Young Musician of The Year Programme - 2025

11.40am

GORDON CHAN (age 20)                               

Piano 

J.S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue No.17 in A flat, BWV 862 

Alexander Scriabin: Piano Sonata No.4 in F#, Op 30 

Currently pursuing his undergraduate degree at the Royal College of Music under the guidance of John Byrne, Gordon previously studied privately with Jakob Fichert and Jan Loeffler at the Junior Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He has also had the privilege of  working with distinguished pianists such as Stephen Kovacevich, Noriko Ogawa, Ronan  O’Hora, Sofya Gulyak and Ji Liu. As a dedicated soloist, Gordon has performed at prestigious venues such as Hong Kong City Hall and Trinity College Chapel, University of Cambridge. He also serves as an orchestral pianist for the City of Birmingham Youth Symphony Orchestra, having performed at the Birmingham Symphony Hall in October 2022. Beyond solo and orchestral pursuits, Gordon finds fulfilment in playing chamber music, particularly piano trios and violin sonatas.  

12.00pm

MARINA SHEVLIN (age 16) 

Clarinet (Accompanist Lindy Tennent-Brown) 

Horowitz: Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano 

Marina has been playing the violin since the age of four, and started clarinet aged seven. She achieved Grade 8 Distinction in violin at 12, and at clarinet at 13. She attends the Purcell School in Watford where she studies clarinet under Stephen Williams. She is the recipient of a Cherubim Eb clarinet and has won multiple prizes and awards in competitions across the UK, including Essex Most Promising Player and Most Promising Clarinettist under 18 in a masterclass with Emma Johnson. Marina has played with the National Children’s Orchestra, English Schools Orchestra, NYCB, South London Youth Orchestra and LSSO. She won a concerto competition with EYSM where she performed Rossini with orchestra in July 2024. 

12.20pm

NIRVANA CHE-LAI (age 14)

Violin (Accompanist Phoenix Che-Lai) 

Bach: Sarabande Partita No.2 

Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen 

Nirvana is 14 and was born and lives in London. She started violin at the age of six and currently studies privately with Rodney Friend and at the Junior RCM. She attends Eltham College, where exceptional support is offered to first study musicians, and has performed as a soloist with the All Souls Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall at their flagship event, Prom Praise 2024. By the age of ten, she had achieved distinction in Grade 8, and in Year 6 she was awarded her DipABRSM. At 11 she became leader of the National Children’s Orchestra and is now a first violinist with the National Youth Orchestra. She won the Fritz Kreisler Cup at Coulsdon & Purley Festival for three years in succession, and was a finalist in the International Balys  Dvarionas Competition in Lithuania and in the Chicago International Violin Competition.

12.40pm

SIUYE HUANG (age 13)

Cello (Accompanist TBC) 

Prokofiev: Concertino Op.132, first movement 

Saint-Saëns:  Concerto No.1, first movement 

Siyue was born in Kingston in 2012 and started her musical journey at the age of two, inspired by her family. She earned a place in the Young Yehudi Menuhin programme at the age of nine and a year later was awarded a music scholarship to study full-time at the Purcell School under the guidance of Professor Alexander Boyarsky. Siyue actively participates in music festivals and competitions. In 2023 she was recognised as the Adjudicator’s choice and the Winner of the Roger Tapping Shield at the Basingstoke Music and Art Festival. She performed in the Concerto Competition in Abingdon, where she received an honourable mention from the jury. In 2024, Siyue won the Reading Symphony Orchestra Winner of the Joy Day Cup. She was also the Winner of the Purcell School Composition Competition. Siyue is creative in both art and music and enjoys studying different languages like German and French. Besides classical music she loves improvising with her friends, and she loves animals. 

1.00pm LUNCH BREAK     

2.00pm

SIGAL NACHSEN (age 16)  

Harp 

S. Natra: Sonatina for Harp 

E. Parish-Alvars: Romance in A flat 

M. Grandjany: The Colorado Trail 

Sigal Nachshen, from London, was part of NCO for 5 years and will be participating in  two NYO programmes in 2024/5. In 2021 she was one of 34 harpists of the Claire Jones Harp Ensemble to record an album at Abbey Road Studios. Sigal won the Dr Joy  Yeh award and gold medal in the spring 2023 VAYA Music Festival. In 2023 she achieved grade 8 (distinction) followed by distinction in her 2024 ARSM diploma. In 2024 she won first prize both in Poppy Harp Competition's Flourishing Harpists and in the N. London Harp Competition G8 recital category. Sigal was honoured to be invited to the Cardiff 25th Anniversary Camac Harp Festival 2024, performing a programme of duets and solos, and will be joining the North London Youth Orchestra in 2025. After GCSEs and A levels Sigal hopes to study music at university, developing her musicianship and her conducting skills. In her spare time she trains for heptathlon and enjoys acting. 

2.20pm

ROBBY CASSELS (age 15)

Piano 

Chopin: Ballade 3 

Debussy: Isle Joyeuse 

Robby Cassels, who lives in North Tawton in Devon, was introduced to the piano at eight years old and is currently in his third year at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey. Since a young boy, Robby’s favourite composer has been Frederic Chopin as his music displays many different characters and styles. One of his most cherished musical moments was performing Bach's E Major Keyboard Concerto at the Winter Festival alongside the YMS Junior Orchestra. His musical accomplishments include the first prize winner of the Two Moors Festival in Devon. Beyond the keys, Robby finds joy in playing football with his friends at YMS. His goal is to become a concert pianist to spread the love of classical music to a wider audience.

2.40pm

HANA SHAH (age 17) 

Violin (Accompanist Jonathan Zoob)                     

J.S. Bach: Partita No.3 in E major 

Joseph Achron: Hebrew melody 

Henryk Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No.2 in D minor, 3rd movement 

Hana was born in London in 2007 and started playing the violin at the age of four. In 2018 she was accepted to The Purcell School for Young Musicians with a scholarship, and in 2022 she moved to the Yehudi Menuhin School to join in the class of Professor Ning Kam where she is currently studying. Hana has performed at international competitions: she won twice (2014 and 2017) the first prizes in Alexandre Glazounov International Concours in Paris, and the third prize in the Leonid Kogan International Competition For Young Violinists (2019). Hana loves biology and Japanese culture and is an enthusiastic manga illustrator. She is also a cat-lover and frequent visitor to cat cafes. 

3.00pm

AMELIA WISE (age 18) 

Clarinet (Accompanist James Mayhew) 

Debussy: Premiere Rhapsody 

Béla Kovács: Hommage á Manuel de Falla 

Amelia was born in Bath where she began playing Clarinet at eight and achieved a distinction in ABRSM grade eight Clarinet in 2021. From an early age she enjoyed  playing in ensembles such as her county symphonic wind band, school orchestras and Trowbridge symphony orchestra. Amelia has competed in the Mid Somerset Festival for many years, reaching the final of Bath young musician and the classical music evening twice. In 2023 she competed in both the concerto final and the instrumental final in the Classical music evening, winning the Thelma King Instrumental award which paid  for her participation in the Carousel Masterclass in Belgium. For sixth form she attended Wells Cathedral School where she greatly improved her playing studying with Richard Russell. Amelia now studies with Sonia Sielaff at the Royal Academy of Music on a partial scholarship.  

SHORT BREAK 

3.30pm

FLORENCE NIU (age 15) 

Piano  

Chopin: Scherzo No.1 

Beethoven: Sonata Op.2 No.2 

Born in Hong Kong in 2009, Florence began playing piano at the age of four and studied under Vice Professor Chen Lan at Shenzhen Art School from the age of five. She has won several awards, including first place at the 2017 Taipei Chinese International Junior Piano Competition and the 2018 Hamburg Brahms International Piano Festival. Florence performed at the 2019 CCTV New Year's Gala. In 2022, she was accepted into Year 9 at Caterham School with a music scholarship. In 2023 she joined the Royal College of Music Junior Programme with Professor Kong Jianing, and successfully performed Mozart's Piano Concerto K459 at Vienna's Golden Hall, earning high praise from the audience and local media. She won gold in the 14-15 years old Young Artist category at the 2024 IPPA Correno International Piano Competition UK Region. Florence also enjoys reading and dancing. 

3.50pm

JOSEPH SAINSBURY (age 15)

Recorder (Accompanist Ilan Kurtser)  

Fumiharu Yoshimine: Mudai 

Antonio Vivaldi: Recorder Concerto RV445, 1st movement 

Joseph Sainsbury is a student at University College School and attends Junior Royal Academy and Aldeburgh Young Musicians. He has been playing the recorder and piano since he was six years old and started playing the oboe when he was ten. In 2023 he was awarded second place in the under-16 soloist category at the ORDA Recorder Festival at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He also enjoys composing music and playing table tennis.

4.10pm

TAO SIM (age 14)                                        

Violin (Accompanist Craig Greene) 

Edward Elgar: Violin Sonata in E minor, 1st movement, allegro 

Kreisler: Praeludium and Allegro 

Tao Sim is a young award-winning classical violin and cello soloist. He first took up the violin at four years old. He achieved his diploma in violin at age 10 and his diploma in cello at 13. Tao won the Toddington Young Musician of the Year 2023 Competition and the North London Festival Best Composer 2023.  He also won the Chesham Arts Festival Vice President's Cup in 2023. Tao and his sister have also won the Chesham Arts Festival String Ensemble Cup for three consecutive years from 2022 to 2024. Both of them have been playing at hospices and hospitals for the patients and NHS staff. Tao has also performed recently at the Spring Gala Concert for Rotary Club Barton-Le-Clay as a fundraising event for Great Ormond Street Hospital. 

4.30pm

FIROZE MADON (age 21)   

Piano 

Chopin: Barcarolle in F# major, Op.60 

Scriabin: Vers la Flamme, Op.72 

Firoze is currently a third-year undergraduate student at the RCM, studying piano with Professor Dmitri Alexeev, where he is generously supported by the Victoria Robey Scholarship and the Kendall Taylor Scholarship. He started piano lessons at the age of six and was admitted to the Purcell School in 2014 where he studied piano with Professor Patsy Toh and also took lessons in violin and composition. His love for music has taken him across the UK and overseas and he has enjoyed a variety of solo and collaborative concert opportunities including performances at the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Saffron Hall and Southbank Centre. Firoze was a Keyboard Category Finalist in BBC Young Musician 2022 where his performance was broadcast on BBC Four and Radio 3 and a few months later he won the Gregynog Young Musician Competition in Wales. In January 2024 he won the Alasdair Graham Pianist Prize in the RCM Lieder Competition. Most recently, Firoze was awarded the prestigious Help Musicians Accompanist’s Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards. 

BREAK 

5.00pm

ADJUDICATION AND PRESENTATION OF AWARDS 

First prize: £1,000;  

Second prize: The Sevenoaks School Prize £500;  

Third prize: £250 

The winner will also be offered the opportunity of a concerto performance with the acclaimed Lydian Orchestra in a concert later this year. In addition the Sevenoaks Music Club will present £75 each to the second and third prize winners.