At the beginning of March, the Boys’ Division held the annual Young Musician of the Year Award Final in the Great Hall.
The earlier rounds of the competition, held in January and February, selected the best musicians that the Boys’ Division had to offer. After narrowing down the field to 56 semi-finalists, one Junior (Years 7-9) and one Senior (Years 10-13) musician was selected from each of seven categories: Brass, Piano/Organ, Strings, Vocal, Woodwind, Guitar and Percussion. On the night of the final, these fourteen young men performed their pieces in front of an audience.
Already winners in their own right, each of the musicians performed at an extremely high standard and the evening was a wonderful celebration of music in the Boys’ Division.
The adjudicator, who had the unenviable task of selected just one Junior and one Senior winner, was Robert Gardiner, Programme Lead Music Education at RNCM. After much deliberation, he declared Charlie Simpson (Year 10) the Senior Young Musician for 2025 and Max Knight (Year 7) the Junior Young Musician 2025. These two overall winners received a cash prize, generously donated by Mrs and Mrs Hilton, parents of Old Boy and musician Alexander Hilton.
The Young Composer of the Year awards were also presented on the night. The Senior award was given to Tanmay Gokul (Year 10), while Aashrith Govindu (Year 8) on the Junior award.
The Most Promising Performer award is given each year to a semi-final performance which was deserving of a place in the final, but did not quite make it. This year, that trophy was presented to pianist Justin Lin (Year 7). Everyone who performed on the night also received a trophy for winning their individual category to earn a place in the final.
Photos from the Young Musician of the Year Final 2025:
Young Musician of the Year 2025 Programme:
