2025 Competition 

The 2025 Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year Competition will be held on 9 March 2025 at Walthamstow Hall Senior School, Sevenoaks. It is open to instrumentalists between the ages of 12 and 21 years, who are grade 8 standard and above. Two adjudicators, eminent in their own musical field, are appointed, who at the end of the Competition Day give a brief adjudication of each competitor and announce the prize winners. The adjudicators for the 2025 Competition are Timothy Barrett and Nancy Litten.

This year the Sevenoaks Three Arts Festival are delighted to welcome Black Cat Music as a sponsor of the Sevenoaks Young Musician Competition. Prizes to be awarded at the 2025 Competition are as follows: the first prize – cash prize of £1,000 plus the opportunity to play a concerto with the Lydian Orchestra, also founded by June Clements; second prize - Sevenoaks School Prize of £500; and a third cash prize of £250. In addition, the Sevenoaks Music Club will present prizes of £75 each to the second and third prize winners. Each year Sevenoaks District Arts Council presents the winner of The Young Musician of the Year Competition with a silver June Clements Memorial Medal at the Lydian concerto performance. This medal is in recognition of June’s outstanding contribution to the musical education and development of the young people of Sevenoaks. The competition, organised by Sevenoaks Three Arts Festival, was begun in 1995 by June Clements, a long-standing member of the Festival’s Executive Committee. Although June died in November 1996, the Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year Competition remains a thriving memorial.

For further details contact the Competition Secretary, Margaret Holgate, on 01732 454448.

Competition Report 2025

SUNDAY 9 MARCH 2025

The Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year Competition took place at The Ship Theatre, Walthamstow Hall Senior School on Sunday 9th March.  Fifteen young instrumentalists, ranging in age from 12 to 21, gave performances which included the piano, cello, violin, clarinet, harp and recorder. Each gave a15-minute recital in front of two professional adjudicators, Tim Barratt and Nancy Litten, who remarked on the exceedingly high standard and the broad spectrum of instruments represented.

The title of Sevenoaks Young  Musician of the Year 2025 and First Prize was awarded to 14year-old Nirvana Che-Lai, a violinist, who attends Eltham College in London. She also receives the opportunity to give a concerto performance with the Lydian Orchestra. For her winning recital, Nirvana played Bach’s Sarabande from Partita No.2 and Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate.

Second prize, the Sevenoaks School Prize, went to 15 year-old Joseph Sainsbury (Recorder), a pupil at University College School, who played Mudai by Fumiharu Yoshimine and Antonio Vivaldi’s Recorder Concerto RV445, 1st movement. 

Third Prize was awarded to Dunyue (Justin) Peng, age 17 (Violin), a pupil at Yehudi Menuhin School, who played Carmen Fantasy by Sarasate and Bach’s Allemande from Violin Partita in B minor. Special mention was given by the Adjudicators to Ivan Carillo, age 19 (cello) and to Firoze Madon, age 21 (Piano).

The Sevenoaks Young Musician Competition, an important prestige event for Sevenoaks, has become a prominent part of the musical life of the town. We are extremely grateful to our sponsors Sevenoaks School, Black Cat Music & Acoustics; and to our other sponsors Sevenoaks Town Council, Sevenoaks District Arts Council, Sevenoaks Music Club and the Lydian Orchestra.