On Sunday 24th May, Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) saw Scotland’s finest young musical talent, that comprised 33 top musicians from each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities and the independent school sector, come together to compete in the fifth Solo Performer of the Year Final.
Hosted by Ian Mills, whose lifelong commitment to education and passion for music brought enthusiasm to the role, the competition showcased inspiring performances at the packed Stevenson Hall at the RCS.
The winning performance was by 18-year-old singer Kai Fitzharris from Greenock with his beautiful performance of The Roadside Fire by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Die Nacht by Richard Strauss that saw him taking home not just the overall Winner’s trophy but also winning the voice category and the collaboration award for his interaction with his accompanist Claire Haslin.
Kai receives £1,000 to further his musical career and the Maid of Morven trophy crafted by Alexander Stoddart FRSE, the King’s Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland. As part of his prize package from RCS, he will benefit from a professional coaching session, the opportunity to participate in a masterclass and a studio recording session to help develop his performance skills.
The judging panel included MILOŠ, one of the world’s leading classical guitarists; Fraser Gordon, Principal Contrabassoon at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Jane Irwin, Head of Vocal Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; Carol Main, Founding Director of Live Music Now Scotland and Professor Arron Shorr, an international piano soloist, chamber musician and educator.
They awarded runners-up to Bass guitarist Jake Kenny from North Ayrshire who played Muse’s Hysteria and Primus’s Tommy the Cat while accordionist Daniel Small from Falkirk who performed Yuri Dranga’s The Seagull and Scottish traditional tune the Millers Reel in his own version of Ryan Corbett’s arrangement.
This year’s category winners were; violinist Robert SJ Hutchinson from Fife for strings; flautist Zuzanna Kujawa from South Lanarkshire for woodwind; trombonist Patrick Summer from East Renfrewshire for brass; Marimba player Murray McLachlan from Angus for percussion, Jaiden Weideman from Aberdeen for piano, and overall winner Kai Fitzharris for vocals. They will all receive career-enhancing opportunities generously provided by some of the UK’s leading music organisations, including Scottish Opera, RCS, Dunedin Consort, Live Music Now Scotland, the Cumnock Tryst, St Mary’s Music School, Stringers, Ursula Jones, Greg Bailey and Trinity Laban, supporting their development as emerging musical talents.
In addition, accordionist Daniel Small received the Trad music prize, cellist Eleanor Winter the Early Years Music prize and again the overall winner Kai Fitzharris the Collaborative Performance Prize.
The final ceremony was dedicated this year to John Wallace CBE, an inspirational champion of music education and a valued supporter of Scottish Young Musicians.
The Scotland-wide competition is run by The Music Education Partnership Group who work to support music education and opportunities.
For more information, please visit www.scottishyoungmusicians.com
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 