Do musical competitions necessarily have to be damaging? Can they be used in a responsible way, thereby presenting a creative challenge to young musicians? In this lecture, Professor Renshaw critically compares two competition models: the 'marketing-commercail competition' (product-orientated) and the 'artistic-educational competition' (process- and context-orientated).

Peter Renshaw was the Gresham Professor of Music between 1986 and 1993. Until his retirement in 2001, he was Head of Research and Development at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Subsequently he chaired the Steering Group for Youth Music which led to the publication 'Creating a Land with Music' (2002) and was Moderator of the EU Socrates project, Sound Links, on cultural diversity in music education.