On the evening of 8 February the Haberdashers' Musician of the Year brought students, staff and Members of the Company from across the country together for a highly enjoyable evening of musical entertainment at Haberdashers' Hall.

Competition Format

Competitors. Each school was invited to send one competitor from each of their senior schools, making ten competitors in total. Competitors must be individual performers but they may bring an accompanist of their choice.

Judges. Dame Jane Glover DBE, Freeman, acted as Head Judge, along with cellist Adrian Bradbury, Freeman, and accompanist Catherine Milledge. 

Prizes. The Haberdashers’ Musician of the Year trophy was kindly donated by the Glover family.

The Performances

Jaden Turrell (drums) - Haberdashers' Borough Academy
Caravan by Duke Ellington

Leonardo Kelly-Salazar (piano) - Haberdashers' Hatcham College
Beethoven Sonata Opus 2 no 1 in F minor, fourth movement

Amelie Jones (double bass) - Haberdashers' Girls School
Tarantella by Bottesini

Alise Lakin (voice) - Haberdashers' Crayford Academy
'I am telling you' from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls

Eleanor Walsh (clarinet) - Monmouth School for Girls
Solo de Concours by Henri Rabaud

Daniel Haves (violin) - Haberdashers' Adams
No 1 in G minor, Movement 2 Adagio by Brunch

Alex Pylypenko (piano) - Haberdashers' Boys' School
Hungarian Rhapsody 11 by Liszt

Roni Hawkes (guitar) - Haberdashers' Knights Academy
Roundabout by Roche

Ellis Chan (piano) - Monmouth School for Boys
Barcarolle by F Chopin

Ashleigh Haigh (tenor saxophone) - Haberdashers' Abraham Darby
Piece - Of Spain by Colin Cowles

Some more about the judges

Dame Jane Glover DBE, Freeman

Acclaimed British conductor Jane Glover has been Music of the Baroque’s music director since 2002. From 2009 until 2016 she was Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music where she is now the Felix Mendelssohn Visiting Professor. She was recently Visiting Professor of Opera at the University of Oxford, her alma mater.  Jane Glover has conducted major symphony and chamber orchestras, and opera companies, in Britain, Europe, the United States, Asia, and Australia.

Adrian Bradbury, Freeman

Freeman Adrian Bradbury was principal cello in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain before winning scholarships to Churchill College, Cambridge (where he read Veterinary Science and Music) and then to the Royal Academy of Music. After further study in Berlin he developed an international career in chamber music as the cellist in Composers Ensemble (winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society Chamber Award, 2002), Jane's Minstrels, Trio Gemelli, Touchwood Piano Quartet and Chamber Domaine, giving world premieres of solos and chamber works.

Catherine Milledge

Catherine Milledge studied Classics and English at Jesus College, Oxford and after graduating with a first joined the Piano Accompaniment course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She achieved a Distinction for her postgraduate diploma, followed by the MMus degree in solo performance. She subsequently won the Birmingham Accompanist of the Year award as well as prizes for accompaniment in the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and at the the Royal Overseas League annual music competition.

It was a truly wonderful evening of sublime music played by an extremely talented group of young people - the judges had a very tough job to do. As Dame Jane said in her summing up, "It's like being asked whether you uprefer artichoke, steak of chocolate fondant'; you'd like all three courses, thank you very much!" 

But there had to be one overall winner...

... and the winner was

Jaden Turrell for Borough Academy on his fantasitc jazzy drums! Many congratulations, Jaden (and accompanists), you absolutely transformed Haberdashers' Hall with your rendition of Duke Ellington!

And congratulations to all our young musicians, with many thanks for entertaining us all so beautifully - you are all winners.