Noah is Chigwell's Young Musician of the Year 2026

Published by Chigwell School on Wednesday 27th of May 2026

Chigwell School’s annual Young Musician of the Year 2026 competition proved to be a brilliant celebration of musical excellence, with 37 pupils performing across the Junior and Senior categories.

Featuring a rich variety of styles and instruments, the standard was exceptionally high, making for a closely contested competition through both the heats and the evening final.

Congratulations go to all pupils who performed. In the Junior category, Teodora (Year 7) took the title with a highly technical and accomplished violin performance, while Eddie was highly commended for his engaging singing.

In the Senior category, Noah was named winner for the second time, delivering a commanding jazz piano performance. Angelique was highly commended for her technically demanding rendition of Clarinet Concertino.

The school extends its sincere thanks to Mr Simon Toyne for adjudicating and supporting such a fantastic celebration of music.

Reflecting on his success, Noah, this year’s Senior Young Musician of the Year, said:

“Chigwell’s iconic Young Musician of the Year competition is our cherished annual celebration of music through solo performance. Here, Music scholars, award holders and other talented musicians ‘appear’ to compete against each other for the coveted title. I always say that the competition’s biggest ‘flaw’ is that, in our music department, it isn’t truly a competition at all. We are a single, united family. Though it may look like a ‘me against you’, all of us are there supporting each other, whether that be through watching performances or calming each other’s nerves next door in the hour before an audition.

"This year, the bar was set higher than ever. Angelique played the Clarinet with such beautiful emotion and unrivalled lyricism, while Milan’s technical recorder playing blew the audience away. I performed two pieces on the Piano. The first is entitled ‘Here’s that Rainy Day’, a Jazz standard arranged by Bill Evans, and the second, my own arrangement of ‘Pure Imagination’ from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"The adjudicator this year Simon Toyne, the Executive Director of Music at the David Ross Education Trust, brought an encouraging warmth to every corner of New Hall. His friendly manner reassured us all and he gave each person thoughtful and detailed feedback to inspire us to push further in the art of performance.

"Winning this competition for a second time has taught me something: Music is infinite, and creation never ends. Continuing to honour the traditions of music whilst adding your own unique spin is the gateway to communicating without the need for words."