Ripon Grammar School pupils have won a record-breaking eleven first place trophies and awards at a prestigious music festival.
Between them, the 25 talented young music students who entered the Harrogate Competitive Music Festival also picked up seven second place and three third place awards.
The long-established festival, credited with nurturing future generations of young arts talent over the past 90 years, attracts entrants from throughout the district.
The school's director of music, Michael Barker, said it was the largest number of prizes RGS had ever won at the competition:
"We are immensely proud of the sheer number of our students who entered the competition and the impressive talent on display under pressure in a competition which was of a very high standard with professional adjudicators.
"Well done to all students who entered in all classes and congratulations to the winners who played and sang so well."
Pianist and trumpeter Henry Porter won an impressive three first places in his age category - in the piano sonata, virtuoso and brass solo classes.
Having achieved grade 8 in trumpet, which he has been playing since he was seven, and currently working towards grade 8 in piano, which he took up at age ten.
The 17-year-old, from Langthorpe, a former member of the National Children’s Orchestra, has enjoyed playing in some of the country’s greatest venues.
He impressed judges with his performances of New Kid by Christopher Norton, Zelda by Percy Code, Allegro Moderato by Haydn and Grandfather’s Clock by George Doughty.
Aiming for a career as an airline pilot, he said:
“I hope to go on to continue to play music to a high standard.”
Pianist William Renton achieved two first places in solo and duet.
The 16-year-old, who began playing when he was six years old, has achieved grade 6 in the instrument, alongside grade 3 in the French Horn.
The teenager, from Kirkby Malzeard, said:
“After my duet performance the adjudicator invited me back up to play with her and this was amazing!
“I hope to play music for enjoyment in the future and meet new people doing it. I also want to perform in lots of concerts and musical events.”
The aspiring doctor, who also plays guitar, says he enjoys playing in all the concerts at school, a highlight being his involvement in RGS’s musical production Sweeney Todd.
At the festival, he performed Evening on the River Nile by Tom Gerou and Something for the Weekend by Alexander Skevington, alongside Spanish Dance No. 2 by Moszkovski with Sofia Konfortov.
He also played See, the conqu’ring Hero Comes by George Frideric Handel on the French horn in the debut non-competitive class.
Keziah Jayan picked up a first place in acoustic guitar and second place in the classical guitar section.
The 14-year-old, from Ripon, who also plays piano started playing acoustic guitar - in which she has achieved distinctions in all her music exams, grades 1 to 6 - at the age of four and only recently took up classical guitar.
She performed Autumn Breeze, Down by the Sally Gardens, Give Me Your Hand, Let Love Add Up and 'Midsummer'.
She said:
"My ambition is to finish and get distinctions in all my grades for acoustic guitar and maybe learn a new instrument.”
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