An appreciative crowd was entranced by an evening of accomplished performances at the final of Bolton School's Boys' Division's Young Musician of the Year Competition. Five hundred and forty four entrants had been whittled down to just 18 finalists who were judged by Miss Helen Francis, a professional Mezzo Soprano Singer.
The finalists were in fact already winners - each one being the individual winner in their category of instrument. There were two elements to the final: a Young Musician of the Year Award and a Young Composer of the Year Award. There were senior and junior categories in both sections.
There were some outstanding entries and it was a tough decision for the adjudicator. Whilst all the boys were commended, overall winners were as follows:
- the award of Senior Young Musician of the Year went to Sam Pickard, playing saxophone in the woodwind category. He is 16 years old and lives in Westhoughton
- the Junior Young Musician of the Year was Thomas Mottershead who played a piece called "Jackson Street Blues” on the piano. He is 11 years old and comes from Bolton
.
- the award of Senior Composer of the Year went to Ben Smith, aged 15 from Blackrod and the award of Junior Composer of the Year went to Toby Cowling, aged 11 from Heaton. Both composed and played pieces on the piano. .
Both the Junior and Senior Young Musicians of the Year were awarded a trophy and £100 in prize money. The Junior and Senior Composers were each awarded a trophy and £50 each.
The Young Musician of the Year event is in its third year and builds on the School’s Music Festival which began in 1985.
Mr Steve Martin, Head of Music, commented: “I’d like to congratulate all the boys on their hard work and dedication and, also, the 21 members of the teaching staff who have put so much effort into making this competition the success that it is. Each year the bar is raised and the quality, creativity and diversity have been outstanding. All the boys in the final are winners.”