BBC Young Musician 2016 Finalists Announced

The Final of BBC Young Musician 2016 will take place on Sunday 15 May at the Barbican, London. It will be recorded for broadcast the same day at 7pm on BBC Four, presented by Clemency Burton-Hill, Alison Balsom and Josie D’Arby. It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at 7.30pm, presented by Sarah Walker and including commentary from violinist Jennifer Pike (winner of BBC Young Musician in 2002).

Jess, Ben and Sheku will each perform a concerto of their choice, accompanied by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. Plus, the 2014 winner, pianist Martin James Bartlett will return to perform the first movement of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto no.3  before the winner of BBC Young Musician 2016 is announced.

The Finalists will perform:
Jess Gillam: Michael Nyman’s Where the Bee Dances
Ben Goldscheider: Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto no. 2
Sheku Kanneh-Mason: Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto no. 1

The expert panel of judges will be chaired by Dobrinka Tabakova, who has sat across all five category finals and the Semi-Final. Alongside her on the judging panel will be saxophonist Amy Dickson, French Horn player Alec Frank-Gemmill, cellist Jamie Walton, and Director of the BBC Proms, David Pickard.

Violinist Nicola Benedetti, herself a winner in 2004, returns for the second year as BBC Young Musician Ambassador, and will support and mentor the three Finalists in the run-up to the Final.

The Semi-Final of BBC Young Musician 2016 was broadcast this evening [Saturday 7 May] on BBC Four. The 2016 Semi-Finalists were: pianist Jackie Campbell (15), saxophonist Jess Gillam (17), percussionist Andrew Woolcock (16), French Horn player Ben Goldscheider (18) and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (17).

Now in its 38th year, BBC Young Musician is a part of the BBC’s ongoing commitment to supporting and providing a platform for new and emerging talent. Since its first outing in 1978 the competition has established an enviable reputation for finding outstanding new talent. Seventeen-year-old pianist Martin James Bartlett was awarded the title BBC Young Musician 2014 and has since given acclaimed solo recitals in concert venues across the UK, made his debut at the BBC Proms (2015) and appeared as part of the BBC’s 2014 charity single, God Only Knows.

Martin took his place alongside a star-studded list of former BBC Young Musician winners and finalists that includes Thomas Adès, Alison Balsom, Nicola Benedetti, Nicholas Daniel, Benjamin Grosvenor, Stephen Hough, Emma Johnson, Freddy Kempf, Jennifer Pike and Paul Watkins.

Following its successful launch in 2014, the BBC Young Musician Jazz Award returns in 2016, running alongside the established classical music format. The Final will be broadcast on BBC Four on Friday 13 May.

BBC Young Musician is managed and produced by BBC Studios / BBC Cymru Wales.

MC4