MARCH TV CHOICE BBC Young Musician 2018
It hardly seems two years since the cellist Sheku Kanneh-mason was crowned BBC Young Musician after a winning performance of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1, but the final stages of this year’s competition are due to start again this month. Royal Birmingham Conservatoire – the newly opened £57m state-of-the-art performance venue – is hosting the 2018 competition. Ahead of the Grand Final (13 May), the five category finals are taking place between 16 and 20 March – covering keyboard, woodwind, percussion, brass and strings – before the semi-final on 23 March. Television coverage begins on BBC Four later this month (dates tbc). Now in its 40th year, BBC Young Musician has launched the careers of many famous soloists, including clarinettist Emma Johnson, violinist Nicola Benedetti (above) and cellist Natalie Clein. BBC Young Musician 2018; BBC Four; dates and times tbc