About the BBC Young Musician competition

For all the fanatical compers out there competitions probably mean one thing and one thing only – prizes prizes prizes! And don’t get us wrong; as we know ourselves here at Winzum, competition prizes are definitely one of the most important things when it comes to the exciting world of competitions and online competitions.

But here’s the thing: competitions aren’t always just about physical prizes, there are loads of them that can give you the chance to win something a lot more special. Just consider the Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition [about the Glastonbury emerging talent competition], for example. Another fantastic music-based competition is the BBC Young Musician competition, let’s take a deeper look at it!

A brief summary of the BBC Young Musician competition

In essence the BBC Young Musician competition is pretty much exactly what it says it is – a competition for young musicians who are under 18 and are percussion, keyboard, strings, brass or woodwind players. As you can probably tell from these disciplines, the BBC Young Musician competition is definitely aimed more towards classical music, however in recent years there has also been a dedicated jazz award too.

The BBC Young Musician competition is an incredibly exciting proposition for young musicians, mainly because it is a televised series that appears on BBC Four. This means you or your child could have the chance to play on national television! A huge draw in for aspiring musicians.

When did the BBC Young Musician competition start

The first ever BBC Young Musician competition was held in 1978, with pretty much the whole thing also being televised on BBC One. The competition was devised by Humphrey Burton, Walter Todds and Roy Tipping, three ex-BBC Television Music Department members who used their contacts to launch the contest.

A trombonist called Michael Hext was the first of many BBC Young Musician winners, and this inaugural round of the contest ended up being extremely popular, sowing the seeds for later editions.

Why you should enter the BBC Young Musician competition

If you are under 18 and have a talent at playing any of the number of instruments accepted in the BBC Young Musician competition it is a bit of a no-brainer to apply. Firstly, the playing experience to crowds and potentially on TV would be invaluable, as people at this age rarely get the chance to do so.

But the biggest reason why you should enter the BBC Young Musician competition is the prize! Winner receive a several thousand pound bursary to aid them in their studies, as well as a host of other unique benefits designed to give them the best chance of succeeding as possible.

Previous winners of the BBC Young Musician competition

By now you are probably itching to know about the previous BBC Young Musician winners, so here are a few:

• Lauren Zhang: The BBC Young Musician 2018 winner was Lauren Zhang, an absurdly talented piano player who became the first Asian winner of the competition after she tackled the immensely difficult Prokofiev Concerto no. 2.

• Peter Moore: Peter Moore won the competition back in 2008, becoming the youngest person to do so to date, at the tender age of 12. His instrument of choice was the trombone.

• Jennifer Pike: The second-youngest winner of the BBC Young Musician competition was Jennifer Pike, who won it playing the violin at the age of 12 in 2002.