On the evening of Saturday, March 26, starting at 06.30 WIB, the National Theater will receive nine finalists who will compete at Young Musician of the Caribbean.

Young instrumentalists from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands will offer the Final Concert, to select three prizes, comprising study at an institution in the United Kingdom, in this initiative which is a boost to their future careers for each of these students. .

An alliance between BritchamDR, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London (ABRSM) and the University of Bangor in Wales, has made this contest possible.
“This is the perfect platform for these young people to be seen and heard, and they have the opportunity to learn,” explains Mía Vidal, ABRSM representative in the Dominican Republic.

Vidal made this statement during his visit to LISTÍN DIARIO, accompanied by Mari Pili Díaz, Coordinator of the BritchamDR Institutional Relations Committee, and Lourdes Bonnelly, member of the Institutional Relations Committee, who organized the award ceremony.

contest details
Finalists for the Senior category were Juliette Flaquer, Joshua Reyes and Juan Henríquez (RD); in Senior they participated Dequan Smith (Cayman Islands); Johan Reyes and Davidson Reyes (RD); in Young Professionals Duverly Jacques (Haiti), Rafael Méndez (RD) and Danira Rodríguez (Puerto Rico).

David Watkin, Iwan Llewelyn-Jones and Claire Wickes, three leading British musicians, are part of the jury that will select three winners, in the Junior, Senior and Young Professional categories, who will be awarded participation in a musical summer camp in the United Kingdom.

“There are many educational institutions that can host students from the Caribbean region, or that we can promote for exchanges,” says Díaz de Rodríguez, and Britcham plays a role in the contest as a liaison between British and Dominican entities.

The award has the support of Dominican pianist Michel Camilo, English cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. “It is a great joy for me that a competition is being held to select talented musicians from the Caribbean in our country,” said Camilo. Also, Mason praised the initiative.



Master Class
In addition to the contest, a series of master classes have been held, which began with Dominican violinist Aisha Syed, and which took place on March 7. Young musicians from the Caribbean and other countries who are interested in the practice and preparation techniques of this world famous player participated in his master conference via Zoom, “From practice to stage”.

Today, Friday, David Watkin, Iwan Llewelyn-Jones and Claire Wickes, three leading British musicians, will give their respective Master Classes on string, piano and woodwind instruments, coordinated by the Friends of the National Theater Foundation and the Symphony Foundation, with the support of the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in the UK.

Master classes will be given in the Aída Bonnelly room and the rehearsal room of the National Symphony Orchestra, both at the Eduardo Brito National Theatre, and at the headquarters of the Sinfonía Foundation, in person with a small number of participants, and via Zoom outwards.

It has also received valuable support from the British Embassies of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Doughty Family Foundation, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Youth, Eduardo Brito National Theatre, Royal Conservatory of Scotland and Music for Life Foundation.