Thurrock Young Musician took place at the Gateway Academy hosted by Rotary Club of Grays, Gateway Academy and Thurrock Music Services.

The competition offers young people the experience of performing on a public stage, the opportunity to showcase their musical talent and receive impartial feedback and assessment of their performance by Nigel Hiscock, an experienced adjudicator who is a professional musician living in Thurrock.

In total, 36 young people took place in the competition, which had beginner, intermediate and advanced-level rounds welcoming both instrumental and vocal performances.

The winners or each category were:

Beginners volalist – Olufunmi Esan, who sung Poco Poppa Pizza and Mama Piccolo by Lines and Roe Beginners instrumentalist 

Elzbieta Ribinskaite, who played Blues in the Attaic by Nikki Iles on the piano Intermediate vocalist

Leanne Lopez, who sung Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen - Vocal

Intermediate instrumentalist – Neda Bikus, who played Sonatina in A minor by Georg Benda on the piano

Advance instrumentalist – Sean Corrigan, who played Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano by Malcolm Arnold on the clarinet Sean Corrigan will now go on to compete in the district stage of the competition held in February 2020.

The competition is open to all levels, grade and styles of young instrumentalists and vocalists.