BSME Young Musicians of the Gulf
27 - 30 January 2020 | St. Christopher's School
This prestigious event, celebrating the abilities of accomplished musicians, is our most popular non-sporting event. New and returning schools are welcome to join this fast-paced, high energy competition.
Over one hundred young musicians from across the Gulf region participate in three days of competition, and the standard of performing is consistently very high. The majority of participants are usually aged between 14 and 17 years of age, although some have been even younger. Participants can perform as soloists as well as part of an ensemble. There are trophies awarded to the top musicians in each instrumental category as well as an overall winner and runner up.
The event has greatly benefitted from three highly accomplished and prominent adjudicators, usually visiting from the UK. In recent years the adjudicators have remarked on the consistently impressive level of musical talent on show; the dedication of all the performers; and the show of support and mutual respect being clearly evident between all of the contestants. All the musicians also have an opportunity to attend Master Classes led by the adjudicators in the lead up to the Grand Final.
For more information, please click here.
Please note that only BSME member schools are able to participate in BSME Student events.
Registration for this event is now closed.
Schedule
Overview
The event commences at 10:00 on Monday 27 January 2020 and concludes with the Grand Final on Thursday 30 January 2020. Competitors will need to arrive in Bahrain either the preceding day (ie Sunday 26 January) or early morning of Monday 27 January 2020. Please advise St Christopher’s School (hereafter called the Organisers) of flight details as soon as they are known. Transport will be provided for all transfers between the schools and hotel and all times are approximate.
Sunday 26 January 2020
*Option for schools to arrive in Bahrain
Monday 27 January 2020 - Round One (Instrumentalists)
09:00 Snacks available at St Christopher’s Senior School
10:00 Welcome and Introductory presentation by the lead adjudicator and Round One for Instrumentalists will begin.
12:30 Hot Lunch
14:30 Tea Break
18:00 End of Round One. Qualifying Round Two Instrumental soloists will be announced and competitors will be transported to the hotel.
18:30 Dinner will be buffet-style served at the Hotel for all visiting students and accompanying staff.
Tuesday 28 January 2020 - Round Two (Instrumentalists), Rounds One and Two (Vocalists)
08:30 Vocal Round One - Qualifying Round Two soloists will be announced at the end.
11:00 Instrumental Round Two
14:00 Lunch Round Two for the Vocalists will commence after the instrumental round and the Semi-Finalists for both categories will be announced at the conclusion of this round.Transport will be provided to the Hotel and dinner will be served at 19:00. There will be evening entertainment for all to enjoy.
Wednesday 29 January 2020 - Ensemble competition. Semi-Final (Instrumentalists and Vocalists)
09:00 Ensemble competition commences.
13:00 Semi-Finalists from each Ensemble sub-category will be announced and a packed lunch will be available.
Non-Semi-Finalists will be transported back to the hotel where they can enjoy the leisure facilities and semi-finalists will go to St Christopher’s Junior School for sound check and practice. They will then be transported to Saar campus to watch the semi-final.
16:00 Food will be available for all competitors in Saar Campus.
17:00 The Semi-Final will commence. At the conclusion of the Semi-Final, those Soloists and Ensembles progressing to the Grand Final will be announced.
Thursday 30 January 2020
08:30 Breakfast
09.30 Adjudicator workshops
11:00 Massed vocal item for all instrumental and vocal competitors
12:00 Lunch
Finalists will take part in necessary soundchecks and rehearsals in the afternoon.
17:30 Buffet-style Dinner
19:00 Grand Final
Friday 31 January 2020
Return flights. Transport will be provided from the Hotel to the Airport.
* Whilst every attempt will be made to keep to this schedule, the organisers reserve the right to make amendments as necessary.
Important Dates and Registration
Registration
Entries will only be accepted from schools that are BSME members. Please register your school by completing this form.
Important Dates
Thursday 7 November 2019:
- Deadline for School Entry forms
- Photographs (see above)
- Scanned passport with 6 months validity and detailing birth date
Thursday 5 December 2019
- Final date for payments
- Deadline for scanned music for Round 1 and semi-final
- Room sharing preference
Thursday 16 January 2020
- Details of flight arrival and departure times
Entry Procedure for the BSME Young Musicians of the Gulf 2020
Each school will be provided with an individual Google Drive folder to upload the following information:
- Completed student entries.
- A passport-sized photograph for each participant. We advise schools upload an up-to-date school photograph, professionally taken, to ensure the quality of the image. Please note, this photograph will be downloaded and used in the BSME YMoG brochure and BSME website. The uploaded photograph must be clearly identified with the name of the competitor and the school.
- A scanned copy of passport for each participant.
- A room sharing preference for the hotel.
- Scanned music for Round 1 and Semi-Final.
- Flight arrival and departure times.
Test Pieces
Test Pieces for 2020
Instrument Test Piece
Piano Gershwin: Prelude No. 1
Flute Debussy: Syrinx
Cello Bach: Suite No.1 in G BWV 1007: Prelude
Violin Bach: 1st mvt from Sonata No.1 in G minor Adagio BWV 1001
Trumpet Boyce: Trumpet Voluntary
Trombone Serocki: 1st Movement from Sonatina
French Horn Mozart: 3rd movement from horn Concerto No 3
Bass Trombone Semler Collery: Barcarolle and Chanson
Euphonium Joseph Horovitz: Lento 2nd mvt from Euphonium Concerto
Clarinet Rae: Weberiana from Mosaics book 2
Oboe Britten: Pan from Six Metamorphoses after Ovid
Viola Bach: Suite No.1 in G BWV 1007: 2nd mvt Allemande
Guitar Moreno Torroba: Alcaniz (From Castles of Spain vol 1)
Saxophon Mower: Bodacious Funktitude from Mosaics book 2
Bassoon Weissenborn: Study 15 from Bassoon Studies op* vol 2
Recorder Telemann Fantasia no. 10 in A minor 1st mm
Vocals Bizet: Chanson d'avril (French).
Vocal
The recommended entry level for all vocalists is Grade 7 and it is expected that pieces will reflect this minimum standard. The Organisers have decided that vocalists must perform repertoire from a variety of genres within the initial rounds of the competition. The three genres they will showcase are:
- Round One: An Aria or an Art Song in any language (maximum 6 minutes)
- Round Two: Test Piece - Chanson d'avril by Bizet
- Semi Final: Musical Theatre (maximum 7 minutes)
Adjudicators
Rowan Cozens
Rowan is a performing pianist and teacher. She is an advocate of good quality music education and enjoys working with beginners through to conservatoire entry students.
Rowan studied piano with Jean Harvey and Viola with John White at the Royal Academy of Music. She achieved the GRSM hons degree, as well as teaching and performing diplomas on both instruments. She worked in France as an orchestral player and as an accompanist.
Her teaching career is broad and wide ranging. She taught for Haringey and Lincolnshire Music Services, has been Head of Music in both State and Private schools. Most recently, Head of Music at Highfields School Newark, where she built a programme from scratch based on Kodaly principles and practical music making. She maintains a large piano teaching practice, her youngest student is 5 and her oldest 68.
Rowan has examined for ABRSM since 1992 and has travelled throughout the world for the organisation. Rowan is also a diploma examiner, presenter and examiner trainer for ABRSM.
Rowan works closely with teachers, sharing ideas through mentoring, delivering presentations and producing film resources. She is currently involved as one of the course leaders in the Professional Development Programme for piano teachers being run by EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association) in partnership with ABRSM.
Rowan has a strong association with the Oasby Music Group specialising in string teaching and chamber music. She is a founder member of the Newark Young Sinfonia Orchestra which gives local children the opportunity to play in an orchestra free of charge. She is an official accompanist for the Grantham Music Festival. Rowan also accompanies for the RAF in Cranwell.
Rowan particularly enjoys adjudicating and the chance it gives to encourage young musicians in a friendly atmosphere. She is looking forward to adjudicating St Paul’s Girls’ School Keyboard competition and the BSME Young Musicians of the Gulf in 2020.
Ian Mullin
Ian won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Sebastian Bell and Jaime Martin. Whilst at college he played Principal flute & piccolo with European Union Youth Orchestra and made his professional debut with Chamber Orchestra of Europe in 2000.
Since leaving college Ian has performed as guest Principal Flute with many of the UK’s leading orchestras including London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, English National Opera, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra & BBC National Orchestra of Wales to name but a few…
He has also recorded in Abbey Road studios with London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras on numerous occasions for TV and Film projects. 10 years ago he played as Principal Flute in four huge tours with Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. Two were with Lucas Arts playing the Star Wars in Concert tour around USA, Canada & Europe and the others were recording and touring the Sting album Symphonicity, playing at such venues as Hollywood Bowl, Woodstock, New York Metroplitan Opera and Red Rock amongst many others venues.
Ian has achieved more than 500,000 hits with his short teaching videos on You Tube in collaboration with Trevor James Flute and his given master classes at Royal Academy of Music, Cheethams & Wells Cathedral Schools as well as extensively throughout the UK, USA and Japan. He is in great demand as an Orchestral player, Soloist, Teacher and Commercial Musician. In 2011 he was awarded an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM)
This past summer he performed two operas at Glyndeboure with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and played in the proms at Royal Albert Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra. He also has a keen interest in martial arts and has trained in a few different styles, but achieved the rank of Shodan (Black Belt) in Danzun-Ryu Ju-jitsu in 2015 and is a Sensei helping to teach the class when he has time.
“lan Mullin is one of the best flute players that I have ever met, worked with or heard…Some of the solos were seen by major players in Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC at the Kennedy Centre for the world premier and many players were unsure if it was playable. When lan saw it for the first time it leapt from his flute giving reality to my music in a brilliant musical fashion…I cannot recommend him highly enough, he is good company, very easy to work with and an incredible player.” Michael Kamen, Film Composer
Emily Dickens
An internationally established soprano and choral director, Emily Dickens read music at Trinity College, Cambridge, where she held a choral scholarship. A full-time member of the critically-acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8 for eight years, Emily has performed opera, a cappella, pop and contemporary commissions all over the world. She has performed in many of the world's leading concert halls including The Wigmore Hall, The NCPA Beijing, The Royal Albert Hall, Tokyo Opera City, Tel Aviv Opera House, Mariinsky Theatre, Melbourne Recital Centre and Wiener Konzerthaus. Regularly heard on international TV and radio, Emily is a Decca Classics Recording Artist and has had four records top the classical charts. She performs with The Gabrieli Consort, BBC Singers, Tenebrae, La Nuova Musica, The OAE and features regularly on film and video game soundtracks. Recent solo and opera performances include King Arthur in Australia with the Gabrieli Consort, a recital of American song for the Ealing Festival, Aricie (Hippolyte et Aricie), Bach Christmas Oratorio for the Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir, Carmina Burana for the Winchester Festival, Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music for the Festival Chorus and 'What do you do with an Idea?' live with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican.
Emily is the Choral Conducting Fellow at St Martin-in-the-Fields where she has directed choral and orchestral projects and twice conducted for BBC Radio 4 Sunday Worship. She is Associate Choral Director at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, an Assistant Conductor for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and regularly directs the London Symphony Orchestra Choirs. In demand as a workshop leader in the UK and internationally, Emily recently presented at The UK Choir Festival and collaborates regularly with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, The Voices Foundation, The Bach Choir, VOCES8, The London Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia. In 2018 she studied on the first National Opera Studio/Royal Opera House Women Conducting Opera Course.
Results
OVERALL RESULTS
| Small Ensemble | Chawla Duo | Dubai College |
| Large Vocal Ensemble | Jawhara | St Christopher's School |
| Large ensemble | La Camerata | British School Kuwait |
| Plucked String | William Hargreaves | BSAK |
| Percussion | Daren Tan | Jumeirah College |
| Bowed String | Leyth Almani | Nord Anglia international School Dubai |
| Female vocal | Gisele Nascimento Dias | St Christopher's School |
| Male Vocal | Rayan Ali | Sharjah English School |
| Brass | Inaya Hussain | BSAK |
| Woodwind | Dautari Obiora | BSAK |
| Piano | Aryaman Chawla | Dubai College |
| Knights Bequest: Most promising musician 15 years and under | Deena and Layla Al Dahwi | St Christopher's School |
| Owerwicz Bequest: Most promising Bahrain-based musician | Yasmeen Majed | St Christopher's School |
| Overall Ensemble winner | La Camerata | British School Kuwait |
| Runner up: Lifetime trophy | Aryaman Chawla | Dubai College |
| YMNOG winner: Stella Taylor Shield donated by Captain Rod Taylor | Sourav Roy | Dubai College |
| YMOG winner: lifetime trophy | Sourav Roy | Dubai College |
Post Event
After three days of intensive competition, seven soloists and three ensembles made it through to the Grand Final of the Young Musician of the Gulf at the Sofitel Hotel on Friday 30 January.
Our lead adjudicator, Mrs Rowan Cozens spoke to all the competitors at the end of a very competitive semi final. Rowen told the students how amazed and very impressed she and her fellow adjudicators were with the very high standard of musicianship shown by all. Mrs Cozens said that they had to keep reminding themselves just how young the majority of the musicians were.
Those students who represented their schools in the Grand Final were;
|
St Christopher's School |
Karma Alami |
Voice |
|
Brighton College - Abu Dhabi |
Alexandra Vuilleumier |
Violin |
|
Dubai College |
Sourav Roy |
Piano |
|
St Christopher's School |
Gisele Nascimento Dias |
Voice |
|
Nord Anglia International School Dubai |
Leyth Elmani |
Violin |
|
Dubai College |
Xiaolin Zhang |
Piano |
|
Dubai College |
Aryaman Chawla |
Piano |
The following three ensembles also performed on Friday:
|
DUBAI COLLEGE |
Chawla Duo |
Small Ensemble |
|
BRITISH SCHOOL KUWAIT |
La Camerata |
Large Ensemble |
|
St Christopher's School |
Jawhara |
Large Vocal Ensemble |
Caron Lisett, St Christopher’s Director of Music said that she was immensely proud of every single student. Caron said that they way they had all socialised and supported each other boded well for the future of music in the Region.