Eurovision Young Musicians Competition 2008
Encyclopedia
The 14th Eurovision Young Musicians
final was held in Vienna
, Austria
on 9 May 2008, during the Wiener Festwochen.
Out of the sixteen participants, seven were selected to perform in the televised final. Debuting this year in the competition were Serbia
and Ukraine
, but neither managed to reach the final. The finalists were accompanied by the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra under the lead of Alexandar Markovic. Hosting the competition were Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz and former winner Lidia Baich.
The 18-year-old Greek clarinetist Dionysios Grammenos received the first prize, taking the title 'Eurovision Young Musician of the Year'. He is the first woodwind player to win the competition (previous winners have played piano, violin or cello). A new feature in 2008 was the audience prize, voted for by television viewers in the host country via SMS. The third prize winning Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing was the winner of this public vote.
Eurovision Young Musicians
Eurovision Young Musicians is a competition for European musicians that are 18 years old or younger. It is organised by the European Broadcasting Union and is a member of European Union of Music Competitions for Youth...
final was held in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
on 9 May 2008, during the Wiener Festwochen.
Out of the sixteen participants, seven were selected to perform in the televised final. Debuting this year in the competition were Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, but neither managed to reach the final. The finalists were accompanied by the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra under the lead of Alexandar Markovic. Hosting the competition were Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz and former winner Lidia Baich.
The 18-year-old Greek clarinetist Dionysios Grammenos received the first prize, taking the title 'Eurovision Young Musician of the Year'. He is the first woodwind player to win the competition (previous winners have played piano, violin or cello). A new feature in 2008 was the audience prize, voted for by television viewers in the host country via SMS. The third prize winning Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing was the winner of this public vote.
Winners and remaining finalists
| Pos | Country | Performer | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  GreeceGreece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
Dionysios Grammenos | Clarinet |
| 2 |  FinlandFinland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
Roope Gröndahl Roope Gröndahl Roope Gröndahl is a Finnish pianist trained at the Sibelius Academy under Matti Raekallio and Liisa Pohjola.-Competition Record:* 2007 Helsinki Maj Lind IPC - 2nd prize* 2008 Eurovision Young Musicians - 2nd prize... |
Piano |
| 3 |  NorwayNorway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
Eldbjørg Hemsing Eldbjørg Hemsing Eldbjørg Hemsing is a Norwegian violinist. She won First Prize in the Sparre Olsen Competition in 1999, First Prize in the 2000 Norwegian Youth String Competition and First Prize in the Norwegian Youth String Competition and the Sparre Olsen Competition in 2000 and second prize in the 2001 Kocian... |
Violin |
| - |  NetherlandsNetherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
Steven Bourne | Cello |
| - |  RussiaRussia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
Anastasia Kobekina | Cello |
| - |  SloveniaSlovenia Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of... |
Jan Gricar | Saxophone |
| - |  United KingdomUnited Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Philip Achille Philip Achille Philip Achille is a British harmonica player who attended Solihull School, a British independent school in the West Midlands. He is currently studying Chromatic Harmonica at the Royal College of Music.... |
Harmonica |
External links
- Eurovision Young Musicians 2008
- Pictures from the Eurovision Young Musicians 2008 Finale in Vienna