Competing is probably one the best ways to get a new stimulus for self-improvement. Watching, comparing, analyzing and striving are the key ingredients to foster development. Each country has a choice of different-level contests that are held on a regular basis. And Canada is a very active ‘music country’ in this sense.
MIMC– The Montreal International Musical Competition – started in 2002 with its first Voice-dedicated edition. It all commenced at the initiative of the Jeunesses Musicales of Canada and managed to reach a broad international scale up to now.
With time the nominations expanded to three categories and thus three separate events: Voice, Violin and Piano. So now it’s hold as a cycle – each category is rotating and has its own year to complete. The selecting procedure is based on audio recordings – that’s called the preliminary step. Next, participants go through the quarter final, semi-final, and final, demonstrating the most of their skills.
Another round is about to start: Year 2013 will be devoted to Violin. For now, the only requirement to the candidates is the age limit – up to 29 years old by January 1, 2013. The repertoire itself will become available on the official site in mid-September – keep an eye. It’s a high-level contest so the level of jury expertize and the awards budget will be respectively high. Besides the substantial money prizes (~$30 000 first prize), MIMC is going to present career development programs, special grants and CD recordings.
All violin players should better prick up their ears if they want to challenge their mastery in a large-scale event: MIMC is also a part of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, a global network of music establishments. The online registration starts in September too, so get ready!
The list of Music Competitions at MusicaNeo is regularly updated, so that you didn’t miss the most interesting and prospective of them. Make sure you drop by there once in a while.
VIDEO: 2010 violin round winner, Benjamin Beilman, 20 years, USA