Pianist Dorian Amaral Takes Young Musician of Mann Title

Some outstanding talent was showcased at the Erin Art Centre’s Isle of Man Bank Auditorium last weekend for the final of Young Musician of Mann 2013.

Of the eight teenaged competitors, it was highly-rated pianist Dorian Amaral who the judges – show chairman John Bethell MBE, Dr Fenella Bazin, Joyce Corlett MBE, Dr Breesha Maddrell and Reverend Canon Duncan Whitworth – awarded the Malcolm Dickinson Memorial Prize of £200 and a silver cup and glass goblet.

The judges were scrutinising musicality, presentation, technique and programme content.

Seventeen-year-old Amaral from Ramsey opened with Claude Debussy’s La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin, before entertaining with Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturne No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor (Opus Posthumus).

Amaral also performed Debussy’s Rêverie, and finished with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-Sharp Minor Opus 3 No.2.

Taking second place, and a £100 cash prize, was Peter Smith and his Bb cornet.

The Laxey 16-year-old was accompanied by Julian Power and opened with the prelude from Te Deum by Marc-Antoine Carpentier, arranged by Geoffrey Emerson, and followed it with the Second Movement from Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Eb.

He also played Williams’ Sugar Blue, arranged by Morrisson, and finished on the First Movement from Concertino for Trumpet Opus 45 No. 6 by Lars-Erik Larsson.

In third place, winning £50, was 14-year-old Sammy Clague of Douglas on trombone.

Also accompanied by Julian Power, Claugue’s first piece was the First Movement from Concerto for Trombone by Rimsky-Korsakov, arranged by Mowat, which was followed by Reviewing the Situation by Lionel Bart, also arranged by Mowat.

Next Clauge performed All That I Am by William Himes, arranged by Gerry Schoültz, and ended on J.A. Greenwood’s The Acrobat.

The winner Marian Shimmin award for most promising competitor was Tim Payne from Douglas on Eb Bass.

At 13, Payne was the final’s youngest competitor and was also accompanied by Julian Power.

The young man played Driving Piles by Derek Bourgeois and Leaning on a Lampost by Noel Gay, arranged by John Iveson. There were also performances of Der Linden Baum by Franz Schubert, arranged by John Fletcher and Variations on a Temperance Theme by Pankhurst, again arranged by John Fletcher.

Also competing in the final was 16-year-old Ellen Quane of Ramsey on tenor horn; pianist Victoria Wright, 15, from Braddan; 17-year-old Alfie Leach of Andreas on Bb cornet; and violinist Tom Shirtliff, 17, of Douglas.

Originally from Rio de Janeiro, winner Dorian Amaral moved to the Isle of Man at the age of nine. He says a passion for music drove him to teach himself the piano at the age of 12.

Captivated by the works of Mozart at an early age, he first developed his skills as a pianist by studying Mozart’s sonatas.

As he grew older, he became enthralled by the expressive works of Chopin and it was an appreciation of these that honed his ability to convey mood and emotion.

By 16, Chopin’s musical style led him to Rachmaninov and Debussy, whose expressive styles parallel that of Chopin’s.

Now, at 17, he is a student at Ramsey Grammar School in his final year.

As a student of music, he is also developing his compositional skills and has so far composed pieces for a string quartet and piano and strings. His aspiration for his last year at Ramsey Grammar School is a tone poem for piano and orchestra.