Celebrating St Mary's talented musicians

November at St Mary's is the time when we celebrate our talented musicians in our two annual competitions, Young Pianist of the Year and Young Musician of the Year.

Such is the level of both skill and competitiveness, an external adjudicator is always appointed and this year we were privileged to welcome Chris Parsons, community musician, conductor, trumpeter and teacher - you can read his bio here.

In an evening focussed on our young pianists, we enjoyed a broad repertoire from Mozart to Tchaikovsky and Kabalevsky to Copeland and the audience were captivated.

The winner of the Intermediate Category was Mikie L. Highly commended certificates in the Intermediate Category were awarded to Diya S. and also Amy B. who gamely joined us from the Junior School to compete with the Seniors.

In the Advanced Category, Hannah F., Anson C., Christine W. and Lexi S., - another of our Junior School entrants - were awarded Highly Commended certificates for their outstanding performances.

The winner of Young Pianist of the Year 2023, and recipient of the traditional Agnes Heron Memorial Cup, was Eloise S., for her rendition of Aaron Copeland's "Cat and Mouse."

The Young Musician of the Year competition saw a wide range of musicians give varied and moving performances. The evening flew by, and the audience was appreciatively still and quiet.

Amelia K., Solveig S., Osandi K., Caroline F., Hannah F., Catherine H., and Christine W. were deserving recipients of Highly Commended certificates for performances on the French horn, flute, vocals, violin, harp and cello.

Eloise S. again stole the evening with her flawless piano playing, to win the St Mary's Young Musician of the Year 2023 Trophy.

Both evenings were a remarkable display of musical prowess and mastery of their chosen instrument. Congratulations to everyone who took part with such energy and enthusiasm, and how lucky the audience were to be able to witness and enjoy such musical talent!

A gallery of photographs from the Young Pianist of the Year 2023 is available here.

A gallery of photographs from the Young Musician of the Year 2023 is available here.