BBC Proms Inspire

The 2017 BBC Proms Inspire Competition opened today (9 January 2017) with a closing date for entries of 25 May 2017. The competition, now in its 19th year, offers a platform young composers aged 12-18 year olds from across the UK to develop their skills, share their ideas and get their music heard. 

The winners of the competition have their composition performed by professional musicians at the BBC Proms. Young composers will also have the opportunity to take part in projects aimed to encourage their skills including a project around International Women's Day, and Inspire session of Sir James MacMillan. Entrants from last year's competition will be invited to take part in a project to create a new piece of music for the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Total Immersion: Philip Glass at 80 on Saturday 28 January at the Barbican Centre.

Every night this week, BBC Radio 3’s programme In Tune will mark the launch of Inspire with recordings of pieces from previous competition winners including Jack Robinson, James Chan and Shoshanah Sievers, as well as interviews from judge Kerry Andrew and 2016 winner Sam Rudd-Jones. Past competition winners and highly commended composers are also invited to join the team of Inspire Ambassadors, who act as a sounding board and champion the work of the Inspire scheme across the UK. Announced today, the 2017 Inspire Ambassadors are: Sarah Gait, Electra Perivolaris, Grace Mason, Sofia Swenson-Wright, Tammas Slater, Thomas Brown, Alex Jones, Ellis Howarth, Max Bilbe, William Kidner and Sarah Jenkins.

Full details from the BBC Proms Inspire website.