APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
St Martin’s Chamber Music Competition embodies St Martin’s commitment to the discovery, nurture and promotion of new and emerging musical talent. With the support of Making Music, the competition is able to offer winners the opportunity to develop a performance profile across the UK.
The 2020 Competition
Key dates:
Semi-finals: FREE Lunchtime Concerts
Monday 2 March 2020 1.00pm
Tuesday 3 March 2020 1.00pm
Friday 6 March 2020 1.00pm
Grand Final: Tuesday 24 March 2020, 7.30pm (Ticketed)
How to apply
Applications for 2020 are now closed. Applications for 2021 will open at the beginning of October 2020. A form will be available to download from this page when the applications open, along with full rules and instructions on how to apply. Please check the website then if you are interested in applying.
About the competition
Founded in 2010, St Martin’s Chamber Music Competition is the only competition in London with a focus on nurturing the fledgling careers of the UK’s most talented and hard-working young musicians through practical means. The competition’s prize is a series of professional engagements around Britain, offering the invaluable opportunity of paid performance experience and professional exposure to the winners. Making Music has supported the competition since its inception in 2010 and has been instrumental in providing concert opportunities for the winners. The competition’s inaugural winners, the Piatti Quartet gave over 16 concerts as a result of their prize earning over £13,500 in fees and gaining the benefits of experience and industry contacts which in turn lead to their Wigmore Hall debut in London in 2011.
“… what a terrific concert we had from the Piatti Quartet last night. Technically impeccable, they really made you listen to every nuance of the music. They have clearly thought a lot about the pieces they played and the interpretive insight was impressive and refreshing. They deserve to go far.”
Chris Thomas, Luton Music Club
St Martin’s Chamber Music Competition rewards those young performers who display not only an exceptional talent, but the drive and dedication to their art which sets them apart on the road to success. St Martin-in-the-Fields takes this journey with them maintaining an on-going interest in winners with continued support over the years in the form of publicity, professional engagements and free rehearsal space in central London.
The competition is open to UK based ensembles consisting of 3 to 8 musicians. Please note that ensemble members must be aged no less than 18 years and no more than 30 years on the closing date for applications.
Competition structure
There are three rounds to the competition:
1. The preliminary round is a CD audition, judged anonymously by a screening panel. This panel will then select two entrants for each of the three Semi-Final concerts.
2. In each of the three Semi-final concerts, two ensembles will play a twenty-five minute programme in a free Lunchtime Concert in church. Following this, the best three performers from across the Semi-Finals will be selected by the judges to perform in the Grand Final.
3. The Grand Final sees three ensembles perform programmes of twenty minutes in front of a ticketed audience. The winner of the Grand Prize will be selected by a panel of high profile judges from the classical music world and there will also be an audience vote to select the winner of the Audience Prize. The winning ensembles are then presented with beautiful hand-crafted trophies.
Previous winners
Click on the links below to find out what our previous winners are doing now and when you can next see them perform.
2019 – Brompton Quartet (bromptonquartet.co.uk/)
2018 – Barbican Quartet (www.facebook.com/barbicanstringquartet/)
2017 – Zelkova Quartet (www.zelkovaquartet.co.uk)
2016 – Pelléas Ensemble (www.pelleasensemble.co.uk)
2015 – Jørgensen Trio (www.jorgensentrio.co.uk)
2014 – Aurea Quartet (www.aureaquartet.co.uk)
2013 – Jubilee Quartet (www.jubileequartet.co.uk)
2012 – Jacquin Trio (www.jacquintrio.com)
2011 – BMF Trio (www.bmftrio.com)
2010 – Piatti Quartet (www.piattiquartet.com)
Enquiries
Please email enquiries to music@smitf.org
