Organised by the Secondary School no. 27 of Bucharest, in partnership with the National University of Music in Bucharest, the National College of Music "George Enescu" and Radio România Muzical, the first edition of the contest "I want to be a melomaniac" will take place this month in Bucharest.

The teacher Georgiana Maria, the co-founder of the project, gives us more information about the competition, the requirements for participation and more.

Mrs. Georgiana Maria, you will soon be launching the first edition of the "I want to be a melomaniac" competition. What can you tell us about the idea behind this project and how you have imagined its five sections?

The idea took shape a long time ago. It all started in 2016, when I was in Arad, and there, together with those from the German High School and the ones from the "Sabin Drăgoi" College of Arts, we created a competition for children who don't go to vocational schools but love music. Better said, melomaniacs in the making.

The contest has yet to stop in Arad and it reached its ninth edition, and during the pandemic it took place online. When the pandemic was over, the desire of those in Bucharest to continue to participate arose and that's why the first edition of the Bucharest version of the "I want to be melomaniac" contest was launched.

There are five sections. Two are for direct participation; children have the possibility to work in teams of three or to participate individually. The competitions are very attractive, and quite resemble televised competitions, so, there is an active and interesting component to the competitions. During their performance, the children have to demonstrate that they have studied the theoretical material provided in advance related to the theme of the edition. They have to recognise musical auditions provided by Radio România Muzical through the project "Listen to 5 minutes of classical music" and demonstrate that they are emerging little artists by performing or working with musical themes.

Similarly, there are other three sections with indirect participation, where children can express their ideas about the music they hear through drawings, literary creations or short films.

Tell us about the requirements for participation and the steps that need to be followed in order to enter!

We promote the competition with the help of our expert teachers, and provide all the preparatory materials and auditions via the "I want to be a melomaniac" competition blog. Of course, we provide additional information if needed. Children prepare themselves under the guidance of teachers and then enter by the means of a pre-selection material, which means a pre-recorded artistic sample. After being selected by a jury, they will participate in the final round, which this year will take place on the 20th April at the National University of Music.

How do you perceive the nation-wide need to organise artistic events for non-vocational school students?

There is a great need for this type of event precisely because, unfortunately, students have less and less contact with quality music and culture in general. When we offer them glimpses of this culture through music education classes, but also through this kind of extracurricular events, we can attract them and open their horizons.