Exmoor 4 all

Here we are in 2013 and the entries deadline for the Festival’s Young Musicians Platform Competition has passed already – and what a competition it is turning out to be.

Beginning in 2003 as an opportunity for youngsters to play in front of an audience, the competition has expanded over ten years into one of considerable note. Its original ethos remains still but the standard has risen so that it now stands alongside some of the well-known national awards for young musicians.

Many ask us what type of competition it is. We have to say that it is unique in the sense that our audition
process is unlike that of any other in this country. For a start, all competitors are offered chocolate
on their way out! This in itself is an excellent way of judging personality and confidence. There are
those who grab, those look astonished at being given something in return…