Talented young Wigan musicians hit top note in competition

Sadly due to Covid-19 the contest had to be run in an online-only format this year, with musicians submitting audio recordings rather than getting to perform live in front of an audience.

But the format change did nothing to deter potential participants, giving the judges some tricky but very welcome headaches to decide where the prizes would be going.

The three talented winners were 12-year-old flautist Ellie Rose Masheder, who took the Entry Section, 10-year-old cellist Austin Thomas in the Intermediate Section and 17-year-old French horn player Cora Heyes in the Advanced Section.

Cora, who is part of the Junior Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester and is currently rehearsing for her auditions to the prestigious institution this autumn, performed two conservatoire standard pieces for the French horn, Laudatio by Krol and Alla Caccia by Abbott.

The competition’s youngest winner Austin performed Humoreske by Tchaikovsky and Pieta by Stradella, while Ellie Rose played On and Off Blues by Lynne Williams.

Advanced Section winner Cora, who also took the Brian Yates Memorial Shield, started playing the French horn six years ago with Wigan Music Service.

She has been playing music for a decade, starting on the violin aged seven and also taking up trumpet.

However, her main instrument is now the French horn on which she performs in the Wigan Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Halle Youth Orchestra.

Talented Cora also plays in the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra, having been introduced to brass at St Aidan’s through the music service’s Wider Opportunities programme.

Austin, whose intermediate section victory gave him the Jemma Louise Roberts Shield, has been learning the cello at Wigan Music Service with Danny Norbury since 2017.

He now studies at the renowned Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, having enrolled there in January 2019, and is also a member of Wigan Youth Orchestra.

Flautist Ellie, who was awarded the Winners Cup, has been playing for around three years, having originally come home from school one day and announced her intention to begin learning the instrument.

She is now working towards her grade four exam and is in three concert bands and a flute choir.