Host a competitor
We are delighted to announce that not one but TWO international viola competitions will be held at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music from 19-25 January 2025. The Lionel
Tertis (age 19-30 years) and Cecil Aronowitz (18 years and under) International Viola Competitions will take place with four live rounds culminating in a final seeing brilliant international talent perform with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and live streamed to an audience of over 1 million on the Violin Channel. Fantastic prizes and an international jury have attracted hundreds of applications from some of the most exciting musical talent from across the world.
With over 60 live competitors selected across both competitions it promises to be the biggest string event in the UK in 2025. In addition we are hosting the 360 degree festival packed to the rafters with workshops, ensemble sessions,master classes and teacher training involving hubs, schools, conservatoires, universities and education organisations from across the North East and further afield. An intense thread of daily activities for amateur players will be a feature of the festival, with internationally acclaimed violists Timothy Ridout and Nobuko Imai at the centre of this activity. Two new set pieces have been commissioned from composers Garth Knox “The Bridges of Newcastle” (Tertis) and Kathy Tagg “Cecil in Africa” (Aronowitz) and will be released to live competitors in early August,
This is the very first time the Tertis and Aronowitz competitions will be held concurrently and in the same place. Since its inception in 1980 the Tertis Competition has been held in Port Erin on the Isle of Man and the Aronowitz Competition at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire since 2014. Timothy Ridout is the only violist to have won both competitions and the only British winner of the Tertis to date.
If you are reading this perhaps you might be willing to host a live competitor from the Tertis Competition (19 -30 years) for the duration of the competition? This hosting would involve B&B provision and perhaps allowance for the competitor to practice in your home when they have not been allocated practice facilities at the Glasshouse (with around 60 live competitors you can imagine that practice space will be at a premium). Competitors are responsible for their own travel to and from Gateshead and would be arriving on 18 and leaving on 25 or 26 January 2025.
At this stage we would be immensely grateful for expressions of interest? We will formalise our process with a form and furnish you with more detailed information in due course if you are interested in hosting a competitor. We would offer complimentary tickets to the final rounds of both competitions and free entry to any of the preliminary live rounds you might like to attend.
Please contact Nicky Footer, Competitions Administrator on admin@tertisaronowitzviolacompetitions.org.uk
Thank you for considering supporting a gifted young musician.