Youngsters show they’ve got talent

May 10 2008 by Mike Smith, Western Mail

BBC Young Musician of the Year celebrates its 30th anniversary milestone at Wales Millennium Centre this weekend. Mike Smith gives a summary of the Grand Final itinerary and introduces the contestants

THIS weekend Wales plays host to one of the world’s greatest music competitions when five of Britain’s most talented youngsters compete at Wales Millennium Centre for the coveted title: BBC Young Musician of the Year.

Strictly Come Dancing star Gethin Jones and singer and broadcaster Aled Jones will tonight welcome the five contestants from around the UK to Cardiff for the first of two concerts to decide the 2008 winner.

They will be joined by TV, radio and online audiences for what BBC Wales, organisers of the biennial competition, promise will be a special grand final weekend, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the competition.

Both concerts will feature video footage of the lads’ journeys from last year’s auditions to this weekend’s concerts, showing all the excitement of discovering that they could combine their talent with years of practice to triumph in the battle with nerves and win the judges’ hearts.

The talented musicians range from a 12-year-old trombonist, who started paying the instrument aged just six, to 17 and 18-year-olds who have already become well-known to TV audiences this week, as each finalist has been revealed in a series of BBC Four programmes devoted to the road to the final.

The finalists are Jadran Duncumb, guitar, aged 18; David Smith, flute, aged 18; Peter Moore, trombone, aged 12; Jim Molyneux, percussion, aged 17 and Erdem Misirlioglu, piano, aged 18.

One of the five will follow in the footsteps of winners such as Nicola Benedetti. Jennifer Pike, Emma Johnson and 2006 winner clarinetist Mark Simpson.

Benedetti, who won a classical Brit Award on Thursday, will be at WMC as one of the judges and will be joined on the jury by Wales’ superstar harpist Catrin Finch, Doctor Who orchestrator and conductor Ben Foster, award-winning conductor Paul Daniel and Times music critic Richard Morrison.

While no Welsh contestant has made it to the final, Erdem Misirlioglu has strong Welsh backing as his mum Julia is from Newbridge. A contingent from his Welsh family, the Maybrys, will be at WMC giving their support to a dedicated talent who travels every week from his Ipswich home and school to the Junior Department at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Belfast-born Peter Moore and Jim Molyneux are both pupils at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester.

Moore, aged just 12, was also the youngest musician to reach the category finals that were held in Cardiff’s Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in February.

David Smith is studying at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh while Sheffield-born Jadran is currently at school in Norway.

Tonight each of the five finalists will play their chosen concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and principal conductor Thierry Fischer, in front of the judging panel and a live audience.

The competitors return to the stage on Sunday, May 11, with BBC NOW to reprise part of their concerto performance, chosen by the judges after the previous evening’s concert. They will also perform a piece that is particularly personal to them.

Once the competitors have played, the judges will retire to make their decision.

MEET THE FINALISTS - page 2