Contest aims to uncover musical talent

Fifty One East, Qatar’s leading department store and Yamaha Music Gulf has opened entries for its first PSR-A3000 Owners’ competition offering budding musicians in Qatar the opportunity to win $1,500.
“This competition is a great platform to uncover hidden talent, raise artists profile in the region, encourage regionally relevant music and develop home-grown performers,” Fifty One East said in a statement yesterday.
Local artists are encouraged to use their Yamaha PSR-A3000 to take part in the competition by recording their performances on video, uncovering talent in Khaligi, Arabic and Persian music.
Artists without video equipment or a Yamaha PSR-A3000 can take advantage of the bespoke musical booth set up in Music Square in Fifty One East, Lagoona Mall where musicians can use recording equipment and upload their videos onsite.
Entrants are encouraged to focus on originality and quality of their arrangements, showmanship, overall sound and control, technical proficiency in Yamaha PSR-A3000, and the use of original content (voices and styles).
There are four prizes available, with the ‘Grand Winner’ chosen by viewer votes on the competition web page and will be awarded $1,500.
There are also three additional ‘Artists Choice Awards’ for Khaligi, Arabic and Persian music categories offering a cash prize of $1,000 that will be selected by the Yamaha Expert musicians team.
Performers can enter the competition from around the Gulf and find out more information via ae.yamaha.com To enter, simply upload your video or send the link of your video in YouTube or Vimeo. The competition closes on November 30, 2016.
“Yamaha Music School at Fifty One East in Lagoona Mall, has seen huge growth since it started in 2011, with more than 250 students taking various music lessons, and the high standard of teaching is recognised in the long waiting list of applicants,” the statement said.
“The school is the first and only in the region that exclusively incorporates the authentic Yamaha Education System, a teaching methodology developed by Yamaha over the past 50 years that has received widespread appreciation and acceptance from both parents and students alike, to help encourage musicians and advance talent in the local community,” the statement added.