Critical moment in both words and music
BUDDING young critics are being urged to apply for a special gig at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.
The 2015 Young Critics Award, a joint initiative of the festival and the Townsville Bulletin, will offer one young applicant the chance to become a professional critic.
Danaella Wivell, 20, who won last year’s award, encouraged people aged between 15 and 25 to apply.
“A lecturer at JCU mentioned the competition and as an instrumentalist and a young journalist, I thought that critiquing the AFCM would, at the least, be a way to explore two passions simultaneously,” she said.
“You have nothing to lose by entering the Young Critics Award, enjoy an evening of marvellous music, and then write about it – you never know, you may just have the creative flair.”
AFCM general manager Sue Hackett said reviews would be judged on their ability to hold a substantiated critical opinion, literary merit and on the capacity of the writer to engage the interest of the reader.
The best review selected by a panel of independent expert judges will be published along with the winner’s photo on the AFCM website and in the Townsville Bulletin.
The winner will also receive a $ 200 cash prize and four tickets to the festival’s closing night concert on August 8.
Applicants can register online and receive two complimentary tickets to the opening night concert, Transfigured Night, on July 31 before submitting a 400- word review of the performance.
The competition is only open to the first 20 people who register. For more information visit www. afcm. com. au.