Sussex Young Musician of the Year competition

Applications for the Coro Nuovo Sussex Young Musician of the Year competition 2020 are now open, offering young musicians the chance to win up to £1,000 to help support their music studies.

The competition, sponsored by traditional oak and timber company Tradoak, is open to musicians aged between 18 and 26 years old, who have a connection to Sussex (residential and/or educational) and are embarking or intending to embark on a professional career in music.

There are four cash prizes available consisting of £1,000 for the winner, £500 for the runner-up and £250 each for two other finalists.

This is the fifth year that the competition has run and the final would normally take place during Coro Nuovo’s summer concert.  However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and for the health and safety of participants, judges, and audience, the 2020 competition will be held in a virtual format.

Those interested in entering should visit www.sussexyoungmusician.org.uk to download the competition details, and complete an application form, before recording and submitting a video of themselves performing a competition piece of their choice. The video will also need to be accompanied with a summary of their background, their musical career aspirations and how winning the prize money would assist on their journey.

Four finalists will be selected by the Coro Nuovo committee before being passed to a panel of expert judges from the music world (TBA at a later date) who will determine the winner and the prizes.

Catherine Kent, Chair of Coro Nuovo, said: ‘When we founded the choir back in 2013, we all knew we wanted to do something to support the next generation of musicians. With mainstream schools scaling back on the arts, and the ever-risingcost of tuition, exams, and instruments, embarking on a professional music career does not come easy. It is a hard and competitive industry to enter and, as such, there are many gifted musicians out there that simply go under the radar due to lack of support or encouragement.

“Whilst our 2020 competition format has had to change in order to adhere to the current Covid-19 guidelines, we are determined to support young musicians during these particularly challenging times. We are very grateful for the financial support of Tradoak who continue to be the competition’s main sponsor this year, which will allow us to offer bursaries to four Sussex young musicians.’

The deadline for application is midnight on Sunday, August 30 and the winner will be announced in a live virtual award ceremony during October 2020.

For more information, visit https://coronuovo.org.uk/2020-competition/.