On the night of this Saturday, March 26, starting at 6:30 in the afternoon, the National Theater will receive the nine finalists who will compete in the Young Musician of the Caribbean.
The young instrumentalists from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands will offer the Final Concert, to opt for three prizes, which consist of studies in institutions in Great Britain, in this initiative that is a boost for the future of their respective careers of these students.
The alliance between the BritchamDR, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London (ABRSM) and the University of Bangor in Wales, has made this contest possible. “This serves as a perfect platform so that these young people can be seen and heard, and that they can obtain study opportunities,” explained Mía Vidal, representative of the ABRSM in the Dominican Republic.
Vidal offered these statements on a visit to LISTÍN DIARIO, accompanied by Mari Pili Díaz, Coordinator of the Institutional Relations Committee of BritchamDR, and Lourdes Bonnelly, member of the Institutional Relations Committee, which organizes the award ceremony.
contest details
The Senior category finalists are Juliette Flaquer, Joshua Reyes and Juan Henríquez (RD); in the Senior they participate Dequan Smith (Cayman Islands); Johan Reyes and Davidson Reyes (RD); in the Young Professional Duverly Jacques (Haiti), Rafael Méndez (RD) and Danira Rodríguez (Puerto Rico).
David Watkin, Iwan Llewelyn-Jones and Claire Wickes, three prominent British musicians, are part of the jury that will choose the three winners, in the Junior, Senior and Young Professional categories, who will have as a prize the participation in musical summer camps in the United Kingdom United.
“There are a lot of educational institutions that can host students from the Caribbean area, or that we can promote exchanges,” says Díaz de Rodríguez, and that Britcham serves in this contest as a link between British and Dominican entities.
This award has the backing of the Dominican pianist Michel Camilo, the British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. “It is a great joy for me that the competition is being held to select a talented musician from the Caribbean in our country,” Camilo said. Also, Mason praised the initiative.
Master Classes
In addition to the contest, a series of master classes have been organized, which began with the Dominican violinist Aisha Syed, and which took place on March 7. Young musicians from the Caribbean and other latitudes interested in the rehearsal and preparation techniques of this world-famous performer participated in her keynote address via Zoom, “From practice to stage”.
Today, Friday, David Watkin, Iwan Llewelyn-Jones and Claire Wickes, three prominent British musicians, will give Master Classes on string instruments, piano and woodwinds, respectively, coordinated by the Friends of the National Theater Foundation and the Symphony Foundation, with the support of the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in the United Kingdom.
The master classes will be given in the Aída Bonnelly rooms and the rehearsal room of the National Symphony Orchestra, both in the Eduardo Brito National Theater, and at the headquarters of the Sinfonía Foundation, in person with a small number of participants, and via Zoom to the outside.
It also has the valuable support of the British Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The Doughty Family Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Youth, the Eduardo Brito National Theatre, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Music for Life Foundation.