And the winner is ...

PIANIST Henry Cash has been named Kirklees Young Musician of the Year.

The 18-year-old from Huddersfield, a first year undergraduate at the Royal Academy of Music, triumphed in the final against seven other talented young musicians in the concert hall at Huddersfield Town Hall.

David Hoult, adjudicator for the competition, described Henry’s performance of works by Chopin, Ravel and Rachmaninoff as “truly outstanding” while he also drew admiring comments from professional pianists in the hall.

The other finalists were sopranos Ann Wilkes, of Manchester, and Julia Morgan, of Ripon; violinists Jordan Earnshaw, of Huddersfield, and Sarah Bush, of Swinton; tuba player James Ure, of Huddersfield; viola player Thomas Broadbent, of Honley; and Issy Haley-Porteous, of Honley, who played flute and piccolo.

Henry, who previously studied at the renowned Chetham’s School, is no stranger to trophy success. In 2016, at the age of 17, he was the winner of the Pendle Young Musicians’ Bursary Competition. In August that year, he was appointed a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music.

He has given numerous concerts, including Rachmaninoff’s 1st piano concerto, accompanied by the Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra, and Saint-Saens’s Carnival of the Animals with the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has also played at Birmingham’s Barber Institute, Jersey Academy of Music, St James’s in Piccadilly and The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. He is a laureate of the 2016 Mazovia Chopin Festival, Warsaw, and has performed Chopin in the Chopin House.

His latest success came during the 129th annual Mrs Sunderland Festival – an 11-day celebration of music ranging from virtuoso individual performances to large-scale orchestral and choral works.

Henry was presented with the J W Pearce Trophy and a Mrs Sunderland Medal.

He will also receive prize money of £1,000 and will perform during the festival’s last night concert on Saturday.