Last night Ryan Corbett accordion won the Gold Medal and first prize of the ROSL Annual Music Competition and prizemoney of £20,000. He is the first accordionist to win the top award since 1993. Ryan and his fellow competitors, Matthias Balzat cello, Milly Forrest soprano and Marie Sato flute performed at Over-Seas House in front an audience of music lovers and an esteemed industry panel of adjudicators. 

Out of an evening of exceptional music making from all the performers, Ryan connected with audience and jury alike with his innate ability to communicate through his accordion. His sound world, phrasing and musicality mark him out as a very special musician and we look forward to supporting his future career Geoff Parkin / ROSL Artistic Director

  • With Covid-19 delaying our usual plans, the Gold Medal Final was instead held at Over-Seas House.
  • The hotly contested competition saw Ryan compete against Matthias Balzat cello, Milly Forrest soprano and Marie Sato flutein an event which showcased the talents of the brightest young musicians from across the Commonwealth and beyond.
  • Ryan’s programme included works by Scarlatti, F. Angelis, and V. Semyonov.
  • Currently studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Ryan has performed solo concerts and has given solo concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie, Jesus-Christus-Kirche Dahlem, University of Glasgow, Perth Concert Hall, Edinburgh Festival and Edinbach Festival.
  • He is the first accordionist to reach the Gold Medal Final since 1997 and only the second to win in the competition’s 69-year history, the first since David Preston in 1993.
  • For nearly 70 years, the ROSL Annual Music Competition has helped launch the careers of young musicians from all over the UK and beyond, offering awards totalling £80,000 and expert mentoring and support.

Twitter @ROSLARTS and @ROSL1910

 

Panel of Adjudicators:

Lorna Aizlewood

Geoff Parkin

Njabulo Madlala

Peter Manning

Sophia Rahman

Helen Sprott

 

CONTACT

For more information contact Mark Brierley, Head of Communications on T:020 7016 6905 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. visit www.rosl.org.uk

NOTES FOR THE EDITOR

Founded in 1910, the Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) is a non-profit private members' club dedicated to championing international friendship and understanding. ROSL helps artists and musicians across the Commonwealth connect, collaborate and create. Our humanitarian work benefits communities and changes lives.

ROSL supports talented young artists and musicians from the UK and Commonwealth, providing performance and exhibition opportunities which bring their work to the attention of the professional arts community, media and general public.

ROSL ANNUAL MUSIC COMPETITION

The ROSL Annual Music Competition grew out of a series of concerts inaugurated at Over-Seas House in 1947 under the banner ‘Festival of Commonwealth Youth’. The Festival became competitive in 1952, with a first prize of £10. Over the past 69 years the competition has grown in scope and prestige and now awards in excess of £80,000 for solo performers, accompanists and chamber ensembles. Past ROSL prizewinners makes for an impressive alumnus of musicians of the highest calibre who have established prominent careers in the music profession. Find a list of past winners here: https://www.rosl.org.uk/music/music-alumni . To mark ROSL’s centenary in 2010 an appeal was launched to secure the future endowment of the ROSL Annual Music Competition Awards and Commonwealth Music Scholarships, currently worth £125,000 per annum. The funds are held in the ROSL Trust (registered charity 306095). To make a donation contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.