Mary James writes:

Usually the auditions and finals of the Seifert Jazz Violin Competition take place in the beautiful surroundings of the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice, Poland, but this year they will be held online and the auditions will be streamed live.

This year 40 violinists, violists and cellists submitted entries and the prestigious jury consisting of Miroslav Vitouš, Ernst Reijseger and Michał Urbaniak had no easy task selecting semi-finalists: there are 14 artists in the semi finals, a larger number than previous years.

Dominic Ingham. Photo supplied

The following artists qualified for this round:

Johannes Dickbauer (violin) from Austria
Gabriel Vieira (violin) from Brazil
Clément Janinet (violin) from France
Youenn Rohaut (violin) from France
Tadas Dešukas (violin) from Lithuania
Kristjan Rudanovski (violin) from Estonia
Kristijan Krajncan (cello) from Slovenia
Dawid Czernik (violin) from Poland
John Pearce (violin) from United Kingdom
Dominic Ingham (violin) from United Kingdom
Omer Ashano (violin) from Israel
Gabe Terracciano (violin) from USA
Greg Byers (cello) from USA
João Silva (violin) from Portugal

John Pearce. Photo: Ron Milsom

Each participant will audition from home, performing one composition by Zbigniew Seifert selected by the candidate and two pieces of the candidate’s own choice including own compositions. Contestants can play at home, their studios or empty concert halls. They can play solo with loops and electronics or with their own bands (abiding by their home country’s social distancing rules). A production company will assist in the creation of a high quality experience for viewers and contestants.

The auditions can be followed live on 8 – 10 July via YouTube and on the Seifert Competition’s Facebook profile. Those watching will be able to vote for best participant and there will be a virtual Competition Studio where viewers can meet participants, jurors, winners of the previous editions, as well as key figures of the music scene who had the chance to meet and work with Zbigniew Seifert in person.