Exceptional Instrumentalists compete in Millfield Musician of the Year finals

After a week of heats, the finalists assembled for the Millfield Musician of the Year Instrumental Final on Thursday 13th February, adjudicated by Jonathan Newell, with accompaniments by Mrs Kirsty Barry and Mr John Boyle.

The evening started with a collection of different instrumental performances from the Intermediate category (Grade 5-6). Up first was Keamen (Year 9) who performed Balada Nocturna by Robert Pintos on the Saxophone. Following this, Cecilia (Year 9) performed Scherzo Rondoso by Diana Keech on the oboe; whilst Vanessa (Year 10) performed All is Calm by Dennis Alexander on piano. Up next was Paul (Year 9), who played Mazurka by Nathalie Bera-Tagrine. Caspian (Year 11) was up next, who played Tiempo de Zamba by Julio Sagreras on the guitar. The penultimate performance of this category was Daisy (Year 10) who performed Tambourin by Francois-Joseph Gossec. The final candidate for this category was Jo (Year 11), who performed Moon River by Henry Mancini on the harp.

The second category saw candidates from the Advanced category (Grade 7+) compete to be named ‘Millfield Instrumentalist of the Year’ 2020. The first performance was by Woon Ngee (Lower Sixth), who performed Piano Sonata in F minor, Op.2, No.1 mvt. 1 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Up next was Emily (Year 11) who performed Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120, mvt. 1 by Johannes Brahms on the clarinet. Following this, Freya (Upper Sixth) performed Bali Moods by Anne Boyd. Up next, William (Year 10) performed Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041, mvt. 1 by J.S. Bach. The penultimate candidate was Annabella (Lower Sixth), who performed Praeludium and Allegro by Fritz Kreisler. The final performance of the evening was by Yuhka (Lower Sixth), who played Nocturne in Ab major, Op.32, No.2 by Frederic Chopin.

View photos from the evening here.