Scottish Young Musicians Returns With New Live Ensemble of the Year National Final, and Search For Solo Performer of The Year 2025

Scottish Young Musicians, Scotland's leading festival of music competitions, will return for 2025 to give young people across the country the chance to compete for the titles of Solo Performer of the Year, Ensemble of the Year and Brass Ensemble of the Year. Participation in this career-enhancing competition has been offered to every Local Authority in the country as well as independent schools, in the hope that more young people than ever before will take up the opportunity to perform and take part.

Scottish Young Musicians is Scotland’s leading music education charity and is firmly established as Scotland’s leading festival of music competitions for school students and one of the largest series of music events in Scotland. The competitions give young people from all socio-economic backgrounds a life-changing and unforgettable experience, as well as the confidence to continue to compete at the highest level, providing an opportunity which would otherwise not have existed.

In a new and exciting addition to the competitions, those entering Ensemble of the Year and Brass Ensemble of the Year will have the chance to compete in a live final for the first time. One ensemble will be selected to represent each local authority, recognised music organisation, and Scotland's independent schools, with each local authority and group hosting their own competitions to select their final entry. The chosen entries will be submitted via video recording to be judged by a panel of esteemed adjudicators who will select six ensembles to go on to compete at the National Final in theRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland on Sunday 9th March 2025. The deadline for video entries is 1st January 2025.

The winning ensembles will be awarded the title of Ensemble of the Year and Brass Ensemble of the Year, and receive a cash prize to further their musical experiences, the Maid of Morven Trophy, and an all-expenses paid trip to play a prime slot at the Solo Performer of the Year National Final at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The Brass Ensemble prize has been generously donated by Dr Ursula Jones OBE in honour of her late husband Philip Jones CBE, who founded one of the world’s most celebrated brass ensembles.

Also continuing for 2025 is Junior Solo Performer of the Year. Introduced in 2024, Scottish Young Musicians are offering local authorities support to host their own Junior Competition. This opportunity gives the country’s youngest musicians experience in performing in front of an audience and competing with their peers. Parents and pupils can find out more through their school music teacher.

Back to find its fourth champion, Solo Performer of the Year is open to all young musicians who go to school in Scotland, whatever age or standard. Each local authority will select a regional finalist, with all of them hosting local and regional heats across different schools to decide who will represent their area at the National Final. Musicians can enter through their school music teachers and a finalist will also be selected from Scotland's independent schools. The National Final will take place at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on Sunday 25 May 2025.

The winner of the Solo Performer of the Year will also receive a stunning trophy designed by Alexander Stoddart, the King’s Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland. The aluminium figure depicts the Maid of Morven, a figure from Ossianic poetry that has inspired composers throughout history. Solo finalists will also have a chance to win amazing career-changing prizes including cash to spend on developing music skills, a hand-crafted trophy, coaching, recording sessions, meet-and-greets with Scotland’s top music institutions and more.

Last year’s Solo Performer of the Year final was won by 17-year-old saxophonist Euan Kemp from East Dunbartonshire, who received £1,000 to spend on furthering his musical career, and a package of opportunities provided by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland including a coaching session, participation in a masterclass and a studio recording session.

The career-enhancing competition is supported by almost all of the major music institutions in Scotland, with previous involvement and prizes from Scottish Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, The Cumnock Tryst and more.

As part of a focus on bringing the competitions’ benefits to areas of deprivation, Scottish Young Musicians proudly partners with Young Sounds UK to help young musicians in Scotland find much needed funding to further their goals. Through the Awards programme, young musicians can apply to access £100 - £2,000 funding towards their musical costs and gain access to Young Sounds UK's programme of musical opportunities.

Alan Kerr, Chair of Scottish Young Musicians, said: “We’re incredibly proud that Scottish Young Musicians (SYM) has grown in just 3 years to become Scotland’s largest charity in the musical education sector, bringing its festival of music competitions to young people across the country and fostering skills that reach far beyond music.  SYM is helping thousands of young people develop confidence, resilience, and teamwork skills through the power of performance, and remains the only national school music competition in Scotland, accessible to every young musician regardless of their background. In 2024 we reached 30 Scottish Local Authorities, engaging 278 secondary schools, and for our 2025 competition we expect to cover every part of the country. Receiving no government funding, SYM relies entirely on donor support and pro bono support from Scotland’s leading music institutions who are determined to support not only music education but the development of Scotland’s future generation.”

For more information, please visit www.scottishyoungmusicians.com or follow Scottish Young Musicians on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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