THE Rotary Club of Grays Thurrock Young Musician competition recently took place, organised in collaboration with Thurrock Music Services, The Gateway Academy, and the Rotary Club.

The annual event aims to celebrate and nurture young musical talent within the local community.

The competition is divided into three sections — beginner, intermediate, and advanced - to ensure participants are able to perform at a level appropriate to their experience and skill. Each section features both vocal and instrumental categories, with a winner recognised in each.

The adjudicator for the event remarked upon the exceptionally high standards demonstrated by the participants this year, noting the difficulty in selecting winners due to the outstanding performances across all categories.

From left: Daniel Popa, Megan Kullolli-Catano and Danielle Ulbricht with Paul Smith and Digby Hunt.

The event commenced with the Beginners section. The winners in each category were as follows:

·        Beginners Instrumental: Daniel Popa, representing Harris Academy

·        Beginners Vocal: Addison Best, representing St Clere's School

In the Intermediate section, the winners were:

·        Intermediate Vocal: Danielle Ullbright, representing St Clere's School

·        Intermediate Instrumental: Megan Kullolli-Catano, representing Thurrock Music Service

Finally, in the Advanced category, the following participants were recognised:

·        Advanced Instrumental: Dimithri Gunathilake

·        Advanced Vocal: Katerina Stowe-Mici

Each winner received a trophy, certificate and a gift voucher presented by Rotary Club president Paul Smith and judge Digby Hunt.