This year the Youth Music Festival (YMF) reaches a significant milestone, as it celebrates its 40th year.

The annual concert presented by Artscape and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) serves as a launching pad for accomplished young classical music instrumentalists and singers, in playing on a professional concert stage with a symphony orchestra. On Saturday 13 August 2011 at 19.45, thirteen extraordinarily talented young musicians will celebrate this festival in performance with the CPO. Brandon Phillips conducts the orchestra in a varied and exciting programme with the musicians who were selected from over 45 participants in auditions. They are considered to be amongst the finest of the Western Cape’s young up and coming classical music talent. Their ages range from 18 to 24 years and include, in programme order - Shaun Little (21) Oboe, Talisa Symons (16) Violin, Garreth Cederes (23) Flute, Jennifer Pott (22) Flute, Makudupanyane Senaoana (19)Tenor, Goitsemang Lehobye (23) Soprano, Dane Coetzee (23) Cello, Hamman Schoonwinkel (18) Alto Sax, Dylan Tabisher (23) Marimba, Aristide du Plessis (21) Cello, Thesele Kemane (24) Baritone, Friedel Mitas (24) Soprano and Jessamie Jardim (21) Piano.

Brandon, himself a young musician, is the CPO’s principal bassoonist and regularly conducts the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He recently completed an intensive conducting internship at the Northwestern University in Chicago under the supervision of renowned Russian American conductor Victor Yampolsky. Representing the adjudicating panel are; Alastair Cockburn (Artscape), Cape Town Conductor George Michie, Ronnie Samaai (Member of the CPO Board of Directors) and well-known opera star and director Aviva Pelham. The main criteria for candidates are that they are bona fide music students, that they perform at a very high standard and are resident or studying in the Western Cape.

The age restriction for participants is 10 to 23 years for instrumentalists and up to the age of 27 for singers. Because the emphasis of the festival is a celebration of young musical talent and not a competition, the appeal of the works presented, as well as good variety in the overall programme content, plays an important part in the final selection of these soloists. Alastair Cockburn said that the programme for this year comprises several interesting “new” works and a somewhat different repertoire compared with previous years. It’s good to see and hear our young participants exploring the vast classical music repertoire that exists, and presenting more and more variety. The overall standard at the auditions for this year’s 40th Anniversary Youth Music Festival was overwhelming. Virtually every candidate who played was of a standard easily acceptable to play in the concert.

This made the adjudicators’ task so much more difficult in ultimately choosing the final participants. We could easily have hosted two performances of totally different programmes and soloists! ‘It is a young musician's dream to perform with a real symphony orchestra’, said Cockburn. ‘There is something so scintillating about such an experience and much of the biggest repertoire and most exciting to listen to and perform is in the concerto field (instrument with orchestra) or in the opera field (voice and orchestra. These young performers are getting a chance of a lifetime to perform their repertoire in such a professional environment.

Tickets cost R60. Book through Artscape Dial-a-Seat 021 421 7695, Computicket, Shoprite and Checkers outlets