Play it again, Alec

SCHOOLBOY Alec Spalding has plucked up the courage to compete against the best in the forthcoming Young Musicians of the Gulf competition.

The 12-year-old St Christopher's School pupil from Awali will be the youngest competitor and is proud to have this particular string to his bow.

He told GulfWeekly: "I love playing the violin and I am really inspired by my violin teacher Theresa Finzi from my school's music department. I am extremely excited about the competition."

Nick Wilson, head of St Christopher's Senior School, will officially open the tenth annual contest on Monday, February 18.

The competition has yet again attracted a record number of top young musicians from the region to Bahrain.

There are a total of 95 participants aged 18 and under from 13 different schools, 60 of whom are involved in the solo category, 15 of those from Bahrain itself.

News of this prestigious competition has spread rapidly across the region with schools taking part from Cairo, Kuwait, Jeddah and Dubai.

The visiting students, who arrive in Bahrain on Sunday, are being hosted by families from St Christopher's School.

The heats in the solo categories will take place throughout Monday from 8am until 5pm, followed by the ensemble heats the next day, leaving competitors with a nail- biting wait to see who made it through to the semi-finals.

Recent expansion of the ensemble categories has allowed a wider range of musicians and instrumental combinations to participate in the competition and in total 17 entries have been calculated so far. These include among others, a Barbershop male singers ensemble, a Gospel choir, Flute sextet, Woodwind quartet, 6 pianos and Percussion and even a Broom-percussion ensemble.

The vocal category, which was a recent addition, has yet again proven to be a popular choice for many of the schools involved.

The Ensemble section, now well-established, makes its first appearance during Monday's heats with no less than 17 groups battling it out for a position in the Wednesday's semi-final to be held at St Christopher's Junior School.

In addition, the Composers' category has attracted eight young composers who will compete for the title 'Young Composer of the Gulf'.

As before, these young composers will be showcasing their creative talents, where their original works will be judged by the three eminent adjudicators, David Campbell, Matthew Souter and Philip Mead, for a place in the final.

These young composers have an exciting added bonus to their week, as they also get the opportunity to attend workshops run by the three adjudicators, where they are given the chance to hear their work played by the adjudicators themselves.

The Grand Final on Thursday, February 21, promises to be a stunning display of some of the Gulf's most promising young musicians, and all competitors in the Grand Final will receive an award in recognition of the outstanding level of musical performance demonstrated to get through to this stage.

This YMOG competition has been sponsored by a number of prominent companies. Gulf Air has provided the flights for the visiting adjudicators and have in association with the Gulf Hotel, organised the venue for the grand final which is to be held in the Awal Ballroom.

This year's other major Platinum sponsors are Bahrain International Airport and BAE Systems. Gold sponsorship has been received from Batelco and Gulf Brand International, and Silver sponsorship has been received from Ambassador Stores, House of Uniform, AXA Insurance and The Bookcase.

Entrance to the final costs BD5 and tickets are available from the Bookcase and St Christopher's School.