Rickmansworth Young Musician of the Year 2024

Chorleywood Music encourages music making in our local community. It is keen to develop and encourage talented, young performers in our local area and neighbouring counties and holds an annual Young Musicians’ Competition. Chorleywood Music is delighted to present the 2024 event.

About RYMY

The Rickmansworth Young Musician of the Year has been held annually since 1983. It has attracted high calibre students of classical music from a wide area of Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and London.

This prestigious event has been the launch pad for our competitors reaching the finals of the BBC Young Musician Competition and international events and for many of our young performers making careers in music. We particularly welcome minimum level competitors with all entrants receiving valuable assessments of their performances from our panel of expert judges. Finalists gain valuable public performing experience in front of appreciative and supportive audiences. 

2024 RYMY Competition

Sponsors

The competition welcomes entries from instrumentalists and singers aged 19 or under on the 17th March 2024 and have reached a minimum performance standard of Grade 7 Associated Board or equivalent. An entry fee of £20 will be charged. 

For the preliminary heat, applicants are required to upload a video performance of a maximum of 5 minutes. All applicants will receive a digital certificate and an assessment of the performance by our expert panel of judges. 

Finalists chosen by the panel will be invited to perform two contrasting works (12 minutes maximum) at the Final Concert. The Final Concert and Competition will take place on Sunday 17^th March 2024 at Richard Lawson Pianos, Unit 12, Amersham Commercial Park, Raans Road, Amersham, HP6 6FT https://www.richardlawsonpianos.com from 2pm. 

The winner and runners up will be decided by our judges Nicola Tait Baxter, Daniel Hogan and Elena Vorotko. Prizes include a trophy, cash prizes of £500 for 1st place, £250 for 2nd place and £125 for 3rd place, digital certificates, judges’ assessments, recording of the performances and, if a suitable standard is reached, performance opportunities with the Chorleywood Orchestra.

Competition Entry Form

Previous winners

View the archive of previous winners dating back to 1983

2023 RYMY Competition Results

 Winner – Firoze Madon, piano
2nd place – Shutian Cheng, piano
3rd place – Elizabeth Corbett, cello

 For more concert details, download the full RYMY 2023 Concert Programme or view the RYMY 2023 competition page.

RYMY 2024 Competition Rules

1. The competition is open to instrumentalists and singers aged 19 or under on the 17th March 2024
2. Competitors should have achieved a minimum performance standard of Grade 7 of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music or equivalent.
3. Completion of the official entry form and the payment of an entry fee of £20 is required for entry into the competition and must be received no later than the 14th January 2024. The entry fee is non-refundable. Late entries may be accepted at the discretion of Chorleywood Music.
4. For the preliminary heat, all applicants are required to upload a video performance of a maximum of 5 mins via our website chorleywoodmusic.com/RYMY no later than 14th January 2024.
5. The video performance can consist of a work(s), movement(s), or an excerpt(s) and where relevant either accompanied or unaccompanied. The work(s) chosen must be notified on the entry form. 
6. Video performances will be judged by a panel selected by Chorleywood Music. Up to eight finalists will be chosen from across the age and instrumental/voice range according to overall merit (based on factors of technical competence, interpretation, and performance). 
7. The judging panel’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. All qualifying applicants will receive a written assessment by the panel after the competition.
8. Finalists will be informed by the 16th February 2024 and will be requested to perform at the Final Concert on Sunday 17th March 2024 at Richard Lawson Pianos, Unit 12, Amersham Commercial Park, Raans Road, Amersham, HP6 6FT https://www.richardlawsonpianos.com
9. The Finalist’s programme must consist of two contrasting pieces of a maximum of 12 minutes (combined total). Details of the works chosen must be provided to Chorleywood Music when requested. 
10. The programme can be with piano accompaniment or unaccompanied. Competitors are required to provide their own accompanist. Chorleywood Music will provide details of accompaniments at your own expense on request.
11. Finalist’s may perform work(s) from their video performance.
12. Competitors are required to provide three copies of their music to be performed for the judges. Photocopies are acceptable (subject to permission of the copyright owner). There will be no photocopying facilities available at the concert venue. Competitors must not perform from photocopied music without the written consent of the publisher. Please refer to the Music Publishers’ Association for further information: mpaonline.org.uk
13. The judging panel’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. All Finalists will receive a written assessment by the judges after the competition.
14. The winner will receive a trophy, a digital certificate, a cash prize of £500, a recording of their performance and, if a suitable standard is reached, a performance opportunity with the Chorleywood Orchestra. Prizes (£250 for 2nd place and £125 for 3rd place) will also be awarded to the runners up. Certificates and video recordings will also be awarded to the other finalists.
15. The video recordings of the three winning finalists will be posted to the Chorleywood Music YouTube channel after the event. Recordings of the other finalists will also be posted if suitable.
16. Disregard of these rules can lead to disqualification at the discretion of Chorleywood Music.

 All enquiries to: jo@chorleywoodmusic.com, alan@chorleywoodmusic.com