Our International First Round has officially wrapped up and we want to congratulate all 62 Competitors for taking part this year in what has been a challenging 12 months for musicians world-wide. Thanks too to all of our partners, venues, colleagues and film crews for the part they played in making it all happen – we couldn’t have done it without them! Now we wait patiently, to find out who will be the 24 Competitors joining us in Leeds this September. Watch out for the announcement on 4th May, but in the meantime – take a look at some highlights from a selection of venues from Beijing to New York, with photos, social media highlights and more. . . 

Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing

Five Competitors took to the stage in Beijing at the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music. The Leeds International Development Manager, Linting Ruan, was on the ground in China to give us some exclusive insights into the Competitor experience.

Royal Academy of Music, London

It was blue skies on Marylebone Road as seven competitors made their way to the Royal Academy of Music where performances took place in the award-winning Angela Burgess Recital Hall – a stunning contemporary space at roof-top level in this historic building.

Salle Cortot, Paris

Competitors in France visited the beautiful Salle Cortot at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, with a long day of filming for our wonderful crew…

DiMenna Center, New York

Based at the DiMenna Center in Manhattan, our New York venue hosted six Competitors. Our colleague on the ground, Lila Palmer, was there to welcome the competitors and gave us a digital tour of the venue as Competitors arrived.

Hochschule für Musik, Basel

Hosted at the Hochschule für Musik, our Competitors took to the stage at this magnificent venue in Basel. The conservatory was founded by composer Hans Huber in 1905, the first of its kind in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.

Academia Philharmonicorum, Ljubljana

A last-minute addition to our extensive list of venues due to local lockdowns, the Academia Philharmonicorum in Ljubljana hosted our Slovenia-based Competitor. This glorious concert venue is home to the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.

University of the Arts, Berlin 

The longest filming session of all our International venues, the magnificent University of the Arts in Berlin hosted 14 of our Competitors over 3 days of filming.

Hot off the press

Our international First Round received attention all over the world including articles from Reuters, The Daily Mail, China Daily, Yahoo Entertainment, the Bangkok Post and SABC News. Read the full write up at Reuters and watch the video below: