This year Sochi's Cultural Olympiad celebrates the Year of Music and as part of the activities has launched a competition, under the patronage of world renowned musician and Games' Ambassador Yuri Bashmet (pictured below with viola), to find young muscians between the ages of nine and 22 to play in a new All-Russian Youth Orchestra, which will debut at the end of this year.

Bashmet is used to judging competitions, having founded and chaired the jury of Russia's first and only international viola competition in Moscow.

He also sits on the jury of the Munich viola competition, the Maurice Vieux International viola competition in Paris and is the President of the Lionel Tertis Viola Competition in England.

Entrants in the talent search will be compete in categories for nine to 13-year-olds, 13 to 18-year-olds and 18 to 22-year-olds. 

The competition is being held across eleven specialities; violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, oboe, flute, bassoon, trumpet, French horn and trombone.


Semi-finals will take place in Moscow in November, with 120 participants chosen to head to the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the final stage.

In total, 60 musicians will be chosen to be part of the orchestra, who will go on to perform for the first time in Sochi, before playing in Moscow.

Bashmet said, "I am sure that the All-Russian Youth Orchestra will become a great launch pad for young musicians, helping them to fully unleash their talent.

"I will lead and manage the team and will personally monitor all stages and qualifying rounds of the competition.

"I hope that during the Olympic and Paralympics in Sochi our orchestra will display to the world a range of new talents, playing a significant role in the future of Russian culture".


The Cultural Olympiad of Sochi 2014 is designed to promote Russian culture alongside the Winter Olympic and Paralympics taking events to more than a million people across the country in the process.

Next year will be the Year of Museums, following on from the Year of Movies in 2010 and Year of Theatre in 2011.

Hundreds of events are taking place in 2012 to bring music to the people of Russia, with some of those already having taken place including a Red Rocks Music festival in Sochi that featured the Scissor Sisters (pictured above) and chamber and choir concerts who performed at the Kamchatka Spring Festival in March.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
March 2012: Leading musicians tune up for Sochi 2014's Cultural Olympiad
February 2012: Mountain rocks to the sound of Sochi 2014's Red Rocks music festival
February 2012: Sochi 2014 Year of Music begins with Yuri Bashmet performance
January 2012: Disabled children's theatre performance marks end of Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad for 2011
August 2011: Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad showcases different Russian cultures