Violinist Nicholas Bruiners, a bronze medallist of the 2017 National Youth Music Competition (NYMC), returns this year to the competition, starring as the guest soloist at the Finalists’ Gala Concert.
He will perform the Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37 by Henri Vieuxtemps in the concert finale with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO). The concert concludes the gruelling 2025 NYMC that runs from 1 to 6 December at the Endler Hall in Stellenbosch.
The conductor for the 2025 gala concert is maestro Brandon Philips, who has a long history with the competition. The concert starts at 18:00 on Saturday, 6 December. It consists of an overture, the six finalist soloists and the performance of the guest soloist.
At the age of 17, Nicholas from Mowbray in Cape Town was the runner-up in the strings category of the NYMC, walking away with a bronze medal and R3 000 in prize money.
A year later, he was invited to serve as one of the nine shadow jurors for the 2018 competition.
He joined the CPO in 2023 as a member of the first violin section. After matric, the talented violinist studied under the tutelage of Professor Farida Bacharova at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He completed his BMus in Performance with distinction in 2022 and his Performance Honours in 2023.
At UCT, he was the recipient of the Chamber Music Prize, the Leonard Hall Prize, and the Alfred Libochowitz Prize.
“I am thrilled to return to the NYMC this year. Eight years ago, it was a nerve-wracking experience to compete against 20 other young, talented musicians, but it also confirmed my love for music and performance,” he says.
The annual competition was started 41 years ago in Port Elizabeth by Michael Maas. In honour of his legacy, the NYMC first prize of R36 000 was named the Michael Maas Memorial Prize.
The NYMC caters for classical orchestral musicians who are too young to qualify for the UNISA International Music Competition, or too old for the Hubert van der Spuy National Youth Music Competition.
The NYMC Finalists’ Gala Concert is the culmination of the week-long competition, where 22 selected contestants from across South Africa perform an extensive repertoire of work in front of a seven-member adjudicating panel of esteemed classical music academics and experts.
Entrance is free to the first three rounds from 1 to 4 December. Tickets from R110 for the final round’s gala concert are available from Quicket
