Last Updated: 24/05/2005

CHRIST COLLEGE YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

The audience at Christ College's 8th annual Young Musician of the Year competition this month were treated to a wonderful concert by five very talented young musicians from four different countries - Japan, China, Korea and Wales.

The music, both played and sung, ranged from Bach to Rodgers and Hammerstein. 

The rules of the competition required each contestant to be of Grade VIII standard, to play for up to 20 minutes and to include at least one piece of 20th century music in their programme, and all five showed they were not afraid to tackle well-known pieces.  Nonetheless, it was a lovely and evocative piece of unaccompanied violin music by the Chinese composer Xu which won for Matthew Sun the prize for best performance of a 20th century piece.

Korean cellist Dae-bin Im, an aspiring doctor who only took up the cello in 2002, was awarded the second prize, for a programme which included an especially memorable account of Rachmaninov's Vocalise, but it was young tenor James Davies from Llanwrtyd Wells who overcame the formidable challenge of two violinists, a cellist and a pianist to win first prize with a well varied programme which began with Handel's Where'er you walk, including Ireland's famous setting of Masefield's Sea Fever, and ended triumphantly with O what a beautiful morning from Oklahoma.

The evening's adjudicator was Christopher Vale, currently sub-principal bassoonist with the orchestra of Welsh National Opera and heavily involved with youth work not only with WNO but also at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. 

In his detailed and always helpful comments to the contestants he made it clear that a significant factor in James' success was his ability to engage with the audience, who had only just resisted the temptation to sing along with him as he serenaded the Oklahoman morning.

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