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Jahfari Joseph-Hazelwood of Antigua and Barbuda, at left, performs his composition Stuck in Quarantine with his ensemble
Listen In Songs of the Commonwealth Launched in 2019, the Commonwealth International Composition Award seeks out new musical talent in the form of school-age composers around the world. As the judges prepare to select the latest winner, Shelly-Ann Inniss learns more about the competition and its Caribbean participants Some people record their feelings in a journal, while others turn to music for consolation. The COVID-19 pandemic granted many children and teenagers their wish to stay home from school, but the price was lockdown boredom. For young people of school age — up to approximately eighteen — who are passionate about music, the Commonwealth International Composition Award offered a creative challenge. Presented for the first time in 2019, the award is organised by UK-based Commonwealth Resounds, in partnership with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and the Purcell School for Young Musicians. Young composers from the fifty-four countries in the Commonwealth of Nations are eligible to submit original pieces: compositions up to three minutes long, written for one to five performers. For 2020, the pandemic offered a timely theme. The eleven finalists, ranging in age from ten to seventeen, came from 18
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Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Their pieces, delivered via video recordings posted to YouTube, show remarkable confidence and flair, in a variety of styles. They offered musical tributes to volunteers and professionals helping people affected by COVID-19, dedications to those who suffered from the virus, and meditations on the experience of being locked down at home. The creative responses to the pandemic were comforting yet almost fantastical, especially as it seemed like these young people emerged from the womb as talented musicians and composers. The award brings more than just visibility. Prizes for the Audience Vote, Young Adjudicator’s Award, and Overall Award for the Commonwealth sweeten
the project, in addition to opportunities for training, mentorship, and development. Each entry is evaluated by young adjudicators and given thoughtful and encouraging feedback. Reuben Bance, one of the adjudicators, was inspired by the testament to people’s courage, talent, and achievements during the pandemic’s tough times. “These pieces of music are a memento of this era. The quality of music is astounding,” he said. He believes there’s a lot to learn from how people can turn trauma into the most beautiful works of art. Take, for example, the piece by seventeenyear-old Jahfari Joseph-Hazelwood, the finalist from Antigua and Barbuda. His composition Stuck in Quarantine made him the only Caribbean representative among the 2020 finalists. In the 2019 competition, Trinidadian Aliyah Ramatally won the Audience Award with a piece titled Mundo Nuevo — New World. She took the audience on an imagined journey through the Caribbean’s first contact with Europe, colonisation, and independence, juxtaposing her country’s national musical instrument — the steelpan — with traditional classical instruments like the violin, cello, and flute. It’s a perfect distillation of the value of the award, bringing together musical traditions from across the world. For the grand finale of the 2020 award, the eleven finalists were each commissioned to write a new piece. The commissions will then be performed by professional musicians at a concert on 1 February, 2021, at the Royal Over-Seas League in London, and broadcast online. Viewers will have the chance to participate via the Audience Award. And for the talented young composers, this experience shows how music can cross all boundaries — including the isolations of COVID-19.
For more information on the Commonwealth International Composition Award, and to hear the pieces by the finalists, visit www.cicompositionaward.com
