BBC Young Musician of the Year 2020

[Nefertiti2]

One of the finalists is a Marimba player, and there is something so basic about the instrument- it's someone hitting something to make a noise, which we have all done, and the delicacy and physical strength with which the performer with three sticks in each hand which is simply breathtaking. Then like a snooker player he wanders over to collect another piece of equipment and goes back to work

It was postponed for a year, and maybe it's hearing live music again after so long but I have never heard a summariser in tears at the end of a performance.

Worth a watch

[BallochSonsFan]

Its not an award I particularly like. I think that it ignores some exceptional musicianship simply because folk or popular music isnt deemed to be worthy enough. Is there really a significant difference between a great young classical violin player or a virtuoso young fiddle player? I've seen Nicola Benedetti try to play traditional fiddle music and struggle compared to great fiddlers. Emma John's excellent book "Wayfaring Stranger" is a really interesting read. John was previously a young classical violin player of some experience but the challenges she faced trying to understand and then become adept at playing old time and bluegrass fiddle is a really compelling read.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

I saw bits of this, and they very much made me want to watch the whole thing on i-player. The marimba player's performance was indeed absolutely stunning and curiously moving.