Rotary International, with headquarters in Chicago, is one of the world’s largest voluntary service organisations, having more than 1.3 million members in over 200 countries. Its motto is ‘Service Above Self,’ and one of the major aims of the movement is to support young people.
Among the many projects in this field is the Young Musician Competition in which youngsters up to 18 years old perform for 10 minutes in instrumental and vocalist sections. This offers them the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience and to receive a well informed, knowledgeable adjudication.
In the West Midlands area as well as across the country, many Rotary clubs take part. The competition begins at individual clubs or groups of them. These first rounds are followed by District and Regional events, leading to a national final. It is pleasing to be able to say that the standards of the musicians and singers are so high that winners of the national final have, in 2 cases, gone on to reach the final of the BBC Young Musician of The Year competition. These included pianist Lauren Zhang who won the title in 2018, and Percussionist Tom Hall.
Wolverhampton Music Hub and The Friends of the Music Service are keen supporters of the competition and their invaluable assistance is much appreciated. This means that Rotary is able to stage the events at the Wolverhampton Music School. The Wolverhampton area round of this year’s competition will take place on Sunday, February 5th at 2.30pm and everybody is welcome to attend to enjoy the superb performances on offer. Admission is £3 by programme, payable on the door.
For more information contact: [email protected]