OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE (9 April 2007)
The Stephen Sondheim Society is delighted to announce this exciting and unique event (with multiple Olivier Award winner Philip Quast on the judging panel).

We are gathering together ten of the top students from the major UK performing arts schools to provide an outstanding evening of entertainment in the heart of London's West End.

This substantial bursary prize is being established to recognise exceptional achievement in musical theatre performance, and will be awarded to a UK performing arts student with a particular passion for the works of Stephen Sondheim.

The students will of course, be performing a varied selection of Sondheim numbers. In addition, because Mr Sondheim is an ardent promoter of excellence in new writing, he has requested that works by new UK composers and lyricists are also included in the programme. Working with Mercury Musical Developments (a major supporter of new musical theatre writing) an extensive portfolio of new songs has been compiled- each of the students will be performing one of these works, in addition to their Sondheim song.

We are honoured to have a panel of three experienced, highly respected judges: Julia McKenzie, Edward Seckerson and Philip Quast, each of whom is closely associated with the works of Sondheim.

This guarantees to be an extraordinarily entertaining and exciting evening of entertainment- it will certainly be a positive and supportive event for all the participating students, allowing them to showcase their talent in The West End (be assured that there are no eliminations, no public votes, and certainly no destructive comments by our professional and appreciative judging panel!).

REPORT from the live event (14 May 2007)
The London sky was grey and the rain was pouring down on Leicester Square last Sunday, but the mood inside The Venue was as bright as a summer day.
The ever-lovable Maria Friedman hosted the evening and entertained the lively audience (which included theatre students, Sondheim Society members, theatre critics and producers) with several humorous anecdotes about her long-standing artistic relationship with Stephen Sondheim.

Each of the ten participating students performed one Sondheim song and one song by a selection of writers of new musical theatre (see below for details). The new songs had been selected from a collection of numbers specially compiled for this event by Mercury Musical Developments.
The contestants were final-year students from five top performing arts schools in the UK: the Arts Educational Schools, the GSA Conservatoire, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

At the end of the contestants' performances the three members of the judging panel made some interesting overall comments:
- Julia McKenzie praised the performers' interpretations and acting abilities, but also pointed out the importance of vocal strength.

- Philip Quast added that it had been interesting to see how the performers tackled the fact of being "completely exposed" in front of a live audience (no amplification, no mike to hold…). In such situations it is crucial for the performer to make his/her number "interesting to watch".
PQ also added that this kind of get-togethers among theatre people should be done more often, on Sundays in similar venues.

- Finally Ed Seckerson welcomed the event as a great opportunity for new songs to be showcased and announced the winner of this first Sondheim Student Prize: the 500£-worth bursary was awarded to Carl Au from Arts Ed. Evans C Grosshans was also "highly commended" for his performances.

Kudos to all the people who organised and took part in this thrilling initiative, which will hopefully become an event to look forward to every year.

PERFORMANCES IN DETAIL

PHOTOS (All Photos © PQG. Please don't use without permission)

 
A very relaxed judging panel!

The contestants waiting for the panel's verdict...

Prize winner Carl Au holding his well-deserved "cheque"

NOTE: All information on this page is reproduced by kind permission of PR & Marketing Department of the Stephen Sondheim Society.