We were delighted to hold our sixth NHEHS Musician of the Year competition earlier this week. Following the Heats, eight students from Years 7-9 lined up to compete for the Junior Award. Meanwhile eight musicians from Years 10-13 took part in the Senior competition, with piano, flute, clarinet, cello and violin all featuring. The audience were treated to a varied selection of pieces across both categories, including Mendelssohn, Paradis, Bach, Thais, Grieg, Chopin, Connel, Arnold, Debussy, Schubert, Suk and Saint-Saëns.

As our external adjudicator we welcomed clarinettist Janet Hilton, who has had a distinguished international career, having appeared as a soloist with most major British orchestras at festivals all over the UK as well as performing in Europe, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. She is also a professor of clarinet at the Royal College of Music, having held the post of Head of Woodwind for 12 years.

After a short deliberation, the much-anticipated results were announced:

Arabella from Year 7 was declared the winner of the Junior Award for her violin performance of Bach’s Concerto in A Minor, First Movement. Sophia DJ and Caterina C were awarded second and third places respectively with Rina T and Katerina D both highly commended.

Yuna T from Year 10 was announced as the winner of the Senior award for her performance of Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude on the piano. Kikuko K and Zara B were placed in second and third places with Ariella K-C commended.

Mr Shoults commented that the evening had been of “the highest overall calibre of playing in recent years,” while Director of Music Mr Wright said,”What a wonderful evening! Every single performer absolutely shone, rendering a wide variety of music with drama, panache and style. Every single student, parent, and teacher can be really proud of the students’ achievements. Bravas!”

A huge thank you to our adjudicator Janet Hilton, Mr Janik for accompanying the students on the piano, and the music department for arranging such an inspiring evening. Congratulations to all 16 musicians for such a wonderful evening of music in the Recital Hall.

The next musical events to look forward to are The Singers’ Concert on 1 March at 7 pm, and the Teatime concert on 2 March at 4 pm, both in the Recital Hall.