On Friday 18 March the Grand Final of the Young Musician of the Year competition was held. The standard of music was very high and all of the performances were exceptional.

The finalists were: Nandi: drum kit, Archie: piano, Sam: French horn, Elise: voice, Abby: flute, Reegan: alto saxophone and clarinet: Alfred, Georgia: violin and Marcus: yangqin - all winners or highly commended from the Advanced heats of the annual music competition.

Mrs Steensma commended all those who had taken part in the different heats of the music competition, saying she was proud of the resilience of pupils who continued to make music during all the challenges, and noting the many, many hours of practice which had gone into the evening’s performances.

Once all the performances were finished, the Great School audience were treated to last year’s Young Musician, Luca, playing My Favourite Things on the soprano saxophone, whist the adjudicator Mr Andrew Quatermain, the chief executive and artistic director of Pro Corda Trust, made his decision on this year’s winner of the Young Musician title.

Mr Quartermain said that it had been such a celebration of performance, and he had enjoyed the joy and pride of each musician as they came on stage. He said: “There was such incredible talent on display, and all brought a sense of journey to their playing.” He acknowledged that it was a very difficult job to choose a winner, before awarding the title to Reegan on alto saxophone.

The school's Occasional journalists caught up with Reegan to ask him a bit more about this year’s competition.
 

How did you feel when you were announced as the winner?
I actually had a sort of out of body moment. I was genuinely shocked. It took me a few seconds to process that I had actually won.

How did you choose the pieces you played?
I had played one of the songs a while ago and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to revisit it. The other piece was brand new for the competition and has a lot of elements to it that I enjoy performing with more of a focus on expression and performance.

Why did you decide to play both the clarinet and saxophone? Which of these is your favourite instrument?
I chose to play both because I enjoy playing both and it adds variety to my performance which is fun for me and the audience. My favourite is the saxophone though, because I have much more control with it. While I love the clarinet and there are lots that a clarinet can do that a saxophone can’t, I am more comfortable with the saxophone.

What did you enjoy most about the competition and what advice would you give future competitors? I enjoy the ultimate focus that you experience when you’re in the piece and it’s the only thing that matters - putting everything into each note. My advice for the competition is just try and enjoy it and take it for whatever happens.

If you could choose any other musical instrument to play, what would it be and why? Piano because I think the piano is one of the few instruments where a solo performance sounds like you are not on your own due to the power of the left-hand chords. I would also love to be able to play the guitar better!

Jasmine S (Year 13)