Don’t miss this exciting evening – it’s nearly here! Come along and vote for your favourite new piece of music! Tickets will be available on the door- performance starts at 7.00.

Composers between the ages of 16 and 25 from all over the UK have submitted works in any style to the Philip Bates Prize for Composers and Songwriters. Seven shortlisted entries will be given a public performance at the final on Tuesday 1st November in Birmingham Conservatoire’s Recital Hall, when the winning pieces will be chosen.

This exceptionally broad competition has recognised talent in a variety of genres in the past. It encourages entries in everything from classical, jazz and folk to singer-songwriter ballads, Asian music and rock, as long as the work is suitable for live performance and appealing to a wide range of concertgoers.

Philip Bates, a young man from Castle Bromwich with a promising musical future ahead of him, was tragically killed shortly after his nineteenth birthday in March 2000. To honour his memory, the Philip Bates Trust (founded to encourage young musicians like Philip) and leading music college Birmingham Conservatoire (part of Birmingham City University) jointly run the annual Philip Bates Prize for Composers and Songwriters.

The competition offers three cash prizes, all donated by the Philip Bates Trust. Birmingham Conservatoire and the Philip Bates Trust award one £300 prize each. There is also a £200 prize awarded by the audience.