Tag: Scottish Young Musicians

Singer Kai Fitzharris wins Scottish Young Musicians Solo Performer of the Year 2026

The nation’s finest young musical talent came together on Sunday 24 May at Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where 33 top musicians, representing each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities and the independent school sector, competed in the fifth prestigious Solo Performer of the Year Final.

Hosted by Ian Mills, the fifth annual Solo Performer of the Year competition showcased inspiring performances from Scotland’s finest young musicians, captivating the packed Stevenson Hall at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS). With a lifelong commitment to education and a deep-rooted passion for music, Ian brought warmth, insight and enthusiasm to the role.

The winning performance was by singer Kai Fitzharris (age 18) from Greenock, who who was representing the Inverclyde region. His beautiful performance of The Roadside Fire by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Die Nacht by Richard Strauss wowed the audience and judges and 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 Fitzharris 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 the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Kai 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 judges awarded two runners-up. Bass guitarist Jake Kenny from North Ayrshire had the hall jumping with his virtuosic performance of Muse’s Hysteria and Primus’s Tommy the Cat.

And accordionist Daniel Small from Falkirk gave a brilliant performance of Yuri Dranga’s The Seagull, written by his tutor’s tutor, and Scottish traditional tune the Millers Reel in his own version of Ryan Corbett’s arrangement.

Both outstanding musicians will receive £250 towards their musical development, along with exclusive opportunities including a professional coaching session and masterclass placement at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

The audience was treated to inspiring performances by young musicians from Shetland to Moray to Dumfries and Galloway as every area of the country was represented. A full array of instruments was also on display from marimbas to clarinets and trombones, accordions and bass guitar to piano and voice, creating a rich and diverse musical programme.

Continuing the competition’s traditions, the winners of each specialist category were announced live during the final ceremony which was dedicated this year to John Wallace CBE, who as a champion of music education was an inspiration to so many and a valued supporter of Scottish Young Musicians from the very beginning.

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 esteemed 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.

The grand finale also featured spectacular performances by this year’s award-winning ensembles: Ensemble of the Year the Perth & Kinross Big Band, and Brass Ensemble of the Year the Campbeltown Brass Quintet from Argyll and Bute. Their electrifying and energetic performances provided a fitting conclusion to an unforgettable celebration of Scotland’s young musical talent.

Alan Kerr, Chair of Scottish Young Musicians said: “What an inspirational day! Scottish Young Musicians is Scotland’s only festival of competitions connecting every Scottish school and offering students the chance to achieve their ambitions through their talent in music, develop their life-skills and have fun.

“Huge congratulations to our winner Kai Fitzharris , and to our two runners up Jake Kenny and Daniel Small. We hope that this is a wonderful moment in their long journeys with music.

“I must recognise the enthusiasm of teachers who’ve embraced SYM, our incredible hard-working team that has made it happen, and the generosity of our supporters who have provided funds, prizes, and assistance.

“It’s been especially poignant would like to dedicate this year’s solo final to John Wallace CBE who, as a champion of music education, was an inspiration to all, especially students and a valued supporter of Scottish Young Musicians from the very beginning.”  

The Scotland-wide competition is run by The Music Education Partnership Group who work with every school and local authority to support music education and opportunities. 

For more information, please visit www.scottishyoungmusicians.com or follow the festival on Facebook and Instagram.

Edinburgh Winner of Scottish Young Musician announced

Joshua Gibson chosen to represent Edinburgh at the Scottish Young Musicians Solo Performer of the Year

On Monday 30 March, all schools in Edinburgh were invited to take part in their local final at Portobello High School.

This year’s competition saw an incredible standard of musicianship from young performers across the city. The adjudicators faced the difficult task of selecting winners from an exceptionally talented group of musicians.

Scottish Young Musicians, Scotland’s leading festival of music competitions, has returned for 2026 to give young people across the country the chance to compete for the titles of Solo Performer of the Year, Ensemble of the Year and Brass Ensemble of the Year.

Participation in this career-enhancing competition has been offered to every Local Authority in the country as well as independent schools, in the hope that more young people than ever before will take up the opportunity to perform and take part.

Pianist Joshua Gibson in S5 at Queensferry High School was named the overall winner for their outstanding performance Liszt’s Liebestraume No3.

Their skill and interpretation impressed both audience and judges alike, securing them the top award in the Edinburgh final.

Joshua will now represent Edinburgh at the Scottish Young Musicians National Final at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on Sunday 24 May.

Runner up was singer Liza Aquado, an S6 pupil from St Augustine’s R.C. High School, who performed Times are Hard for Dreamers from Amelie. And the judges named Ivar Mackie, a guitarist from Portobello High School in S6 who played Unholy Confessions (Avenged Sevenfold) as Most Promising Young Musician.

Solo Performer of the Year is open to all young musicians who go to school in Scotland, whatever age or standard. Each local authority selects a regional finalist, with all of them hosting local and regional heats across different schools to decide who will represent their area at the National Final, which will take place at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on Sunday 24 May 2026.

In its 4 years, Scottish Young Musicians has become the largest and most important national music competition in schools, with around 99% of the school population taking part.

These competitions give young people a life-changing and unforgettable experience, as well as the confidence to continue to compete at the highest level.

It is open to all, across all socio-economic backgrounds, providing an opportunity which would not have existed otherwise.

Euan wins prestigious nation-wide competition, Scottish Young Musicians Solo Performer of the Year 2024

  • Euan Kemp, 17-year-old Saxophonist from East Dunbartonshire, wins prestigious nation-wide competition, Scottish Young Musicians Solo Performer of the Year 2024.
  • Magnus Shanks (aged 16) from Aberdeenshire and Jake Johnstone (aged 15) from South Lanarkshire share second place.
  • 31 of the best Young Musicians from across Scotland gathered in Glasgow on Sunday 26 May to compete in the third ever Solo Performer of the Year Final at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Expertly compered by singer and broadcaster Jamie MacDougall, the third ever Solo Performer of the Year competition saw incredible performances from Scotland’s young musicians wow an audience of hundreds at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland yesterday.

17-year-old Euan Kemp, an S6 pupil from The Music School of Douglas Academy, has been playing Saxophone since he was 11 years old. He impressed the judges with his rendition of Improvisation No.1 by Ryo Noda and Fantaisie-Impromptu by André Jolivet, leading to him being crowned the third ever winner of the prestigious competition, which this year involved local authorities covering 99% of Scotland’s population.

Euan Kemp, winner of Scottish Young Musicians Solo Performer of the Year 2024, said: “I feel amazing having won this competition and honoured to have represented East Dunbartonshire and Douglas Academy. 

“I’ve been making music in East Dunbartonshire for the whole of my musical career, starting with the children’s chorus in P2 and then growing through playing in orchestras and ensembles both in school and the wider Local Authority. It’s such a nurturing, supportive and enjoyable environment to be a part of and I’m proud to bring this trophy home to them.”

Euan receives £1,000 to spend on furthering his musical career and the Maid of Morven trophy made by the Kings’s Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland Alexander Stoddart FRSE. 

Euan also receives a package of opportunities provided by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland including a coaching session, participation in a masterclass and a studio recording session.

Jake Johnstone, who left audiences enthralled with his accordion pieces which were accompanied by his younger sister on the piano, and Magnus Shanks, who wowed with his piano performance, both receive £250 to spend on musical activities and a coaching session and masterclass slot at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

For the first time this year the winner of each of the other categories was announced live at the end of the final. Hannah Pringle from Stirling won the strings category, Thomas Lamb from Clackmannanshire won in brass, Amelia Leishman representing Edinburgh won for percussion, and East Ayrshire’s Aimee Sharp was announced as the winner of the vocal category. They will each be awarded career-enhancing experiences thanks to the generosity of some of the UK’s top music organisations.

The panel of judges was led by trumpeter John Wallace CBE, former Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He was joined by soprano Jane Irwin, violinist Greg Lawon, clarinettist Adam Lee and pianist Sinae Lee. They had the difficult job of selecting the winner and two runners up from performances on a range of instruments including saxophone, clarsach, accordion, guitar, pipes, trumpet and more.

The day culminated in performances by the winning Scottish Young Musicians Brass Ensemble of the Year Campbeltown Brass Ensemble and Ensemble of the Year, Belmont Academy Woodwind Ensemble from South Ayrshire. 

Alan Kerr, Chair of Scottish Young Musicians, said: “Today we’ve seen 31 incredibly affecting performances from young people representing 99% of Scotland’s school-aged population.

“The standard of performances has been extraordinarily high and we’ve seen some very emotional playing that has left our audience, and adjudicators, absolutely enthralled.

“The final is the culmination of individual school and local authority competitions. While today we witnessed some of our most gifted musicians, the festival’s aim is to encourage the broadest participation of all talents through all communities.

“Credit goes to the enthusiasm of teachers who’ve embraced SYM, our incredible hard-working team that has made it happen, and the generosity of our supporters who have provided funds, prizes and assistance.

“We are again indebted to have the support of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, ranked as one of the leading conservatoires in the world, and doubtless a destination for many on the stage today.”

John Wallace, Head Adjudicator of the competition, said: “You could put today’s winner and runners up on any stage anywhere in the world and they would do the whole of Scotland proud.

“We have been completely blown away by the how standards continue to rise year on year and how these young people are keeping certain genres alive. It’s been absolutely staggering to behold and we hope to broaden the competition to include even more genres and categories next year.”

Jamie MacDougall, who hosted the final, said: “The standard this year has exceeded all expectations, with really mature performances that were really well presented. There was no sign of fear or nerves which was undoubtably helped by the supportive atmosphere backstage, and the day really felt as though it flew past.

“The way the different Local Authorities have embraced this competition and recognised it across the country has helped to give it the status and importance it deserves. For young musicians to have an opportunity to perform and be heard we must provide appropriate resources to schools and those who work with young people in music – without that there is no future of music in Scotland.”

The Scotland-wide competition is run by The Music Education Partnership Group who work with every school and local authority to support music education and opportunities.

For more information, please visit www.scottishyoungmusicians.com or follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.