Teen musicians invited to chase high notes

Young classical musicians between the ages of 14 and 19 years can now register for the 2025 National Youth Music Competition (NYMC) with prize money totalling R180 000 and the sought-after gold, silver and bronze medals.

The 2025 NYMC takes place from 1 to 6 December 2025 at the Endler Hall, Konservatorium Building, Victoria Street, Stellenbosch.

Prospective candidates can register for the competition by completing the entry form on the NYMC website (www.nymc.co.za). All the information and rules of the competition have just been published on the website.

After a round of video auditions, a maximum of 25 candidates can be selected to play in the competition. They will compete in five categories for orchestral musical instruments – piano, string instruments, woodwind instruments, brass instruments and other orchestral instruments (harp, percussion, marimba, xylophone, etc.).

Over the five-day contest, the selected candidates must perform a wide-ranging repertoire of their choice that covers different style periods and South African compositions. All the contestants will play in the first two rounds. Thereafter 12 semi-finalists will compete in the third (semi-final) round to determine who the top six musicians are. The six finalists then do a final battle on 6 December 2025 in a gala concert with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. Entries close on Thursday 26 June 2025.