Young musicians showcase skills at prestigious Rotary competition

The recent event involved pupils from Musselburgh Grammar School and Loretto School, as well as students from the Mansfield School of Music.

Their performances took place at Loretto School Chapel and the adjudicator was Jonathan Gawn, principal tuba with the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.

The competition was in two sections – junior and senior– and the senior section was in two categories: vocal and instrumental.

This year, the winner of the vocal section was Catherine Thom, from Loretto, who sang Losing My Mind by Stephen Sondheim. The runner-up was Lucy MacPherson, also from Loretto, who sang I Dreamed A Dream by Schönberg.

The young musicians who took part in the senior section.

The winner of the instrumental section was Katie Horrell, of Musselburgh Grammar, who played South Sea Bubble by Steve Pogson on the clarinet. The runner-up was pianist Hannah Scott, also from Musselburgh Grammar, who performed Allegro by Friedrich Kuhlau.

Catherine and Katie will go on to take part in the area competition in February next year.

The junior section was won by pianist Kacy Yang, from Loretto School, playing Moment Musicaux No.5 by Rachmaninov. The runner-up was Henry Liu, also of Loretto, playing Nocturne by Chopin on the piano. Third place went to Tess Devlin, from Musselburgh Grammar, with her performance of The Acrobat by JA Greenwood on the trombone.

Drew Johnston, president of the Rotary Club of Musselburgh, said: “The Rotary Young Musician Competition provides a great opportunity for youngsters across the town to perform in public within a safe and welcoming environment.

The young musicians who took part in the junior section

“We are proud to work with the music teachers and music schools within the Musselburgh area to bring the competition together. We are also especially grateful to Loretto School for the support they provide in hosting the event and to our adjudicators, who give of their time freely.”

He added: “The Rotary Club of Musselburgh is also working with Loretto to host the Area Young Musician competition, where competitors are drawn from the winners of the various Rotary Young Musician competitions held across the east of Scotland. This will take place at Loretto on Sunday, February 4, commencing at 2pm. It should be a great afternoon.”