Finals - 2018

The 2018 final was our first visit to the wonderful Flagey, with its marvelous acoustics and extremely cosy atmosphere, the 2018 finals delivered five outstanding young musicians.

2018, saw the start of YBT supporting all our finalists until the age of 25, and not just the winner as in previous rounds.

Sarah Bayens - Violin (Winner)

The finals were a close run thing, but there was something very special in Sarah's finely polished performances of the Rhapsody no. 1 by Bela Bartok and Ravel's Habanera, that swung the votes her way. She comanded the stage with confidence and won with a deep sense of humility and grace.

Balder Dendievel - Oboe

At just 16 Balder was the youngest finalist. He started playing the oboe when he was  five.  By 8, Balder had entered the Conservatoire of Bruges, where he added the organ to his studies. At 10, he became a member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ghent, becoming principle oboeist at 12. Even as a student, Balder played professionally as oboeist for several orchestras and ensembles including The Belgian National Orchestra.

Felix Vermeirsch - Cello

During his live auditions for ‘YBT 2018’, Felix highly impressed the jury, not only with his playing, but also with the maturity of his compositions and unique cello tuning. During the finals he performed one of his own compositions, 'Jebel Muza'. 

Hanne Bayens - Clarinet

There's something very special about Hanne's playing, In the face of incredible competition, Hanne wowed the first-round ‘YBT’ judges with her ability to communicate directly to the hearts and minds of the jury.  She opened the evening with a very fine rendition of Poulenc's sonate pour clarinette et piano, FP 184.

George-Lukas Ilouridze - Clarinet

Maybe the 2018 finals will be remembered as the finals where we had two clarinets? But there could be no two more different musicians. George-Lukas stole the hearts of the public with his masterful and passionate rendition of Sholem Aleichem, Rov Feidman by Béla Kovács. An absolutely masterful Klezmer work.