Musician of the Year 2020

Last night we watched the eagerly anticipated Beacon Musician of the Year 2020 where 11 fantastic musicians performed for the ultimate accolade of being named our Young Musician of the Year.

The quality of the performances was outstanding across the board which, as a newcomer to the school, was just thrilling to watch. I have to admit, I found it a rather emotional experience to see such young musicians engaging so expressively with their chosen pieces.

The programme varied greatly in style from the evocation of Oscar and Jago’s folk songs, Harry’s A Walk at Strumble Head, Ethan C’s Joueur de Harpe on the piano, Ethan R-K’s lovely Parisian Waltz on guitar and Rocco’s heart-rending Schindler’s List on violin, to Freddie’s Silver Swan by one of England’s earliest well-known composers, Orlando Gibbons, and Dominic’s lilting Siciliano by Pergolesi. Also included in the programme were classics such as the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C played by Maxim and the Rocky Theme on piano and drums, ably played and edited by Ethan C. Raghav’s super electric guitar pieces offered yet another dimension.

With many of the performers offering more than one piece on more than one instrument, the above is just a snapshot of the full programme we and our adjudicator, Tamsynne Westcott, enjoyed. It presented Tamsynne with the most difficult decision to make in deciding a winner and runners up. In a departure from previous years’ format, it was decided that one overall winner and two runners up would be chosen from the 11 finalists. Those watching last night will understand just how close these performers are when Ms Westcott, unable to decide between the three boys who just tipped the runners-up position, decided upon all three. Those three boys in joint positions are Ethan C, Freddie I and Rocco D.

The overall winner, and Beacon Musician of the Year 2020, playing Rachmaninov’s wonderful Elegie in E flat Minor for piano and the beautiful Russian folk song Black Eyes on the violin is Alexey A.

Huge congratulations to Alexey for those truly amazing performances! Congratulations also to our three runners up and indeed to all 11 of our highly talented finalists.

Kathryn Filippides – Head of Music

To watch all performances from the final, please click here.