The results are in for Young Pianist and Young Musician of the Year 2022!

Every year, we dedicate two events to celebrate the talented pianists and musicians among our student population – the Young Pianist of the Year and Young Musician of the Year competitions. During these concerts, students perform for their peers, parents and staff, before the commended performances and a winner are selected. This year we were thrilled to welcome Mr Simon Kirk MA Music Oxon, FRCO and Director of Music at St John’s College School, as our adjudicator. The standard was exceptionally high and we saw our highest number of performers yet, with 38 students performing in total over the two days, encompassing students from ages 10 to 18. 

First, it was time for our young pianists to shine, with a programme of music ranging from baroque to modern, from Bach to Maksim Mrvic, a contemporary Croatian composer. The students performed with great confidence and Simon had a very difficult decision to make in choosing the winners. In the Intermediate Class, highly commended certificates were awarded to Charlie L, Jasmine L and Biano L with their performances of Arietta by Grieg, Changing Times by Heather Hammond and Lavender Field by Karen Tanaka. The winner of the Intermediate Class was Karla C with her expressive performance of Epilogue by Oliver Francis Huang-Hsu. The standard of performing in the advanced category was incredibly high, making Simon’s job as adjudicator almost impossible. After much deliberation, Simon commended Emilia M for her performance of Claire de Lune by Debussy and Sonia W for her performance of Chopin’s Mazurka No. 23 in D, Op.33 No.2. The Agnes Heron Memorial Cup (awarded annually to the student in the Advanced Class who gives the outstanding piano performance of the evening) was awarded to Imogen C for her sensitive and expressive performance of Reverie by Debussy. 

The next day, we returned to listen to our talented young musicians. The night began with string instruments, before moving on to vocal performances, and ending with the wind players, followed by the return of Imogen C performing Reverie. Once more, there was an eclectic mix of pieces, each given its own interpretation by the performers. After detailed feedback and comments from our adjudicator, highly commended certificates were awarded to Davina Y, Jasmine L, Hannah F, Tilly T and Solvieg S for their performances of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 Op. 24 Spring Mvt 1, Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, JS Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G minor Mvt 1 BWV 1001, Ivor Novello’s enchanting We'll Gather Lilacs and the Waltz from Suite Antique by John Rutter. The overall winner of the Young Musician competition 2022 was Maryam G with her stunning performance of two movements from Schumann’s Marchenbilder Op. 113 on viola. 

We would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Simon Kirk for adjudicating our competitions. His thorough and detailed feedback and advice provided a valuable learning opportunity for all our young musicians. We look forward to hearing more from our talented musicians in the future. Congratulations to all who were involved in these prestigious events. 

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