20 young musicians from all parts of South Africa have been selected to compete in the prestigious National Youth Music Competition!
South Africa (13 August, 2024)—As the National Youth Music Competition celebrates 40 years of dreamers, it is also tuning in to welcome a new era of classical music and musicians in South Africa!
Not only will the National Youth Music Competition enjoy a new home; it will also set the stage for 13 rising stars among the 20 selected classical music prodigies.
With a long history spanning back to 1984 in Port Elizabeth, the National Youth Music Competition has become an essential space for talented, young musicians to showcase what their dreams are made of; offering them the chance for exposure in the industry and to develop their performing abilities.
From 2-7 December at Stellenbosch’s Endler Hall in the Konservatorium Building, music prodigies from all over South Africa between the ages of 14 to 19 will compete for coveted awards and classical scenes’ nods of approval. All of these rising talents were selected by a panel of well-respected and renowned musicians, making their provinces sing their praises.
During competition week, they will compete in five categories for orchestral musical instruments: piano, string instruments, woodwind instruments, brass instruments and others (harp, percussion, marimba etc).
However, the competition is stiff and will be no simple melody. Over the five-day stretch, these young talents must perform a wide-ranging repertoire of their choses that covers both different style periods and South African compositions. All will play in the first two rounds but only 12 will make it to the semi-finals before the top six musicians are determined.
This year is said to be a well-rounded affair with contestants in all five competition categories. For two brothers and saxophonists Kian and Quinn Goliath from Loevenstein, the spirit of healthy brotherly competition will be in tow as the pair compete in the same category.
Meet the Talented Young Musicians:
- Kyrah Adams, marimba
- Logan Adams, trumpet/cornet
- James Cilliers , saxophone
- Gabriella Claassen, flute
- Bernadette Goemans, violin
- Kian Goliath, saxophone
- Quinn Goliath, saxophone
- Rebecca Gray, cello
- Christian-Peter Hiemstra, piano
- Madison Le Roux,piano
- Jayden Li, cello
- Helen Liu, violin
- Chanda Bupe Lupambo, piano
- Yu Qing Peng, piano
- Talitha Pienaar, flute
- Hermanus Schmidt, piano
- Viviana Shmanova-Pearson, piano
- Luke Stamer, cello
- Emma Steenkamp, violin
- Juntian (David) Yang, piano
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