cambridge, said after his winning performance: “I’ve never previously experienced anything like that final reception. It is a feeling I will never forget.”
Concord say the competition aims to provide exceptional opportunities for more advanced musicians.
The college is keen to support talented young people in a variety of ways and this year decided that the competition, previously for Concord students only, should be open to students of other local schools.
Mr Kokkinos said: “Our key values at Concord are rigour, kindness and creativity.
“By inviting students from around the county to enter the Concord College concerto competition we hope to share our resources, and the wonderful opportunity to play with a professional orchestra, with gifted young musicians from around the county and to continue to build strong links with our local community."
