Young Audiences Music Award

2 February 2010, Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) launches a call for nominations for the Young Audiences Music Award 2010, an international prize that will celebrate top musical productions for children and youth.

"Looking at the quality of productions presented in schools and within education and audience development programs today, it's obvious that a new standard has been set" said JMI Secretary General Blasko Smilevski "What we see are productions nothing short of spectacular - in terms of artistry but also in terms of message. The once common ‘What instrument is this? lesson' is being fast replaced by subtle teachings on social, environmental, and intercultural issues through music."

Do you know a young audiences production with impact? Visit the all-new www.yama-award.com to apply today! Deadline for submissions is May 1st 2010, thereafter an international panel of experts will select 5 finalists to be presented online and open for public vote. The best productions, one selected by the expert panel and the other by public vote, will win €2,500 each, towards a future production for young people and children. The winners will be revealed at the Young Audiences Music Award ceremony to take place in Skanderborg, Denmark in October 2010.

The Young Audiences Music Award aims to identify and support cutting-edge productions that impact young people with both social and artistic value, targeting and engaging vulnerable/at-risk groups of youth from marginalized communities and deprived areas, addressing issues of vital concern (eg. violence, poverty, discrimination, abuse, HIV/AIDS) and that use music as a tool to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding. All of JMI's work with young audiences is based on the underlying principal that all children and youth should receive access to music/culture as a fundamental human right. Thus, although in many nations we now celebrate an improvement in the music programs of education institutions, the YAMA serves as a beacon of hope to those still facing less than desirable circumstances, to continue the fight for this crucial sector of human development.

YAMA is a JMI Young Audiences Working Group Initiative

More info:

Matt Clark
Communications Officer
Jeunesses Musicales International
matt@jmi.net
T. +32 2 513 97 74

Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) is the world's largest youth-music NGO. With a mission "to enable young people to develop through music across all boundaries," JMI reaches over 5 million young people aged 13-30 annually through 36,000 activities and is the leading organization in the field of young audiences.