Young Musician of the Year

The annual Young Musician of the Year competition was held at Christ Church in the town centre on 2nd February in the presence of the mayor, Cllr Bryan Cross, and the High Sheriff of Surrey, Mr Nicholas Sealy.

Five very talented young performers competed for the title: Gamal Khamis (piano), Emanuel Bach (violin), Amy Turk (harp), Emily Wenman (soprano) and Jack Lambert (piano). The musicianship and technical mastery displayed was of the very high standard which this event always displays and the adjudicator, Peter Stark, was faced with a very difficult choice. After commending them on their performances, he named the winner as Amy Turk, with Jack Lambert and Emily Wenman in second and third places. Emily also won the festival's summer school prize.

The audience also enjoyed a short recital by the winner of the festival's Most Promising Young Singer award, Dorothy Klepacka and performances by other winners from the festival.

(A selection of photographs taken at the event is available from Abacus Photographers.)