On Saturday 1st March, six exceptionally talented, young local musicians took to the stage for the final of the ‘PwC Jersey Young Musician of the Year 2025’.
Organised by Jersey Music Service and sponsored by long-term supporter PwC, the competition, which is in its 33rd year, incorporates the well-established sectional competitions for string, woodwind, piano, brass, voice and percussion. The event provides young musicians in Jersey with performance and competition opportunities, with many previous finalists having gone on to pursue successful careers in music.
To reach the final, the young musicians have already had to compete in and win their particular heat in competition with other instrumentalists and vocalists in their section.
Each musician performed a short programme of music of their choice, and the finalist who gave the most expressive and technically accomplished performance of their chosen repertoire was named the PwC Jersey Young Musician of the Year 2025.
The overall winner this year was vocalist Savanna Vogt.
This year’s finalists were:
- Island Music Woodwind Heat – Emma Mwanga (flute)
- Jersey Premier Brass – Brass Heat – Summer Watkins (trumpet)
- Jersey Vocal Trust – Vocal Heat – Savanna Vogt (vocal)
- Wendy Falla Piano Heat – Jason Hoare (piano)
- The Band of the Island of Jersey Percussion Heat – Oliver Hutton (percussion)
- Dorothy Chapman String Heat – Edward Clark (violin)
The evening was adjudicated by David Chatterton, who led the Brass, Percussion and Jazz departments at Chetham’s School of Music from 2002 and helped develop, over many years, a range and excellence of provision typical of music as a whole in the school. He was appointed as Assistant Principal and Head of Brass, Percussion and Jazz at Chetham’s in 2020, and recently retired after almost four decades at the school. David has coached ensembles such as the National Youth Wind Ensemble, National Youth Chamber Orchestra and National Youth Concert Band. There was also a featured performance from flautist Cosimo Dhami-Hounsome, last year’s winner.
The winner was awarded with the coveted trophy, along with a cheque presented by PwC for £1,000 in support of their ongoing music studies.
Dr Graham Cox, Principal of Jersey Music Service, said: “The PwC Jersey Young Musician of the Year competition is one of the Island’s longest established artistic competitions and each year I am blown away by the high standard of entries. This year is no exception, we have some very talented musicians in the finals and the adjudicator has a difficult task on his hands. I’m very much looking forward to their performances on the night.”
Abigail McDermott, Marketing Director at PwC, commented: “As long-term sponsor of the PwC Jersey Young Musician of the Year Competition, it’s fantastic to see year-on-year the wealth of musical talent in our local community. This competition really showcases the very best of Jersey’s young, gifted and disciplined musicians.”
At the final, the category winners of the PwC Jersey Junior Musician of the Year Competition will also be presented with their trophies, having won their respective categories on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th February 2025.
This year’s junior winners are:
- Junior Piano Competition Winner – Jack Murphy (piano)
- Junior String Competition Winner – Emily Coates Rodriguez (violin)
- Junior Brass Competition Winner – Theo Robson (cornet)
- Junior Woodwind Competition Winner – William de la Haye (bassoon)
- Junior Vocal Competition Winner – Prutha Tejpal (vocal)
