Young Azerbaijani vocalist wins San Remo junior festival
By Nigar Orujova
Young Azerbaijani vocalist Yasin Hasanov won the international children's festival in San Remo (Sanremo Junior) held on April 17-21.
San Remo Junior is an international song and music contest for soloist singers and soloist musicians aged between 6 and 15.
13-year old Yasin was the first musician representing Azerbaijan at this festival.
"Though Azerbaijan is taking part in this contest for the first time, Yasin achieved major success," Rena Hasanova, Yasin's mother, said at a press conference in Baku.
Hasanova said the president of the festival, Paolo Alberti, was amazed by Yasin's vocal.
"Yasin presented the Spanish song 'Granada' to the jury of the festival. The composition was selected from several songs he performs. The competent ten-people-strong jury solidly awarded a grand prix to Yasin," Hasanova said.
Though the competition consists of four stages, the jury decided that Yasin would perform directly in the final.
"The festival brought together representatives of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Italy, Romania, China and other countries. I believe that this is not just my victory, but the victory of my teachers Solmaz Gasimova, Ramil Gasimov and Rauf Babayev," Yasin said.
According to Solmaz Gasimova, Yasin's teacher, his victory is a great achievement. "I believe that he will achieve even greater success in the future," she said.
Yasin was also offered by the director of an Italian conservatory to study there.
The gifted young singer was born in Baku in 2000. He entered the Heydar Aliyev Lyceum in 2006 and then was admitted to the vocal department of the Tofig Guliyev music school No. 12.
Yasin is the award winner at a number of international festivals. He won the Grand Prix at the International Children's Contest "Childhood Celebration" in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, surpassing a hundred participants from 27 countries. He also took the Grand Prix at the International Song Contest "Earth Under White Wings" 2011 held in Belarus and joined by 25 countries.
Yasin won the Grand Prix in one category and took third place in another category at the international song contest "Ti Amo" 2011 in Romania and also received a special prize and took second place at the "Golden Bee" contest in Belarus. Yasin was second at the international contest "Slavianski Bazaar". Yasin also reached the final of Children's New Wave 2012.
Yasin was added to the Golden Book of young Azerbaijani talents by a presidential decree in 2011.