Carnegie Hall concertmaster for gala concert
The concertmaster of the Africa United Youth Orchestra (AUYO), violinist, Gilah Kellner will be the guest artist at the gala concert of the 2024 National Youth Music Competition NYMC), on Saturday December 7, at 6pm, at the Endler Hall in Stellenbosch.
The AUYO performed in August this year at Carnegie Hall as part of the WOW! (World Orchestra Week) Festival.
The festival programme included performances by the National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela, the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra, the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Afghan Youth Orchestra and members of the National Youth Orchestra of the USA.
In 2017, Gilah, at the age of 14, took the laurels as overall winner and gold medallist of the 2017 NYMC. She is now a second-year Stellenbosch University BMus student under Dr Suzanne Martens.
The NYMC gala concert is the pinnacle of the week-long competition for talented classical musicians between the ages of 14 and 19 years.
It is the only South African music competition where the six finalists do a final battle with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO).
Maestro Brandon Phillips will be on the podium. He also conducted the gala concert when Gilah won the competition.
The gala concert will feature the six finalists performing their respective concerti with the CPO and concludes with Gilah playing the much-loved second movement of the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
The competition with prizes of R180 000, and gold, silver and bronze medals will be adjudicated by a panel of seven esteemed musicians.
The competition winner and final ranking of the NYMC are cumulatively determined over four rounds.
Tickets from R110 for the final round’s gala concert are available from Quicket, and the entire concert and award ceremony will be streamed live on the NYMC website at www.nymc.co.za