On Wednesday evening 6 April at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire Music Service, with BBC Radio Shropshire, held a sell out concert featuring Shropshire’s finest young musicians. Four young musicians performed four very different concertos accompanied by Shropshire Sinfonia and conducted by Robert Wysome.

 

Pictured are the four finalists, left to right, Holly Scutt (violin) aged 16 studying at Shrewsbury High School  James Carter (trombone) aged 17 studying at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College, Rosie Powell Davies (cello) aged 18 studying at Shrewsbury High School and Freya Little (bassoon) aged 17 studying Shrewsbury High School.

 

The winner, Rosie Powell Davies, is in her final year at Shrewsbury High School, studying music as one of her A levels.  She has been offered a place to read Music at New College, Oxford in September.  She began learning the piano at the age of 6 and, a year later, started studying the cello with John Fairbank, achieving cello grade 8 distinction, aged 14, and the Sheila C Freeman prize awarded by the ABRSM.  Studying with Susie Allan she gained piano grade 8 distinction, aged 15.  Rosie currently leads the Shropshire Youth Cello Ensemble and the cello sections of Shrewsbury High School Orchestra and Senior String Ensemble.  During 2010-11 she has been performing with the CBSO Youth Orchestra in the Symphony Hall, Birmingham.  She has also performed regularly in Europe with an international youth orchestra, BISYOC.  Last year, Rosie was selected to play for cello and piano master-classes with Julian Lloyd Webber and Vanessa Latouche.  In April 2010, she reached the finals of both the Shropshire Concerto Competition (playing the Kabalevsky Cello Concerto) and the Gregynog Young Musician Competition.  Her cello is from the Dresden School, dated around 1885.

 

The adjudicator, Professor George Caird, praised all four finalists for their remarkable performances, claiming the decision was like a photo finish, with nothing between them in terms of the quality and maturity of their performances.

 

Alan Atkin (Manager - Shropshire Music Service) said, “This is a marvellous opportunity to showcase the outstanding talent of young musicians in Shropshire.”

 

Keith Havercroft (Music Adviser, Shropshire Council) praised the work of the peripatetic teaching staff at Shropshire Music Service for their continued outstanding contribution to the lives and learning of all young musicians in Shropshire.

 

BBC Radio Shropshire recorded the Concerto Competition and it will be broadcast at 7pm on Wednesday 13 April

To see more photographs of the finalists, learn more about the Concerto Competition and the work of the Music Service in Shropshire join Shropshire Music Service on Facebook, or contact Shropshire Music Service on 01743 874145