BBC Proms 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing

BBC Proms 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing

Author:Bloomsbury Publishing
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912114108
Publisher: BBC Proms
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00


Greg May, whose piece for amateur orchestra, Toye, was a winner in last year’s Senior category

In light of how much they were all up for being challenged and trying new things, I think one of the big strengths of the recent changes to BBC Young Composer is how it’s become more about nurturing young musicians, rather than rewarding existing talent. This gives the competition the potential to have more impact in broadening access to music and giving opportunities to young people who wouldn’t otherwise have them. The other judges and I talked a lot about this while looking through last year’s entries – questioning what the role of a ‘competition’ should be and how it could help develop young composers while countering the biases and inequalities in our society.

It’s great to see BBC Young Composer moving in this direction. When I entered, back in 2007, the prize was having your winning piece performed in a concert. Though a fantastic opportunity, this didn’t have the same focus on long-term development that the new programme offers. This year, the 2020 winners will work with a composer mentor – either Dobrinka Tabakova or Gavin Higgins – on a new commission for the BBC Concert Orchestra, culminating in a broadcast performance.

Furthermore, a recent series of online workshops run by BBC Young Composer, called Composing the World Around You, responded directly to the themes that emerged in the 2020 entries, namely writing in isolation and using what’s around you to create music. The series, which was open to anyone who wanted to join, also addressed the more fundamental aspects of composing: getting started with a piece, finding your sound and dealing with writer’s block and self-doubt.

The young composers I spoke to were really excited to get started on their commissions. Rowena said she is ‘looking forward to listening to and learning from someone else’s opinion on things’, while Greg wants to ‘try out ideas, develop skills and learn how to communicate with musicians I don’t already know’. He also said the development programme offers the ‘rare luxury of having the time to try stuff in a safe space. Knowing I can write what I want is really liberating.’

That ‘safe space’ idea is key – having somewhere you can try things, make mistakes and learn from them. I’m really excited that the competition is focusing on making music open to more people and on shifting perceptions of composition. It has been really heart-warming to talk to such positive, resilient and self-aware young people, who all have such an open-minded approach to music. It certainly bodes well for the future!

Kate Whitley is a composer and pianist. She runs the Multi-Story Orchestra, which performs in car parks around the UK. Her choral piece I am I say was performed at the Proms in 2017.

BBC Young Composer 2021

The deadline for entries to this year’s competition is Monday 28 June. Entries should be submitted online, no later than 5pm. full details of how to enter, visit bbc.co.uk/youngcomposer. The winners will be announced on the BBC Proms website by Tuesday 21 September.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.