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Join the Friends of Baroque Music in Yorkshire to support Baroque Performance and the next generation of period instrument performers.
Friends of Baroque Music in Yorkshire is a Charity which provides financial and practical support to Baroque ensembles, enabling Yorkshire audiences to share in the musicians’ enthusiasm for Baroque music. We help professional, non-professional and student players in our region to perform the Baroque choral and orchestral repertory at a high level of practice and scholarship, working with some of the country’s leading exponents of early music.
The Friends are currently one of the major sources of funding for Leeds Baroque Choir and Orchestra (the city’s only period instrument orchestra). We give a vital boost to LB’s income, ensuring they maintain and develop their acclaimed standards. In pursuit of this, the Friends have purchased a chamber organ for the use of the choir, and supported a crowd funding campaign for historically appropriate timpani.
The Friends have also occasionally given individual grants to students and aspiring professionals who pursue a performing interest in Baroque music. The Charity owns two Baroque violins, a Baroque viola, and Baroque cello, all for short-term loan to promising students.
The Friends are currently one of the major sources of funding for Leeds Baroque Choir and Orchestra (the city’s only period instrument orchestra). We give a vital boost to LB’s income, ensuring they maintain and develop their acclaimed standards. In pursuit of this, the Friends have purchased a chamber organ for the use of the choir, and supported a crowd funding campaign for historically appropriate timpani.
The Friends have also occasionally given individual grants to students and aspiring professionals who pursue a performing interest in Baroque music. The Charity owns two Baroque violins, a Baroque viola, and Baroque cello, all for short-term loan to promising students.
Exciting News:
FBMY launch Prize for Student Performance of
Baroque Instrumental Music
15 April 2023
The Friends of Baroque Music in Yorkshire (FBMY) propose to offer an annual Prize of £250 for performance by students of Baroque instrumental music. Competitors must currently be enrolled, or have been enrolled during 2021-22, at a Higher Education College or University in West Yorkshire. There are no restrictions regarding the age of the competitors.
The Prize is awarded on the basis of a competitive session of performances, which will take place as a single afternoon’s public recital. In 2023 the competition will take place in Leeds Conservatoire on Saturday 15 April.
(In subsequent years the event will be rotated between three institutions, the other two being the University of Huddersfield (Department of Music) and the University of Leeds (School of Music).
The judges for the Prize in 2023, appointed by the FBMY Committee, will be Professor Peter Holman, and violist Susanna Pell. The judging panel will be chaired by a representative of Friends of Baroque Music in Yorkshire.
Competition pieces should be items of Baroque instrumental music, lasting a maximum of fifteen minutes. The term ‘Baroque’ is defined as music composed between 1600 and 1750: disagreements about whether a piece is acceptable in terms of its date will be resolved in advance by the competition’s judges. Competition pieces may be solo (e.g. one keyboard or string instrument), accompanied solo, or an ensemble of not more than five players. Competitors will be asked to submit their own programme note (maximum 200 words) on their chosen piece.
Performances will be judged on ‘historically informed’ criteria, as well as on general musicianship. Competitors should note, however, that they are NOT required to use baroque instruments, NOR a pitch of 415 instead of 440. The only stipulation in this regard is that any keyboard instrument should be a harpsichord, a chamber organ, or an electronic keyboard adapted in suitable mode, rather than a modern pianoforte. Competitors chosen to perform on 15 April will be able to approach Leeds Conservatoire regarding the availability in the performance venue, both before and during 15 April, of a harpsichord or chamber organ.
The restriction of the event to a single afternoon means that only eight 15-minute items can be entered. If there are more than eight applicants, then a short list will be pre-selected by the judges on the basis of video recordings of previous performances. Such recordings should be submitted along with the Application Form (for which see below): they should be of Baroque music, but need not involve the item which is chosen for the competition.
FBMY will reimburse travel expenses to competitors for the day of the competition, to a maximum of £15 per person. Claims for such expenses should be accompanied by some form of receipt.
The Prize of £250 will be awarded to the individual or ensemble chosen by the judges: its sharing between more than one individual is a matter for the recipients themselves. (It is advised that decisions about this should be made by competitors in advance.) Decisions of the judges will be final, and not subject to any form of appeal.
Application forms and further details are available online HERE and they should be received by midnight on 15 December 2022. They should be sent by email, together with the required sample recording, to the FBMY address friendsofbmy@gmail.com: receipt will normally be acknowledged straight away. Competitors will be informed on 31 January 2023 whether there is to be selection for a short list (and also whether there is any uncertainty about the eligibility of chosen items). If a short list needs to be chosen, the results of that process will be communicated on 15 February 2023.
Should there be any problems regarding digital communication, competitors may note that the contact address of the Secretary of FBMY is 225 Otley Road, Leeds LS16 5LQ.
Privacy Policy: In accordance with GDPR, personal data required by the application form will be retained by FBMY, and by Leeds Conservatoire, under secure conditions until the 2023 Prize has been awarded. After that, we may only retain such data with the written consent of the individual concerned.
Richard Andrews (FBMY Secretary)
The Prize is awarded on the basis of a competitive session of performances, which will take place as a single afternoon’s public recital. In 2023 the competition will take place in Leeds Conservatoire on Saturday 15 April.
(In subsequent years the event will be rotated between three institutions, the other two being the University of Huddersfield (Department of Music) and the University of Leeds (School of Music).
The judges for the Prize in 2023, appointed by the FBMY Committee, will be Professor Peter Holman, and violist Susanna Pell. The judging panel will be chaired by a representative of Friends of Baroque Music in Yorkshire.
Competition pieces should be items of Baroque instrumental music, lasting a maximum of fifteen minutes. The term ‘Baroque’ is defined as music composed between 1600 and 1750: disagreements about whether a piece is acceptable in terms of its date will be resolved in advance by the competition’s judges. Competition pieces may be solo (e.g. one keyboard or string instrument), accompanied solo, or an ensemble of not more than five players. Competitors will be asked to submit their own programme note (maximum 200 words) on their chosen piece.
Performances will be judged on ‘historically informed’ criteria, as well as on general musicianship. Competitors should note, however, that they are NOT required to use baroque instruments, NOR a pitch of 415 instead of 440. The only stipulation in this regard is that any keyboard instrument should be a harpsichord, a chamber organ, or an electronic keyboard adapted in suitable mode, rather than a modern pianoforte. Competitors chosen to perform on 15 April will be able to approach Leeds Conservatoire regarding the availability in the performance venue, both before and during 15 April, of a harpsichord or chamber organ.
The restriction of the event to a single afternoon means that only eight 15-minute items can be entered. If there are more than eight applicants, then a short list will be pre-selected by the judges on the basis of video recordings of previous performances. Such recordings should be submitted along with the Application Form (for which see below): they should be of Baroque music, but need not involve the item which is chosen for the competition.
FBMY will reimburse travel expenses to competitors for the day of the competition, to a maximum of £15 per person. Claims for such expenses should be accompanied by some form of receipt.
The Prize of £250 will be awarded to the individual or ensemble chosen by the judges: its sharing between more than one individual is a matter for the recipients themselves. (It is advised that decisions about this should be made by competitors in advance.) Decisions of the judges will be final, and not subject to any form of appeal.
Application forms and further details are available online HERE and they should be received by midnight on 15 December 2022. They should be sent by email, together with the required sample recording, to the FBMY address friendsofbmy@gmail.com: receipt will normally be acknowledged straight away. Competitors will be informed on 31 January 2023 whether there is to be selection for a short list (and also whether there is any uncertainty about the eligibility of chosen items). If a short list needs to be chosen, the results of that process will be communicated on 15 February 2023.
Should there be any problems regarding digital communication, competitors may note that the contact address of the Secretary of FBMY is 225 Otley Road, Leeds LS16 5LQ.
Privacy Policy: In accordance with GDPR, personal data required by the application form will be retained by FBMY, and by Leeds Conservatoire, under secure conditions until the 2023 Prize has been awarded. After that, we may only retain such data with the written consent of the individual concerned.
Richard Andrews (FBMY Secretary)
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