Young Musicians hit the right note

The competition aims to offer young people, under the age of 17, the opportunity to perform on a public stage, with each contestant receiving impartial and constructive feedback from experienced adjudicators.

Hosted by the Rotary Clubs of Dundee and Claverhouse, five vocalists and five instrumentalists showcased their skills in front of an appreciative and supportive audience of family, friends and Rotary members.

Professional musicians, Mary Veal and Jill Harrison, had the very difficult task of assessing the performances on melodic accuracy, intonation, rhythm, tempo, flow, mood, character, tone and dynamics, both providing comprehensive feedback to the young competitors, before the challenging task of selecting a winner and runner up in each category.

The winner of the Young Vocalist category, Alexandra Clark, gave an assured performance of a traditional Scottish lullaby O can ye sew cushions?, and When I am laid in earth from the opening aria of “Dido’s Lament” from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell. Runner-up, Oliver Walker, entertained the audience with The Tale of the Whippoorwill, by Eamon O’Dwyer and Somebody’s Got Your Back, by Alan Menken and Chad Beguelin.

Young violinist, Haolin Yin, impressed the adjudicators with his accomplished rendition of Scene de Ballet, by Charles-August de Bériot, to win the Young Instrumentalist category, and runner-up, guitarist Scott Yu, provided an impressive ending to the evening’s performances with Prelude from BWV 997 by JS Bach, and Cinco Preludios by Maximo Diego Pujol.

Competition organiser, Rotarian Wendy Maltman, said “It’s so inspiring to see so many talented young musicians shining in a competitive environment, proving that Rotary can be a real force for improving the futures of young people.”

President of the Rotary Club of Dundee, Doug Milne, congratulated all the participants, and presented trophies to the winners. 

Alexandra and Haolin will now go forward to the second stage of the competition, which will see them compete against other young musicians from across the North-East of Scotland, with the aim to continue through to the Scottish and UK finals early next year