October 20, marked the 11th edition of the YAMawards, the international music awards that honour creativity and innovation in Young Audiences Music productions. Due to the pandemic, this year’s award show was entirely online, and sent out a heartfelt message that, now, more than ever, the cultural sector must fight to preserve live music experiences for children and youth as a fundamental right.
What are the YAMawards?
YAM (Young Audiences Music) is an official program of JM International (JMI), the world’s largest youth music NGO. The platform is dedicated to bringing live music to children and youth worldwide (20,000+ concerts held annually) as well as providing support to professionals in this space. YAM places the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child* at its core, working to ensure access to music and culture as a basic human right for every young person and child.
Since the YAMawards launched in 2008 only the best of the best in Young Audiences Music productions have prevailed. The level of craft, depth of storytelling and passion inherent to each finalist and winner, a testament to what it takes to truly engage and inspire young minds. And this year was no different.
“In the face of the global crisis, the remarkable productions that the jury received gave hope and strength. The superb artistic achievement of the artists, exploring rich and diverse subject matter, confirms our conviction to ensure that children around the world have access to the very best live music possible. The jury was delighted and moved by the works, many addressing critical world issues such as climate and migration. We are privileged to be able to shine a spotlight on this year’s finalists and winners.” says Ebbe Hoyrup, Chair of JMI’s Young Audiences Committee and head of the YAMawards jury.
Meet the winners
Introducing the best of the best in Young Audiences Music productions for 2020 selected from over 70 applications for 32 different countries:
BEST SMALL ENSEMBLE
| Production: Tickle
Producer: Oorkaan, Dutch National Opera & Ballet and Philharmonie Luxembourg Country: The Netherlands |
In Tickle three musical characters from an art installation, come alive. The young audience then experiences how sound can induce movement in these characters. It turns into an ongoing transformative, 3D visual spectacle. Afterward, the young audience experience making sounds for themselves with cymbals and woodblocks.
BEST LARGE ENSEMBLE
| Production: «Klangen av klima»
Producer: Den Kulturelle Skolesekken, Oslo-Philharmonic and David Chocron Country: Norway «Klangen av klima» (“Sound of Climate”) captures the strong uprising amongst the younger generation today regarding the climate crisis threatening the world we live in and combining this with the power of orchestral repertoire. Within a 40-minute performance the concert encapsulates the history of the universe from the Big Bang to present, to offer an overview of how human activity has changed nature's delicate balance on the earth and thereby imperilled the climate. |
BEST OPERA (POWERED BY RESEO)
Production: La Isla
Producer: Nuria Núñez Hierro, Rafael R.Villalobos, María Royo, Javier Povedano, Víctor Fajardo, B3:Brouwer Trio and Alejandro García
(Work produced with the support of a 2017 Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators of the BBVA Foundation. With the collaboration of the Institut Valencia de Cultura and ENSEMS Festival.)
Country: Spain
La Isla (The Island) is a chamber opera for audiences from the age of eleven. This project aims to present a complex theme, that of migration and exile, within a multidimensional poetic space that stimulates reflection and invites the audience, both adults and children, to participate in the culture and better understanding of the world surrounding them.
BEST PARTICIPATORY PROJECT WITH YOUNG AUDIENCES
| Production: Murmuratorium
Producer: Companhia de Música Teatral Country: Portugal |
Murmuratorium is both a music-theatre “performance” and an installation that can be explored in a free and informal manner. An architectural space or a landscape corner is inhabited by sound-scenic objects and people, giving voice to “delicacy”, to “listening” and “revelation of beauty”, to the need to “be together” in a sensitive and poetic way.
THE PUBLIC CHOICE AWARD
Production: La Isla Producer: Nuria Núñez Hierro, Rafael R.Villalobos, María Royo, Javier Povedano, Víctor Fajardo, B3:Brouwer Trio and Alejandro García (Work produced with the support of a 2017 Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators of the BBVA Foundation. With the collaboration of the Institut Valencia de Cultura and ENSEMS Festival.) Country: Spain
For all the awards action and jury commentary you can still access last night’s live YAMawards livestream recording here: YAMawards Online Ceremony The YAMawards are brought to you by JM International in partnership with RESEO supported by the Creative Europe Programme and BELSPO.