Young Caymanian cellist Dequan Smith, whom the Cayman Compass recently reported was accepted to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, is once again having his talent recognised by the world of music.
It has been announced that Dequan is a finalist in the BritchamDR Young Musician of the Caribbean Award competition. According to the YMoCA website, a rigorous process of evaluation by the adjudicators led to a select group of candidates being chosen to participate in this round, which will be held in the Teatro Nacional Eduardo Brito, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on 26 March.
There are three competitors in each category (Junior, Senior and Young Professionals). Dequan competes in the Senior category (17 to 21 years) and will be up against Johan David Reyes Garcia from the Dominican Republic on double bass, and pianist Davidson Reyes, also from the Dominican Republic.
The other categories feature musicians from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Puerto Rico.
About YMoCA
The BritchamDR Young Musician of the Caribbean Award was born from an alliance between the British Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic (BritchamDR), the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London (ABRSM) and Bangor University in Wales, with collaboration of the British Embassy in Santo Domingo. The regional competition is aimed at young classical instrumentalists between the ages of 12 and 26 from the Caribbean islands and brings together a prestigious panel made up of three British judges.
The first edition of the award was launched in 2019 and brought together 76 young musicians from the region who were judged by the adjudicators in the United Kingdom. Nine finalists competed in an exciting concert open to the public in January 2020.
For more information about YMoCA, visit the website here.
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