BBC changes Young Musician rules

Suzy Klein, Head of BBC Arts and Classical Music TV, has confirmed that the competition will go ahead next year on BBC2, but with a significant change.

Contestants will be selected by region, not instrumental category, in order to create ‘the most accessible, sustainable and democratic competition we’ve staged so far’. Klein continues: ‘Shining a light on different geographical regions allows us to showcase the best young classical talent from across the UK.’

So it could be bassoon vs piano vs pennywhistle in the final.

These are the new selection rules:
– Entry for musicians aged 18 and under (entrants must be born on or after 1 September 2005) is now made by video submission, with a 10 minute video entry scored and ranked by expert judges
– From the initial entry, up to 50 will be progress to live auditions – two from each of eight geographical areas – with a further 34 musicians selected by the judging panel.
– This year, category finals will be replaced by two quarter finals featuring twelve musicians and a Semi Final with six places available. These and the live auditions will make up five 90-minute programmes for broadcast on BBC Four and iPlayer.
– The Grand Final will be broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer for the first time since 2012 as a special programme with highlights of the concerto performances, whilst the full concert programme will air on BBC Four and iPlayer as well as on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds.