Calderglen High School - Young Musician of the year 2026

Last night I had the pleasure of helping judge Calderglen High School’s Young Musician of the Year competition, alongside incredible saxophonist and all-round great guy, Dean!

Now, standing in front of a room full of strangers and saying a few words into a microphone is nerve-racking enough.

But standing up there, instrument in hand, and playing your heart out in front of that same crowd - and knowing you’re being judged?

That takes nerves of steel!

But, as always, the young musicians of Calderglen High rose to the challenge and blew us away with their talent and hard work.

The competition was divided into three categories:

Young Vocalist

Junior Instrumentalist

Senior Instrumentalist

From these, we had the difficult task of choosing one Overall Winner 2026.

And believe me, that’s no easy feat!

How on earth do you compare jazz guitar, funk drumming, classical piano, traditional fiddle and Latin-inspired saxophone?

It’s a bit like comparing apples, oranges and drum kits. All awesome, but really pretty different!

Before announcing our winners, I’d like to give a special mention to a few performances that really stood out.

Lewis Watson (S5) – Euphonium

Excellent precision, control and a lovely full tone in Beaufort Allegro. Really clean, proficient playing! And a good bow at the end – Dean really appreciated that!

Isla Stirling (S5) – Flute

Lovely tone, crisp articulation and some brilliantly quick, clean runs in Flight of the Foo Birds!

Jasmine Menzies (S3) – Piano

A confident, graceful performance of Waltz in A Minor, with some beautifully delicate trills.

Ross Duke (S6) – Drums

Power, energy and technical chops by the bucketload! Ross brought a bit of metal to proceedings with Inhale and certainly made sure we were all awake!

Owen Lynch (S6) – Guitar

Exceptionally smooth, clean jazz guitar playing on St Thomas. Great technique and a lovely feel for the music!

Rosie Kelly (S4) – Saxophone

A fantastic performance of Tango Till You Drop, full of confidence, flair and attitude! Brilliant use of dynamics and tone, moving effortlessly from smooth and mellow to bright and sassy. A cracking young musician with a very bright future ahead of her!

And now, without further ado. On to our winners…

YOUNG VOCALIST OF THE YEAR 2026

Zara McKelvie (S6)

A clear, confident and controlled performance of When I Was Your Man. Excellent pitch, lovely tone and great use of dynamics and expression. A very deserving winner!

JUNIOR INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR 2026

Natalie Henriquez (S2) – Violin

Natalie absolutely stole the show with her performance of Tango Habanera, full of Latin flair, confidence and attitude!

Excellent intonation and bow control, but what really stood out was her personality and musical expression.

Fantastic to see someone so young playing with such confidence. Keep it up, Natalie!

SENIOR INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR 2026

Christian Sie (S5) – Piano

From his very first note, Christian had the entire room captivated.

His performance of Debussy’s Clair de Lune was jaw-dropping.

He played with such a delicate touch, leaving these long pauses between phrases. And rather than losing our attention, those hangs and moments of silence drew us in even further.

It was as much about the notes he didn’t play as the ones he did.

At one point, his playing was so effortless, I thought someone had pressed the demo button on his digital piano ...until I noticed he was playing an acoustic upright!

Unreal.

And so, after much deliberation…

CALDERGLEN YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR 2026

CHRISTIAN SIE!

Christian’s musical maturity and technical ability are remarkable for someone his age.

In fact, I’m fairly convinced he must have started learning the piano at least two past lives ago!

A fantastic performance and a thoroughly deserving overall winner.

_____________________

Finally, a huge congratulations to every single student who took part last night.

Competitions like this aren’t just about winning trophies. They’re about having the courage to get up there, share something you’ve worked hard on, and put yourself and your music out into the world.

That takes real guts, and every one of you should be proud.

There were so many great performances that I couldn’t possibly mention them all in one post!

But! I did take notes on every performance, and I know from experience how much a few words of encouragement or constructive feedback can mean to musicians.

So, when I get a chance, I’ll put together a separate wee write-up celebrating everyone who took part, with a few thoughts on each performance.

Every one of these young musicians deserves a mention!

In the meantime, keep playing, keep practising, and most importantly, keep enjoying your music!

A massive thank you to Calderglen High School for inviting me along, and to the music department and staff for all the hard work that goes into making evenings like this possible.

The future of music is in very good hands!

PS like an idiot, I managed to leave my programme at the school, so apologies if I've misspelled anyone's name! If I've got yours wrong, just give me a shout and I'll put it right!