Friday 11th November 2022, 2.00PM
St. Margaret’s Church, Lee Road, London SE13 5DL
Young Ensemble Competition
LIFEM hosted the 3rd biennial Early Music Young Ensemble Competition in 2022. The competition culminated in a live final on Friday 11th November at St. Margaret’s Church in Blackheath. Three ensemble finalists competed in front of the adjudicators and a live audience to win the top prize: £1,500 and a recital at LIFEM 2023.
Our adjudicators this year were Laurence Cummings (Conductor & Harpsichordist, Academy of Ancient Music), Tatty Theo (Baroque Cello, The Brook Street Band) and Belén Nieto Galán (Historical Flutes, Taracea).
The 2022 Winner
The winner of the 2022 Young Ensemble Competition is Ensemble Pampinea!
About
The 2022 Young Ensemble Competition is kindly supported by The Lucille Graham Trust.
LIFEM's Young Ensemble Competition is a biennial competition that was first launched in 2018, and alternates years with the longstanding SRP/Moeck Solo Recorder Competition. Alongside cash prizes for the finalists, the winners are invited back to LIFEM the following year to perform their winners' recital. This international competition is open to ensembles from around the globe, with an average member age of 30 or under. The aim of the competition is to provide a platform to support upcoming young Early Music ensembles and bring them to the attention of a wider audience.
The 2022 Finalists
ENSEMBLE PAMPINEA
Maruša Brezavšček (medieval recorder), Vojtěch Jakl (medieval fiddle) & Fiona Kizzie Lee (medieval recorder, organetto and pipe and tabor)
The members of the Ensemble Pampinea met during their studies at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Here, they had the opportunity to explore the vast repertoire of medieval music, as well as the possibilities of colourful instrumentation by using different historical instruments. The trio features recorders, fiddle, pipe and tabor, and organetto. Their program "Decameron" is inspired by Boccaccio's novel and features Florentine composers from the Trecento era. In another program called "Fortune, will you spare us?", they present the repertoire of Ars Nova and Ars Subtilior through a playful interaction with the audience, who decides on the ensemble's fortune.
Fiona Kizzie Lee, Maruša Brezavšček and Vojtěch Jakl are prize winners and researchers in the early music scene. Their musical performance is deepened by the musicological work of Fiona Kizzie Lee who is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Musicology at the University of Zürich. The ensemble has recently been founded and has so far performed within the venues of Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
LA RONDINELLA
Anne-Linde Visser (cello and viola da gamba), Asako Ueda (theorbo and guitar) & Elise Dupont (violin)
The three members of La Rondinella found each other in their mutual love for consort music. The harmonious interplay and detailed diversity in the consort repertoire are elements they especially appreciate in the genre. As "broken consort", they fill their programmes with imaginative repertoire, meant to be performed in small settings. They strive to create engaging performances where the audience becomes the fourth member of the ensemble. Since their formation in 2020, La Rondinella has performed regularly throughout The Netherlands.
TUFNELL TRIO
Yaoré Talibart (violin), Thomas Kettle (viola) & Nathan Giorgetti (viola da gamba)
The Tufnell Trio formed at the Royal Academy of Music in September 2021. Since then, they have given several concerts in London. They were the winners of 2022 Nancy Nuttall Prize at the Academy. Following this they were invited to play at Hastings Early Music Festival. They were selected as a BREMF Live! Ensemble for 2022/23.
The Judges
Previous competitions
2020
Winners (joint): Ensemble Hesperi and Ensemble Pro Victoria
Finalists: MokkaBarock
Adjudicators: Lucy Crowe, Margaret Faultless and Gill Graham
2018
Winners (joint): Palisander and Pypker/Muskens Duo
Finalists: Ensemble Vergissmeinnicht and Pocket Sinfonia
Adjudicators: Tom Beets, James Johnstone and Dame Emma Kirkby