Eurovision Young Musicians 2008
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2008 was the fourteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Rathausplatz in Vienna, Austria on 9 May 2008. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), musicians from seven countries participated in the televised final. This was the second time that the competition was held on an open-air stage and was the beginning of the annual Vienna Festival. Austria and broadcaster ORF previously hosted the contest in 1990, 1998 and 2006.
| Eurovision Young Musicians 2008 | |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
| Semi-final 1 | 4 May 2008 |
| Semi-final 2 | 5 May 2008 |
| Final | 9 May 2008 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Semi-final: Theater an der Wien Final: Rathausplatz, Vienna, Austria |
| Presenter(s) | Lidia Baich Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz |
| Musical director | Aleksandar Markovic |
| Directed by | Heidelinde Haschek |
| Executive supervisor | Tal Barnea |
| Executive producer | Michael Heinzl |
| Host broadcaster | Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) |
| Website | youngmusicians |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 16 (7 qualified) |
| Debuting countries | |
| Returning countries | Germany |
| Non-returning countries | |
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each juror awarded a mark from 1–10 to each performer |
| Winning musician | Greece Dionysis Grammenos |
A total of sixteen countries took part in the competition therefore a semi-final was held at the Theater an der Wien on 4 and 5 May 2008. All participants performed a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Aleksandar Markovic. Serbia (as an independent nation) and Ukraine made their début while Germany returned. Five countries decided not to participate, they were Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Switzerland, while Serbia and Montenegro had ceased to exist since 2006.
Dionysios Grammenos of Greece won the contest, with Finland and Norway placing second and third respectively. Grammenos is the first woodwind player to win the competition (previous winners have played piano, violin or cello). A new feature in 2008 was the audience prize, voted for by television viewers in the host country via SMS. The third prize winning Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing was the winner of this public vote.