Huge collection of talent plays to judges in Banbury Young Musician of the Year competition

Diego Sunga took the title after an inspiring competition held at The Warriner School on January 19 – 20. Those who listened to his breathtaking piano performance were unsurprised to hear that his perfect pitch and musical flair were apparent from the age of four.

Diego expressed gratitude to The Rotary Club of Banbury for having helped shape his musical talent.

The competition – the post-Covid relaunch – gave around 50 young people the opportunity to perform in public and to receive constructive feedback from the two professional judges, Mark Paine and Lucy Downer.

There were solo, duet and ensemble categories which included awards for piano, singing, guitar, woodwind, strings and brass. A full list of the winners of each category can be found on the Banbury Rotary Club website here.

Rotary Club spokesman John Groves said: “Entrants, aged 8 – 19, competed for trophies. Additionally, there were cash prizes for the overall winners but more important is the fact that the competition has so often acted as a launch pad into a musical career with at least eight previous winners going on to become professional musicians.”

This year the winner of the junior category was Sam Conisbee who performed on both guitar and piano.

"Banbury Rotary Club is grateful to the contestants’ families and schools for their support for the event, to The Warriner school for providing the venue and assistance and to Banbury Town Council for providing sponsorship,” said Mr Groves.“The Friday evening performances offered the youngsters competing the opportunity to win several cups available to those who had taken on board the old saying ‘practise makes perfect’. “Then on Saturday we saw the intermediate and senior competitions. We have to say that some of the singing was beautiful and the piano performances breathtaking.”

Mr Groves and the organisers of the Young Musician of the Year competition offered thanks to all the competitors who created such a stimulating and entertaining evening and to their schools and parents for encouraging them to participate.