The Department of Music at the University of Pretoria (UP), in conjunction with the Javett Foundation, is proud to announce the Javett Music Award, a new annual music award programme for young South African musicians.

The purpose of this new awards programme is to celebrate outstanding, innovative and creative productions by the best young musical talent. The Javett Music Award will alternate, on an annual basis, in acknowledging excellence in either composition or performing arts in any musical genre (classical, jazz or electro-acoustic).

In 2018, the inaugural Javett Music Award will take the form of a competition for classical and jazz vocalists. The award has a total monetary value of R50 000, and R25 000 each will be awarded to the winners of the two categories in 2018. This forms part of an annual R100,000 sponsorship by the Javett Foundation to the music department to foster musical excellence and exchange through awards and residencies.

Musicians interested in entering this competition must submit recordings of a 15-minute programme by 31 July 2018, to be screened by an internal panel. Three finalists in each category will then be invited to perform live on 14 August 2018. A panel of judges, consisting of internal and external adjudicators will choose a winner in each category, both of whom will perform at an official award function in the Musaion Theatre, University of Pretoria, on 5 September 2018.

The Javett Music Award represents the first element in an expanding and evolving partnership between the University of Pretoria and the Javett Foundation, rooted in the shared belief in the value of the arts for society in general, and for education in particular. This partnership will be consolidated and strengthened in 2019 with the launch of the Javett Arts Centre at the University of Pretoria. In future years, the Javett Art Centre at UP will be the venue for the Javett Music Award.

For more information about this competition and how to enter, please visit www.up.ac.za/up-music-festival. Follow the UP Department of Music on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @tuksmusic, or contact Prof Alexander Johnson on 012 420 2316 or [email protected]

The Javett-UP is a collaborative venture by the University of Pretoria and the Javett Foundation. Set to open in 2019, it will comprise nine galleries, with spaces for exhibitions, multi-disciplinary events and performances, in an iconic building spanning Lynnwood Road. This will give the Art Centre a footprint both on the campus of the University of Pretoria and in the city itself, with easy access for the public. In addition to showcasing the Javett Foundation’s rich collection of twentieth century South African art, the Centre will provide a space for the treasures of Mapungubwe and other works from the University's collections. For the University, the Centre provides resources to strengthen teaching and learning, research and community engagement and outreach.