BBC announces winners of Young Composers' Competition

The winners of this year’s BBC Proms Young Composers’ Competition have been announced.
Winners will see their compositions performed by the Aurora Orchestra and conducted by Nicholas Collon at the Royal College of Music on August 4th.
Three Apparitions by Freddy Meyers and Mermish by Alex Woolf were named as winners from the 12 to 16 years category, while Portrait of a Moor by Sarah Gait was the winner in the 17 to 18 years category.
Now in its 14th year, the awards – also known as the Inspire scheme – attract hundreds of entries, which are judged by an experienced panel.
This year the judging panel included composer and musician trainer Fraser Trainer who had urged entrants to write their “wildest dreams”, saying: “We want to hear passion, intensity, personality, something unique and challenging, even weird and wonderful, but above all, totally memorable”.
Composer and teacher of composition Stuart MacRae was also on the panel alongside one of the UK’s most in-demand young composers Anna Meredith.
Martin Suckling, an accomplished compose and lecturer at the University of York, acted as a mentor to last year’s Inspire winners and featured this year, as did New York-based composer, Nico Muhly Head of Music Research at Brunel University Peter Wiegold and Michael Emery, senior producer at BBC Singers.
The winning entrants will also have their works aired on BBC Radio 3 on August 16th and receive a BBC commission as part of their prize.
Meanwhile, ClassicFM has called on composers of all ages to pen a new Christmas carol for a special competition.
King’s College, Cambridge and The King’s Singers Foundation have teamed up with Classic FM for the Carol for Christmas 2012 project, which will see winners have their carol performed at King’s College, published by the Music Sales Group and recorded for ClassicFM, while a cash prize of £250 will also be awarded.
For details on how to enter the A Carol For Christmas competition, click here.