11 - 17 April 2026
HOSTED BY Al Khubairat (BSAK) ADYM HOST SCHOOL
The British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) is the British Embassy School in the UAE At the heart of our constitution is our status as a not-for-profit and academically non-selective community school. Our ‘Purpose Statement’ reflects our commitment as a community to inspire our students to create an impactful legacy, both during their time in school and beyond BSAK.
BSAK was founded in 1968 and generously supported by the late President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, through the donation of land and Amiri Decree No. 5 of 1971. The School is under the ongoing patronage of the British Ambassador and is sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current President of the United Arab Emirates and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi
We are immensely proud of these historic links, and today our long-standing reputation and heritage continue to shape our ethos, as we celebrate over 50 years of exceeding expectations.
ADYM HOST SCHOOL
Helen Kerr Director of Music
It is my great honour to welcome students, parents, and colleagues from across Abu Dhabi to the Abu Dhabi Young Musician of the Year Competition 2026.
Founded and first hosted by The British School Al Khubairat in 2022, the competition has flourished into a dynamic platform for musical excellence, bringing together performers in Classical, Contemporary, and World Music genres This year, we are especially proud to introduce a dedicated World Music category and an expanded ensemble section, reflecting the diversity and richness of youth music in Abu Dhabi.
We are delighted to welcome an exceptional panel of adjudicators from renowned UK conservatoires and music schools, whose expertise and insight will help guide our young musicians
I warmly congratulate all participants for their commitment and courage, and I look forward to an inspiring week of music-making that will showcase the extraordinary gifts of Abu Dhabi’s young musicians
EVENT PARTICULARS
EVENT DETAILS
The event commences on Saturday 11 April 2026 and concludes with the Grand Final on Friday 17 April 2026.
ENTRY GUIDELINES
ELIGIBILITY AND SUBMISSION
Late entries will not be permitted
The Host School reserves the right to decline any entries that are deemed incomplete or do not meet the required standard or criteria.
SOLOIST ENTRY FEES AND PAYMENT
Soloist entrants must submit full payment via bank transfer to The British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) on or before the deadline: Thursday 5 February 2026 th Entry fees, once received are deemed non refunable.
Entrants who have not made full payment by the due date will be deemed to have withdrawn from the competition
ENSEMBLE ENTRY FEES AND PAYMENT
Ensemble entries must be submitted directly by an Abu Dhabi School, with a limit of one (1) entry per category.
Schools who have not made full payment by the deadline: Thursday 5 February 2026 will be deemed to have withdrawn from the competition. th
ACCOMPANISTS AND PERFORMANCE
REQUIREMENTS
Entrants must provide their own accompanists. The Host School can assist in putting you in touch with an accompanist if required.
USE OF AUDIO/SOUND EQUIPMENT
Backing Tracks are permitted only in the Contemporary category and must be uploaded in mp3, wav, or m4a formats on the online form.
It is recommended to bring a copy of your backing tracks on USB to the competition in the case of technical errors.
Amplifiers, microphones, and effects processors may be used only in the Contemporary category.
ADJUDICATION
The adjudicator’s decisions are final, and no discussions will be held regarding the results. 5
RULES AND REGULATIONS
EVENT DETAILS
All entrants will be enrolled as a full-time student in Abu Dhabi and will process payment for their entry fee by bank transfer to The British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) by the stated deadline, Thursday 5th February 2026.
All entrants must be aged 18 years or under on 1 September 2025.
Entrants do not need to have passed any exams, however must be of the requisite standard for their chosen category.
ENTRY PROCEDURE
Each Entrant will be responsible for collecting and submitting all registration documentation.
Each Entrant will be required to complete and submit an online ADYM Application Form and to upload documents as outlined below:
Online
Entry Form
Participant EID Copy; both front and back side
Participant Professional School Head Shot in School Uniform
Photo Specifics: 300 DPI png or jpeg NO PASSPORT PHOTOS OR SELFIES
Participant Round 1 (One) Piece - .pdf format, One (1) piece allowed and must not exceed 5 mins in length.
Participant Semi Final Piece - .pdf format, One (1) piece allowed and must not exceed 5 mins in length.
Participant Backing Track (if applicable) - mp3, wav, or m4a format
Bank Receipt as proof of payment
SOLOIST CATEGORY
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
This section is open to individual performers as per the following criteria:
Intermediate level: intended for students performing at a Grade 5 to Grade 6 standard, as outlined by Ofqual and the MTB, ABRSM and Trinity examination board standards.
Advanced level: intended for performers at a Grade 7 level and beyond, as outlined by Ofqual and the MTB, ABRSM and Trinity examination board standards.
ENSEMBLE CATEGORY
The Ensemble category consists of 6 individual categories:
Small Classical Ensemble - up to 9 performers. No use of electronic instruments will be permitted.
Large Classical Ensemble - 10 or more performers plus a student or adult conductor No use of electronic instruments will be permitted.
Small Contemporary Ensemble - up to 9 performers, if an ensemble uses instruments that require amplification or electronics, such as electric guitar, bass, keyboard, or drum kit, they will compete in this category These ensembles typically use electronic equipment.
Large Contemporary Ensemble -10 or more performers plus a student or adult conductor, if an ensemble uses instruments that require amplification or electronics, such as electric guitar, bass, keyboard, or drum kit, they will compete in this category These ensembles typically use electronic equipment and may include fusion music
Small Vocal Ensemble - between 2-9 singers plus a student conductor or student accompaniment is required. This may include acoustic accompaniment; however, no use of electronic instruments will be permitted.
Large Vocal Ensemble - 10 or more singers plus a piano accompanist and conductor, if an ensemble includes both vocalists and acoustic instrumentalists, they will compete in this category.
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
WORLD MUSIC CATEGORY - NEW
This is a new platform introduced for this year.
This section is open to individual musicians who perform music from a variety of categories
This category will remain an open platform, rather than being divided into two distinct categories; intermediate and advanced levels, to accommodate the varying levels of musical proficiency among participants.
SOLOISTS
SOLOIST CATEGORY
This section is open to individual performers as per the following criteria:
INTERMEDIATE
This category is intended for performers at a Grade 5 to Grade 6 standard, as outlined by Ofqual and the MTB, ABRSM and Trinity examination board standards.
ADVANCED
The Advanced category is intended intended for performers at a Grade 7 level and beyond, as outlined by Ofqual and the MTB, ABRSM and Trinity examination board standards.
SOLOISTS
SOLOIST CATEGORY
The soloist competition is further divided into three (3) distinct categories; Classical, Contemporary, and World Music to give soloists the opportunity to perform music that best suits their interests, strengths, and artistic identity.
CLASSICAL
There will be six (6) different competing sections under the Soloist Classical Category area
Piano
Guitar- Classical & Acoustic
Brass
Strings
Woodwind
Singing
CONTEMPORARY
There will be three (3) different competing sections under the Soloist Contemporary Category area.
Drum Kit
Guitar- Electric and Bass
Singing
WORLD MUSIC
This category will remain an open platform, rather than being divided into two distinct categories; intermediate and advanced levels, to accommodate the varying levels of musical proficiency among participants
SOLOIST CATEGORY
SOLOIST CATEGORY STRUCTURE
ROUND ONE
Round One - One (1) Piece will be of the performer’s choice and must not exceed more than 5 minutes in length.
Please note that the level of difficulty of the piece performed must be of the correct grade standard for the category entered.
These pieces will be outlined by Ofqual and the MTB, ABRSM and Trinity examination board standards
Intermediate Class - Grade 5 - Grade 6 piece
Advanced Class - Grade 7 or above piece
The Host School will advise that any performance may be terminated if it runs any longer than 5 minutes.
ROUND TWO
Round Two pieces will be taken from the Instrumental Set Piece list ADYM 2026 found under ‘Set ADYM 2026 Pieces’.
The Host School will advise that any performance may be terminated if it runs any longer than 5 minutes.
SEMI FINAL ROUND
The Host School will advise that any Semi Final Round Piece - One (1) piece will be of the performer’s choice and must not exceed 5 minutes in length.
FINAL ROUND
The Host School will advise that any Final Round performance may be terminated if it runs any longer than 8 minutes.
Please note that the level of difficulty of the piece performed must be of the correct grade standard for the category entered.
The adjudicators' decisions are final, and no further discussions will be held regarding the results.
SOLOLIST ROUNDS
ROUND ONE
SOLOIST CATEGORY
The Instrumental participants will compete against other instrumental competitors from across the musical spectrum.
The Vocal participants will compete exclusively against other vocalists
Participants from both the Instrumental and Vocal category will be selected to advance to the Second Round, Semi-Final and Grand Final within their respective categories at scretion.
e outlines the approximate percentage of entrants from each dvance through each round.
*Soloists 100% 60% of Round 1 20% of Round 2** 1 Participant (in each category)
Dependent upon numbers of entries in the various categories, it is anticipated that the Semi-Final will comprise of:
A minimum of two (2) *Soloists in each category; including the World Music category
** Please note that this is a guide and subject to alteration at the discretion of the adjudicators.
ENSEMBLES
ENSEMBLE CATEGORY
The Ensemble category consists of three (3) distinct categories; Classical, Contemporary and Vocal These categories are further divided into six (6) distinct competing individual categories:
CLASSICAL ENSEMBLE CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE
Small Classical Ensemble - up to 9 performers No use of electronic instruments will be permitted.
Large Classical Ensemble - 10 or more performers plus a student or adult conductor. No use of electronic instruments will be permitted.
Small Contemporary Ensemble - up to 9 performers, if an ensemble uses instruments that require amplification or electronics, such as electric guitar, bass, keyboard, or drum kit, they will compete in this category. These ensembles typically use electronic equipment
Large Contemporary Ensemble -10 or more performers plus a student or adult conductor, if an ensemble uses instruments that require amplification or electronics, such as electric guitar, bass, keyboard, or drum kit, they will compete in this category. These ensembles typically use electronic equipment
VOCAL ENSEMBLE
Small Vocal Ensemble - between 2-9 singers plus a student conductor or student accompanist if required. This may include acoustic accompaniment; however, no use of electronic instruments will be permitted.
Large Vocal Ensemble - 10 or more singers plus a piano accompanist and conductor, if an ensemble includes both vocalists and acoustic instrumentalists, they will compete in this category.
ENSEMBLES
ENSEMBLE CATEGORY
Each ensemble performance should last no longer than 6 minutes. This should be one piece only
The Organisers advise that any performance may be terminated if it runs any longer than 6 minutes
REPERTOIRE CRITERIA
Repertoire must reflect the spirit and merit of the event
Ensemble performances which utilise improvisation are required to be supported with an explanation of the stimulus for that improvisation.
Any Ensemble performance can not contain more than 1 (one) piano.
Ensemble entries must be submitted by an Abu Dhabi School with only one entry in each category permitted
ENSEMBLE CATEGORY STRUCTURE
The format of the Ensemble competition will be as follows:
Small Ensemble All Entrants 2 Ensembles 1 Ensemble
Large Ensemble All Entrants 2 Ensembles 1 Ensemble
Small Vocal Ensemble All Entrants 2 Ensembles 1 Ensemble
Large Vocal Ensemble All Entrants 2 Ensembles 1 Ensemble
Small Contemporary Ensemble All Entrants 2 Ensembles 1 Ensemble
Large Contemporary Ensemble All Entrants 2 Ensembles 1 Ensemble
Those Ensembles selected to advance to the Final will be the winners of their Ensemble category.
In the Final they will compete to win the Overall Ensemble Award in the competition
WORLD MUSIC
WORLD MUSIC CATEGORY
This new category allows musicians to explore and perform music that reflects a variety of cultures, whether through traditional performance, contemporary interpretation, or innovative cross cultural fusion.
This is a non competitive platform introduced this year for young musicians.
It’s aim is for cultural appreciation, inclusion, and a deeper understanding of the global language of music
INSTRUMENTS
Music that originates from, or is influenced by, a specific cultural tradition or region.
Examples such as but not limited to as follows:
Oud Guzheng Sitar
Djembes and other African Percussion Celtic instruments such as the bagpipe
REPERTOIRE
To maintain the integrity and authenticity of this category, performers are encouraged to keep the repertoire as close to its original traditional form as possible This includes preserving traditional melodies, and rhythms that reflect the cultural roots of the piece.
While respectful interpretation is welcome, the aim is to honour the original style and context of the music being performed.
SET PIECES - CLASSICAL
ADVANCED PIECES
The Host School have decided that the repertoire that will be performed during Round Two of the Abu Dhabi Young Musician 2026 will be set pieces.
The selected piece for each instrument and vocal section by category can be found below. ADYM Set Pieces 2026.
Instrument
Acoustic Guitar
Alto Saxophone
Bassoon
Set Piece 2026 - ADVANCED
Fly Me to the Moon; arr Andy Jones, Bart Howard
Danse; Darius Milhaud
Eó Rossa (No. 3 from The Five Sacred Trees); John Williams
Cello Petite Ballade; A. Arensky
Clarinet
Classical Guitar
Cornet/Flugelhorn
Descant Recorder
Double Bass
Eb Horn
Contradanza, Paquito D’Rivera
Candombe en Mi; Maximo Diego Pujol
Rondo Burlesca from Concertino for Flugelhorn and Brass Band; William Himes
The Kid from Venezuela; Pete Rose
2nd movt; A Little Concerto for Double Bass; Jacob Largo
First Movement from Horn Concerto 3 in Eb KV447; Mozart
Euphonium A Time for Peace from The Essence of Time; Peter Graham
Flute
Ostinato, 2 mov’t from Concerto No 5 in C; John Rutter nd
SET PIECES - CLASSICAL
ADVANCED PIECES
Instrument Set Piece 2026 - ADVANCED
French Horn Nocturne Op 7; Franz Strauss
Oboe
Introduzione and Allegro, (1 & 2 mov’t from Concerto for Oboe); Cimarosa, arr by Benjamin st nd
Piano Songs without words op 19 no 1; Mendelssohn
Tenor Saxophone Comique; Alan Bullard
Treble Recorder
Trombone
Trumpet
Tuba
Largo, Concerto RV 444; Vivaldi
Danse Macabre; Camille Saint-Saëns
Taurus the Bull; Gary Wilkinson
Le Cake Walk; Claude Debussy
Tuned Percussion Folkish; Michael Zev Gordon
Untuned Percussion Up Stick; Clive Malabar
Viola Marchenbilder, 1st mvnt; Robert Schumann
Violin Lament for the Holy City; John Rutter
Vocal Frühlingsglaube; Franz Schubert (in German) Verses 1 and 3
ADVANCED PIECES
SET PIECES - CONTEMPORARY
The Host School have decided that the repertoire that will be performed during Round Two of the Abu Dhabi Young Musician 2026 will be set pieces
The selected piece for each instrument and vocal section by category can be found below. ADYM Set Pieces 2026.
Instrument Set Piece 2026 - ADVANCED
Bass Guitar Sir Duke; Stevie Wonder
Electric Guitar Sultans of Swing; Dire Staits
Drum Kit
Voice - Female
Tombo in 7/4; Airto Moreira arr Mike Osborn
Don't Wanna Fight; Alabama Shakes
Voice - Male Feel; Robbie Williams
SET PIECES - CLASSICAL INTERMEDIATE PIECES
The Host School have decided that the repertoire that will be performed during Round Two of the Abu Dhabi Young Musician 2026 will be set pieces.
The selected piece for each instrument and vocal section by category can be found below. ADYM Set Pieces 2026.
Instrument
Acoustic Guitar
Alto Saxophone
Bassoon
Cello
Clarinet
Classical Guitar
Descant Recorder
Double Bass
Eb Horn
Euphonium
Set Piece 2026 - INTERMEDIATE
Rockroach; Nick Powlesland
The Pink Panther; Henry Mancini
Bagatelle, Op 119 No 1, arr by Denley; Beethoven
Chanson Villageoise; Arnold Trowell
Spanischer Tanz; Moritz Moszkowki
Campanella Prelude; David Cottam
Vivace and Allegro; Corelli
Sonatina for Double Bass and Piano: II, Quodlibet ; Moderato Grazioso
Romance from Horn Concerto 3 in Eb, Mozart
Solveig’s Song, E. Grieg
SET PIECES - CLASSICAL INTERMEDIATE PIECES
Instrument
Set Piece 2025 - INTERMEDIATE
Flute Nobody Knows; Norton
French Horn
Romance from Horn Concerto 3 in Eb; Mozart
Oboe Divertimento; Mozart
Piano L'adieu, The Farewell, Étude Op. 100 No. 12; Friedrich Burgmüller
Tenor Saxophone
Treble Recorder
Trombone
Trumpet/ Cornet/Flugelhorn
All Because of You; Karen Street
Gavotte and Musette; arr. Bullard, E. Grieg
Rondo from Abdelazar; H.Purcell
Romance for Cornet; Thorvald Hansen
Tuba Marche Funebre d'une Marionnette; arr Mowat, Charles Gounod
Tuned Percussion
Leap Frog Funk; Damien Harron
Untuned Percussion On Off On; Jan Bradley
Viola
Gigue, from Cello Suite No 1 in G, BWV 1007; J S Bach
Violin Intermezzo; Z Kodaly
Vocal Seligkeit; Franz Schubert
INTERMEDIATE PIECES
SET PIECES - CONTEMPORARY
The Host School have decided that the repertoire that will be performed during Round Two of the Abu Dhabi Young Musician 2026 will be set pieces
The selected piece for each instrument and vocal section by category can be found below. ADYM Set Pieces 2026.
Instrument
Set Piece 2026 - INTERMEDIATE
Voice - Female Price Tag; Jassie J
Voice - Male
Bass Guitar
Sweet Child O' Mine; Guns n ’ Roses
Electric Guitar
Sweet Emotion; Steven Taylor & Tom Hamilton
Drum Kit
Snidey Kitte; Mike Osborn
Let's Dance; David Bowie
THURSDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2026. 23
OVERALL AWARDS
Abu Dhabi Young Musician of the Year 2026- Advanced
Abu Dhabi Young Musician of the Year 2026- Intermediate
Abu Dhabi Young Musician of the Year 2026- Advanced - Runner Up
Abu Dhabi Young Musician of the Year 2026- Intermediate -Runner Up
Abu Dhabi Young Musician of the Year 2026- Overall Ensemble
CLASSICAL AWARDS
Intermediate Pianist 2026
Advanced Pianist 2026
Intermediate Woodwind Player 2026
Advanced Woodwind Player 2026
Intermediate Strings Player 2026
Advanced Strings Player 2026
Intermediate Brass Player 2026
Advanced Brass Player 2026
Intermediate Percussion (Classical) 2026
Advanced Percussion (Classical) 2026
Intermediate Singer (Classical) 2026
Advanced Singer (Classical) 2026
Intermediate Acoustic/Classical Guitarist 2026
Advanced Acoustic/Classical Guitarist 2026
WORLD MUSIC AWARDS
World Music Award 2026
CONTEMPORARY AWARDS
Intermediate Singer (Contemporary) 2026
Advanced Singer (Contemporary) 2026
Intermediate Drum Kit (Contemporary) 2026
Advanced Drum Kit (Contemporary) 2026
Intermediate Electric Guitar/ Bass (Contemporary) 2026
Advanced Electric Guitar/ Bass (Contemporary) 2026
ENSEMBLE AWARDS
Small Ensemble Award
Large Ensemble Award
Small Vocal Ensemble Award
Large Vocal Ensemble Award
Small Contemporary Ensemble Award
Large Contemporary Ensemble Award
PARKING
Please note that parking is not complimentary, therefore payment can be made through the DARB app to avoid fines.
