The Commonwealth Composition Challenge was launched in April to encourage young people to compose music that is relevant to the Coronavirus pandemic in some way. Open to young people aged 11-18 throughout the Commonwealth, the competition received hundreds of entries.
We are delighted to announce that the following composers have been shortlisted as finalists. The date of the Award Ceremony will be announced shortly.
INDIA – Aditya Manik aged 15 – ‘Journey To and Through Agony’
CANADA – Devon Packer aged 14 – ‘Home Fugue Home’
MALAYSIA – Eleanor Inn Rei Shuen aged 12 – ‘Dear Fate’
SINGAPORE – Isaiah Hui Zhou Rong aged 15 – ‘Courage’
INDIA – Ishaan Leonard Rao aged 15 – “Locked Down’
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA – Jahfari Hazelwood aged 17 – ‘Stuck in Quarantine’
AUSTRALIA – James Brew aged 13 – “Pan-Xiety’
UNITED KINGDOM – Maddie Melville Smith aged 15 – ‘Memories’
SINGAPORE – Nathanael Koh aged 10 – ‘Mutation’
UNITED KINGDOM – Oliver Gibson aged 16 – ‘Forever’
INDIA – Tiara Michelle Oberoi aged 17 – ‘Lacrimosa’
Exciting online composition workshops for young people who are stuck at home! Run by brilliant professional composers and musicians.
Compose a piece of music in a single day and hear it performed in an online concert!Two pilot workshops are starting later this week and more projects will be announced in May – so get on board as soon as you can. These are free of charge.
Available to school-aged pupils living anywhere in the world. You may have composed music before or you may be a beginner – no problem! You can be involved.
Sign up now and have a great time learning how to compose music with lots of expert help and support!
To see the full information about GO COMPOSE online, click here.
Our Ensemble in Residence, the Dionysus Ensemble are working with HOME Slough, Aik Saath, and Empoword Slough on a project bringing together poets and musicians to celebrate World Poetry Day on 21 March.
They’ll be performing their work on 21 March at 3pm at a FREE event in Slough town centre. Watch this space for a write-up of their project!
In January a call was put out to writers across the world through Commonwealth Writers for a new script for a puppet show to be used in an exciting collaboration between the Young People’s Puppet Theatre, the Commonwealth Resounds, the Purcell School for Young Musicians, and the Commonwealth Blue Charter.
Submissions were received from writers in countries including Nigeria, Pakistan, Kenya, Malta, South Africa, India and the UK. Much of the writing was very engaging, telling compelling stories about the challenges the world faces in keeping the oceans healthy. Choosing the best amongst them was difficult but the jury isdelighted to announce that the winner is Preeti Sharma, a secondary school teacher in Delhi. Her storyline focuses on the degradation of coral reefs caused by poachers who supply the jewelry trade.She will now be working with a mentor to develop her script for use in the project. In parallel the music will be composed by students from the Purcell School who will also create the puppets and sets. The rehearsals in September will followed by performances in and around London.
Because of the excellence of so many of the submissions, the jury decided to name two runners-up. They are Taryn Butler a freelance writer based in Malta, and Deborah Nash a writer from the UK. Taryn chose as her theme the general challenge of getting young people to recognize the link between their lifestyles and the state of the oceans, whereas Deborah chose to write on the way coral reefs are damagedby ignorance and by pollution. Once completed those scripts will be incorporated into the Young People’s Puppet Theatre script library for use by schools on future projects.
The intention in commissioning these scripts and in getting students to build new puppetry productions is to create in the students a greater awareness of challenges facing the oceans while at the same time bringing to the students the benefits which a YPPT production confers. Those range from creativity and performance skills to a wide variety of social development skills such as collaboration, self-confidence and resilience.
Winner
Preeti Sharma is a history teacher at the DAV secondary school in Delhi. She enjoys writing poetry and stories with a messageand has collaborated previously with the British Council. She has a particular interest in the development of 21st century skills among students, revival of heritage (puppetry), cross-cultural understanding and celebration of the collaborative spirit of the commonwealth of nations.
Runners-up
Taryn Butlerlives in Malta. Her background is in performance but after raising a family she returned to education and achieved an honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and more recently an MA in screenplay writing. She enjoys writing on how the changing climate is affecting our environment and economiesand fostering an understanding of the relationship between lifestyle and the state of the planet.
Deborah Nash lives in London. She has worked as a community artist in schools, theatres and at festivals, while also writing for BBC Schools Radio. More recently she has worked as a freelance copy editor and writer for Egmont UK as well as writing picture books for Frances Lincoln and readers for Pearson and OUP. She has also produced immersive theatre shows and stage productions.
On Tuesday 14th January in the Royal Over-Seas League’s beautiful Princess Alexandra Hall, in the presence of a highly distinguished audience, Xiaole Zhan, a brilliant young composer from New Zealand was awarded the first-ever Commonwealth International Composition Award for her highly original composition.
……speech having its way again, I gave a cry…..
Adjudicators Judith Robinson, Duncan Chapman, Bushra El-Turk, Barbara Law and Orphy Robinson were deeply impressed by Xiaole’s work
Xiaole herself says
“ I’m always in awe of the power of music. Consider this, here we all are, strangers from all over the world brought together as a community by music. I feel so honoured to be among this community of inspiring young composers and musicians. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels incredibly encouraged by this award. It’s not always easy sharing oneself through a medium like music which demands absolute transparency. This award has made me feel braver in sharing these shards of myself. In fact, the word ‘courage’ is in the word ‘encourage’. Thank you, sincerely, for this opportunity, and may we all continue to courageously forge global communities through sharing our music”.
Xiaole has won some excellent prizes, including a cash prize and fully-funded composition lessons with a tutor of her choice. She will be offered a new commission for the celebrated young concert pianist and winner of the 2014 BBC Young Musician of the Year, Martin James Bartlett. The Commonwealth Resounds, the ABRSM and the Purcell School hope that New Zealand’s cultural organisations will help us to give Xiaole plenty of publicty and accolades for this really outstanding achievement.
Please let us know if you would like any more information about Xiaole or the Commonwealth International Composition Award
Alison Cox OBE, Founder and Chair of Trustees, The Commonwealth Resounds – alisonresounds@gmail.com
