Jonathan McGovern, baritone, wins Gold Medal and £10,000 First Prize of ROSL 58th Annual Music Competition
The competition Final took place on Wednesday 2 June at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Prizes were presented by HRH Princess Alexandra KG, GCVO, Vice-Patron of the ROSL. The Chairman of the distinguished panel of judges was Gavin Henderson CBE, Principal of Central School of Speech and Drama.
The other finalists, who each received £5,000 each, were trumpeter Huw Morgan, Dyers Company Award for Wind & Percussion; cellist Jun Sasaki, ROSL Award for Strings; and pianist James Sherlock, ROSL Award for Keyboard. Performances also included two prizewinning ensembles Finzi Quartet and The Rose Trio (£10,000 each).
| WIND & PERCUSSION | Huw Morgan, Trumpet |
| SINGERS | Jonathan McGovern, baritone |
| STRINGS | Jun Sasaki, cello |
| KEYBOARD | James Sherlock, piano |
| OVERSEAS AWARDS | Sadie Fields, violin & Duncan Rock, baritone |
| ACCOMPANIST PRIZE | Timothy End |
| ENSEMBLES A | Finzi Quartet |
| ENSEMBLES B | The Rose Trio |
Jonathan McGovern, 24, from the UK, graduated with a first-class honours degree in Music from King’s College, London. He completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Vocal Studies at RAM and is now in his first year of study with the Royal Academy Opera, learning with Philip Dogham and Audrey Hyland. Recent operatic roles include Fiorello (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with Armonico Consort Opera, Hel Helson and John Shears (Paul Bunyan) for the Little Opera Company and Don Parmenione (L’cccasione fa il ladro) for RAO. Jonathan also recently recorded the role of Watt on the English Stage Jig, a collection of 17th Century musical comedies and is a member of the prestigious Royal Academy of Music Song Circle.
The ROSL Annual Music Competition is open to citizens of the UK, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth countries under the age of 30. In 2010 over 400 musicians participated from Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and the UK
Notes to editors
Prize fund doubled in 2010
The Royal Over-Seas League celebrates its centenary in 2010 and to acknowledge the ROSL Annual Music Competition as one of its most significant and enduring achievements, the major awards have been doubled.
The ROSL Annual Music Competition grew out of a series of concerts inaugurated at Over-Seas House London in 1947 under the banner ‘Festival of Commonwealth Youth’. The Festival became competitive in 1952, with a first prize of £10. In 2010 £68,000 was awarded to solo performers, accompanists and chamber ensembles. A Centenary Appeal has been launched to secure endowment of ROSL Annual Music Competition awards.
Past Winners
ROSL Annual Music Competition boasts a distinguished roster of past prizewinners including: Jean Rigby mezzo-soprano (1981), Susan Bullock soprano (1983), Susan Chilcott soprano (1986), Janice Watson soprano (1987), Jonathan Lemalu bass-baritone (2000) and Lucy Crowe soprano (2002). Other distinguished past alumni include: Geoffrey Parsons (1953), Jacqueline du Pré (1961), John Lill (1963), Melvyn Tan (1976), Barry Douglas (1979), Piers Lane (1982), Malcolm Martineau (1984), Anthony Marwood (1985), Paul Lewis (1992), Liwei Qin (1997), Amy Dickson (2004) and Sacconi Quartet (2005).
ROSL ARTS offers performance opportunities to its prizewinners at major UK venues such as Wigmore Hall, and has established relationships with many leading UK festivals including Brighton, Cheltenham, Dartington International Summer School, Kings Lynn and the Lake District Summer Music Festival. ROSL ARTS ‘Music@100 Princes Street’ series at Over-Seas House Edinburgh is a well established fixture of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. During the past year ROSL ARTS has organised concerts and tours for prizewinners in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe.
Contact
For more information, programme details and images, please contact:
Ella Roberts (Marketing)
T: 020 7408 0214 ext 219
F: 020 7499 6738
