Shropshire student wins Young Musician of the Year award

For Ronnie Tse, 18, the latest first prize was particularly poignant as he is going to university next year and so this was his last performance in the competition.

The Shropshire Music Service competition celebrates Shropshire’s top musical talents and Ronnie was ‘delighted’ to beat 10 other musicians from around the county.

The competition featured a variety of musical instruments and pieces and Ronnie impressed the adjudicator with his cello piece Brahms Cello Sonato No.1 in E Minor, Op.38.

Reflecting on the event, he said: “Obviously, I didn’t expect to win the competition, so it was a nice bonus. I just wanted to perform one last time before my studies at Concord end.

“Although busy, discipline was the key to managing my time. I made a schedule and stuck to it. I was grateful for my amazing piano accompanist Mrs. Giles.”

Maria Giles, music tutor at Concord College, said: “I have had the privilege of accompanying Ronnie in many concerts and competitions during his time at Concord.

“As always, we had a great time rehearsing and practising our piece. He was really looking forward to performing in this event in spite of the many other commitments that he had.

“It was a very poignant and expressive piece by Ronnie. It was his connection with it – his understanding of emotions and his ability to convey them through the music which really stood out.

“There were several brilliant performances in this year’s competition and I am excited to be thinking about future projects with Concord students.”