MusicFirst Young Creative

Musician Festival 2023

Join our inclusive nationwide celebration of all genres of music and

the young creators behind them.

Enter Before 11:59pm 2nd June 2023

STEP 1

Register your school or class and receive guidance, tips and FREE access to Soundtrap for Education during the competition

STEP 2

Submit your students’ entries online under their chosen category by 11:59 pm on 2nd June 2023

STEP 3

1 winner from each age group in both the composers and producers category will be announced during a masterclass on 27th June at 4 pm by a well known musician in the industry.

STEP 4

The winners will receive
a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio kit and a year subscription to Soundtrap for their school for up to 50 students

Meet our 2023 award-winning judge and masterclass presenter YolanDa Brown OBE

"I love the freedom of creating music and its ability to tell a story, create a mood and even spark thoughts and emotions. That is exactly why I am pleased to be involved in the MusicFirst Young Creative Musician Festival. A brilliant opportunity for 11 - 18 year olds to create music in their own way, without the barriers of formal music training, genre parameters or instrument type. I cannot wait to hear the gorgeous music that will no doubt be created.”

Saxophonist, broadcaster and author YolanDa Brown will not only be judging this year's finalists but also hosting a music masterclass open to all schools who enter. During the masterclass, she will be announcing this year's winners whilst also sharing her professional feedback and insight to help your students to grow their musical talents.

Join us, and let's break down the barriers and stereotypes of how a musician should be defined and ignite your student's excitement about music in school.

MusicFirst Young Creative Musician Festival is the only UK secondary school competition that celebrates ALL genres of music.

Here at MusicFirst, we believe all types of musicians should be recognised and celebrated. Whether your students are classically trained and play an instrument, talented rappers and singer-songwriters or have a keen ear for mixing sounds to produce unique tracks, we want to give them all a platform to share their talents.

What will you win?

Our judges will be reviewing all the creative and diverse entries and will be announcing the winners on 27th June at 4 pm.

1 winner from each age group in both the composers and producers category will be announced during a masterclass hosted by YolanDa Brown OBE and MusicFirst.

The winners will receive a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio kit and a subscription to Soundtrap for Education for their school/college.

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The entry categories

We will be choosing ONE winner from each age group (11-14, 15-16 and 17-18 years old) within each category based on its originality, creativity and development of musical ideas…

Composers

Compose a completely original piece of music that is either performed by the entrant or by others. This must not include anyone else’s existing loops or musical material. This can either be a live performance or completely electronic.

Producers

Produce an originally mixed track using pre-existing musical material. This must not be a relatively unchanged remix, it must demonstrate the use of various sound samples, loops and perhaps original material to create an original track. For example, Fat Boy Slim’s Praise You is “assembled” from samples taken from other recordings.

FAQs

When do entries close?

All entries must be submitted by 11:59 pm on 2nd June 2023 in an audio recording in either an MP3 or wav format. Recordings can be live or created from MIDI/Audio track files.

What genres can be entered?

All genres are encouraged, from classic composers to contemporary and emerging genres.

Who can enter?

Within each category we have 3 age groups, 11-14, 15-16 and 17-18 years old.

What are the entry requirements?

All entries must be an original piece of work no longer than 3 minutes in length and must be submitted in an audio recording in either an MP3 or wav format.

They can be produced using any choice of software, however, as part of the Young Creative Musician Festival, we’re giving schools and colleges free access to Soundtrap until entries close.

Register below to download the the full competition guidelines.

MusicFirst Young Creative Musician Festival

Fill in the form below to register your school or college and receive the full competition details including a poster and flyer to share with your students.

*ONLY teachers and SLTs can register their school or college for this competition. If you are a parent/guardian or a child who would like to take part, please share this with your teacher and ask them to register your school/college to participate.

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