Belgian ensemble, Ayres Extemporae, winners of the 2024 York International Young Artists Competition at the National Centre for Early Music

Ayres Extemporae, winners of the 2024 York International Young Artists Competition

The 2024 York International Young Artists Competition took place on Saturday 13 July 2024 at the National Centre for Early Music in York, as the climax to this year’s York Early Music Festival. Eight ensembles took place in the final, during the two days before the final each ensemble gave an informal recital at the National Centre for Early Music in York with the aim of giving the musicians the opportunity to adapt to the performance space and to get to know the festival audience members in advance of the final.

Ayres Extemporae, based in Belgium, were awarded the first prize, receiving a professional recording contract from Linn Records, a £1,000 cash prize, a future paid engagement with the York Early Music Festival, and recording opportunities with BBC Radio 3. 

UK based Apollo’s Cabinet took the Friends of York Early Music Festival award, a cash prize of £1,000, Ensemble Bastion won a cash prize of £1,000 endowed by the EUBO Development Trust, for the Most Promising Young Artist(s) specialising in the Baroque repertoire and  [hanse] Pfeyfferey (from Germany) took the Cambridge Early Music Prize, which includes a paid performance in Cambridge.

Ayres Extemporae are Moldovan-Spanish violinist Xenia Gogu, Spanish cellist Víctor García García, playing on a five-string cello piccolo. and Portuguese cellist Teresa Madeira and their programme consisted of Biber’s Sonata for violin and continuo in E Minor, C. 142, Bach’s Erbarme dich from Ich armer Mensch ich Sündenknecht, BWV 55 for tenor, flute and continuo (arr. for violoncello piccolo, violin and continuo)  and Bach’s Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord in G major, BWV1027  (arr. for violoncello piccolo, violin and continuo).

The final is available to watch on the NCEM website.

Full details from the NCEM website.