York graduate wins young composer award

Posted on 15 May 2015

A University of York music graduate has won the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) Young Composer of the Year Award 2015, presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3 and the Dunedin Consort.

NCEM Young Composer of the Year Award winners Joshua Urben and John Goldie-Scot (right)

John Goldie-Scot, aged 25, won the award in the 19 to 25 years category, alongside fellow winner Joshua Urben in the 18 years and under category.

To enter, young UK composers had to create a piece for a short dramatic scene from one of two Monteverdi masterpieces: Orfeo or Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda. Provided with an English translation of the texts, works had to be written for two or three singers, accompanied by a small ensemble of instruments similar to those available to Monteverdi.

Seven finalists were selected to present their entries at the NCEM in York, performed by the Dunedin Consort at a workshop followed by a public concert. A panel of judges were present comprising of Delma Tomlin, Director of the National Centre for Early Music, Les Pratt, Senior Music Producer BBC Radio 3 and John Butt, Director of the Dunedin Consort.

The winning pieces, John Goldie-Scot’s Why are you in such a hurry? and Joshua Urben’s Fractos Corde, will be premiered by the Dunedin Consort in Glasgow on Friday 2 October. This concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show at 2.00pm on Sunday 1 November 2015.

Delma Tomlin, Director of the NCEM, said: “It has been a privilege to be part of such an extraordinarily rich and creative environment throughout the workshops and performances. To hear these young composers and players working together to create a reflection of the magic of Monteverdi from a 21st century perspective has been thoroughly inspiring and very enjoyable.”

Les Pratt, Senior Producer BBC Radio 3, said: “BBC Radio 3 has a strong commitment to supporting young talent, whether it be instrumentalists, singers, “free thinkers” or composers. As an organisation, we’re delighted to continue our involvement with the NCEM Young Composers Award, and have been hugely impressed by the standard of submissions we received this year.”

John Butt, Director of the Dunedin Consort, added: “It has been a pleasure to spend time with these fine young composers, all of whom show great promise for the future. The welcoming environment which the NCEM creates for this event and their enlightened approach to encouraging young composers to write for early instruments through this award is to be applauded. We look forward to polishing the winning pieces in preparation for their premiere later this year.”

Further information:

The concert performance was streamed live and is available for one month at: www.ncem.co.uk/composersaward2015
The performance of the shortlisted entries was recorded courtesy of music technology students David Bird, Jack Elliott and Dalia Senvaityte from the Department of Electronics at the University of York.
For more information about BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show, visit: www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/earlymusicshow
For further information about the NCEM, visit: www.ncem.co.uk
For more information about the Dunedin Consort, visit: www.dunedin-consort.org.uk
For further information about the University of York’s Department of Music, visit: http://www.york.ac.uk/music/