{"id":69642,"date":"2020-11-11T17:41:31","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T22:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=69642"},"modified":"2020-11-16T12:01:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T17:01:06","slug":"feature-orchestre-symphonique-de-montreals-2020-competition-gives-young-musicians-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2020\/11\/11\/feature-orchestre-symphonique-de-montreals-2020-competition-gives-young-musicians-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | Orchestre symphonique de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s 2020 Competition Gives Young Musicians More Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Orchestre symphonique de Montr\u00e9al, home to one of Canada\u2019s oldest music competitions, felt it was doubly important to continue the competition this year.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sarah
Sarah Willlis (Photo: Gregor Hohenberg)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In partnership with The Orchestre symphonique de Montr\u00e9al<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The 81st edition of the OSM (Orchestre symphonique de Montr\u00e9al) Competition<\/span><\/a> is running online in a digital-only version for 2020. The competition officially opened on October 16, and runs until December 12, providing a much-needed opportunity for young Canadian musicians age 25 and under during the pandemic lockdown.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s competition focuses on woodwind and brass instruments, encompassing flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, and tuba players.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shift around the categories each year,\u201d explains competition jury member Paul Merkelo, Juno-nominated Principal Trumpet with the OSM, and a respected soloist who has performed with orchestras around the world.<\/p>\n

With stages and live performance shut down across the country, it has created a vacuum of opportunity, particularly for younger musicians. Concerts, festivals, and many other competitions have been cancelled, and looking ahead, next year\u2019s season offers few opportunities for any classical musicians.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one reason why the OSM Competition felt it was doubly important to continue the competition this year. As with most other music competitions around the world, participants perform a selected repertoire in front of a panel of judges \u2014 it\u2019s just that, this year, the performances will be executed and viewed on video.<\/p>\n

\"Paul
Paul Merkelo (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t wait to do it in person,\u201d Merkelo says. Digital technology is a facilitator. \u201cIt would have been a shame if we\u2019d had to cancel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unprecedented situation called for innovation. \u201cThat changed opportunities,\u201d he notes. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge hurdle, but one that can lead to innovation.\u201d Merkelo points out that, nowadays, an online presence is an essential component of any career as a professional musician, from social media to the video performances required for the competition.<\/p>\n

The prizes are substantial for young performers. \u201cWe have more than $45,000 in scholarships. I\u2019ve been giving one for over 20 years,\u201d Merkelo says. The scholarships began under the name Paul Merkelo Scholarship, which he established to recognize gifted young brass players. \u201cI want to expand the focus,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

The competition aims to give young musicians more than just an opportunity to shine in a competitive environment. \u201cIf you win a competition, it\u2019s sort of over and done,\u201d Merkelo notes. The OSM Competition offers a more comprehensive experience. \u201cOur initiative is to really propel young musicians to the international stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points out that the results speak for themselves, including a long list of former competitors who went on to successful professional careers, and even those who didn\u2019t win the top prizes. 2017 First Prize winner Brian Mangrum was appointed Principal Horn of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio at the age of 23.<\/p>\n

The judging process for the digital version of the OSM Competition required some adjustments as well. \u201cI\u2019m preparing myself. Sound quality is hard to judge,\u201d Merkelo notes. Still, video can offer a more intimate and close-up view of the performer. \u201cYou can tell a lot from a video. Are they making it effortless?\u201d Merkelo has a background of experience teaching online, including a major project in Santa Barbara, where he is on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West.<\/p>\n

It also boils down to basics. \u201cWe\u2019re going to see who\u2019s been practising,\u201d he says, noting that the pandemic lockdown has provided as well as taken away, if time is used wisely. \u201cThis is a great opportunity to work on your fundamentals.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019re counting on the innovation and adaptability of young musicians. Making videos is part of any classical musicians career in the 21st century \u2014 even pre-COVID.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing they ask for is your video content,\u201d Merkelo says. \u201cThat\u2019s what presenters are looking for. It\u2019s the future of classical music.\u201d<\/p>\n

His advice for any competitors is simple. \u201cEnjoy this process. Of course, you want to be as technically perfect as possible,\u201d he notes, \u201cbut more important is someone who is able to show their personality and the music on video.\u201d<\/p>\n

It shows great artistic vision, and that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

Along with performance, the OSM Competition offers its participants visibility online to audiences across the country via a network of partners. There are also professional development opportunities, including master classes and other exchanges with jury members and musicians of the OSM.<\/p>\n

Competition participants are able to participate in valuable networking opportunities for serious students in virtual meetings.<\/p>\n

Schools from all over Quebec will be able to participate in a Q&A session with OSM musicians, who will also be featured in a series of inspirational video capsules entitled Confessions of a musician<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Interested audiences can follow the competition as it unfolds from the OSM Competition microsite<\/a><\/span>. The site will be updated on a continuous basis with news, videos and more.<\/p>\n

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The Orchestre symphonique de Montr\u00e9al, home to one of Canada\u2019s oldest music competitions, felt it was doubly important to continue the competition this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":69643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[33451,8,17,13024,71],"tags":[4485,5897],"yst_prominent_words":[16274,7781,38367,12700,38366,38363,38368,38372,38369,6796,18411,6667,6668,11899,38365,38364,38370,38371,11893,18410],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Sarah-Willis_Portrait-Gregor-Hohenberg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-i7g","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69642"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69642"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69671,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69642\/revisions\/69671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69642"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=69642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}