It is with great privilege that we announce our Young Artists for this season.

The 2019/20 Young Artists are; The Barbican String Quartet, Pianist Joseph Havlat, and the Early Music Group, Improviso. 

The St John's Smith Square Young Artists’ Scheme aims to develop the career of emerging artists by awarding them the skills, experience and support needed to help them succeed, as well as giving them the opportunity to perform in one of London's finest concert halls.

Ever since its reinvention as a concert hall, St John's Smith Square has played a pivotal role in supporting the most promising young musicians. Simon Rattle, Steven Isserlis, Nigel Kennedy and Jacqueline du Pré are just a few of the musicians who performed at St John's Smith Square before going on to begin internationally renowned careers. 

“Working with young artists as they develop their creative personalities can be one of the most rewarding aspects of life in a concert hall. This particular scheme is something we all feel very proud of here at St John’s which is why it’s so exciting to welcome Improviso, Joseph and the Barbican Quartet on to the programme for the year to come. There have been some incredible concerts and projects which have come about as a result of the Young Artists’ Scheme since its inception nearly 7 years ago and I look forward to another season of fabulous and creative projects and concerts.” Richard Heason – Director, St John’s Smith Square 

The St John's Smith Square Young Artists are each awarded a minimum of three performance dates in St John's Smith Square over the course of the concert season. The artists are invited to select their repertoire, as well as market the concerts to their own following, and produce programme notes, giving them the independence they need to progress in their professional careers.   

Alongside this, and working with guidance and support from the staff at St John's Smith Square, the Young Artists also undertake a number of other projects during their year on the scheme. This falls under three main categories: marketing; commissioning; and outreach. 

Each group or soloist on the scheme is awarded a grant which they can put towards a marketing initiative, which is then developed with the support of the St John’s Smith Square marketing team. Examples for this project include website design, photo or video shoots, design and mailing of flyers, organising competitions or targeted advertising in newspapers and magazines.  

For the commissioning project, St John’s Smith Square provides a fund for each group or soloist to either commission a composer to write a new work or to work on a new edition of a piece of early music, which will subsequently be performed at one of the three performances over the course of their year on the scheme.  

The project completing the Young Artists’ Scheme surrounds outreach and education; a skill that is becoming increasingly important for professional musicians to have in their portfolio. As part of this project, the Young Artists are given training in outreach work and are then supported as they engage with communities of varying backgrounds, designing and implementing their own educational workshops, using music as the medium. 

All applicants, of which there were over 200, were asked to accompany their application with a recording, an artist biography, and a reference from a musician of standing. 27 of those applicants were invited to audition at St John's Smith Square before the 3 successful Young Artists were selected.