At the end of April, we were delighted to welcome eminent musician, George Caird, to Abingdon to adjudicate the Advanced Final of the Young Musician of the Year competition. Following a series of section finals, ten performances from nine pupils were selected to compete for the coveted award. In a concert of incredible musicianship and interpretation, all pupils should be commended for the huge dedication to their musical craft.
Patrick performed the opening movement of Kabalevsky’s exuberant Violin concerto and his precision and characterisation afforded him third place in the competition. Greig’s complex and technically challenging ‘Wedding Day at Troldhaugen’ was performed wonderfully by Jerry to earn second place as he explored the different textures and characters of this music. However, this year’s winning performance was given by Ryan in a performance of Ravel’s hugely evocative and virtuosic ‘Tzigane’ in which personal interpretation coupled with complete control of the technical demands was evident.
