After the competition is before the competition
Six months ago, the final of the Swiss Youth Music Competition 2022 took place in Zurich. Since then, individual prizewinners have taken the opportunity to gain experience and consolidate what they have learned. Preparations for the 2023 competition are already in full swing.
Heinrich Baumgartner - With numerous auditions and an impressive musical showcase, this year's Swiss Youth Music Competition came to a brilliant close in Zurich from April 28 to May 1. Once again, almost 1500 young people aged between 8 and 20 took part in the Classica, Jazz&Pop, Free Space and Composition categories, the lion's share in the Classica category. A few snapshots from the various categories can be found under "News" on the competition's homepage (https://sjmw.ch). Following the actual competition, some of the prizewinners were offered long-term opportunities to broaden their musical horizons and deepen their practical experience under the name "Follow-Ups".
A workshop with saxophonist and composer Daniel Schnyder and a course for special string ensembles with Tina Strinning and Baiju Bhatt took place at the end of June. In August, Richard Dubugnon led a master class in Basel and in September Oscar Bianchi led the second European master class in Arc-en-Senans, which was held in collaboration with the European Union for Youth Music Competitions. Scholarships for masterclasses of their choice and a scholarship for the Swiss International Music Academy on the Rheinau Music Island in July 2022 or 2023 were awarded to prizewinners. In addition, the precollege course with Maurice Steger took place in August as part of the Gstaad Baroque Academy.
In September 2022, prizewinners of the competition performed at the Bachwochen in Thun and in the "Herbst in der Helferei" concert series in Zurich. Coaching, rehearsals and two concerts for prizewinners with the Camerata Zurich are planned for November 2022. Further prizewinners will be heard at the Forum Musikalische Bildung of the Swiss Association of Music Schools in January 2023. Professional recordings at the ZHdK or the Jazzcampus of the Basel Music Academy as well as a concert performance at the Esse-Musicbar in Winterthur await prizewinners in the Jazz&Pop category. All of these offers are only possible thanks to intensive collaboration with foundations, ensembles and event organizers, above all with the Ruth Burkhalter Foundation for the Promotion of Young Musical Talent and the Hirschmann Foundation in Zug.
Active participation in most of these activities is reserved for prizewinners of the competition. However, attending the concerts or master classes as an audience member - which is often also very rewarding - is possible in many cases. Details can be found on the competition website. If you have any questions, please contact the office.
After the competition is before the competition. An event of this size cannot be organized from one day to the next. The locations where the final will be held have already been decided: in Lugano in 2023, in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 2024 and in Zurich in the anniversary year 2025. The registration periods for the 2023 competition have also been set: for Classica, Free Space and Composition from November 1 to 27, 2022, and for Jazz&Pop from December 1, 2022 to January 15, 2023. Details on the competition procedure in the various categories, the instruments accepted this year in the Classica category and answers to frequently asked questions can be found online.
Even though the competition is no longer comparable to its beginnings in terms of size, professionalism, organization and judging, the idea of the Tonhalle conductor and founder of the competition, Gerd Albrecht, to create a professional framework with a national music festival in which young talents can show what they are made of in front of an interested audience and renowned jurors and find out where they stand in the national comparison, still applies today.
