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We regret that cups and trophies will not be awarded if the Festival is virtual.
This annual event is organised under the auspices of the Woking Music Festival.
The aim of the competition is to provide young people, aged 14-20 years, who are selected on the basis of their performance in solo classes in the Woking Music Festival, with an opportunity to compete in concert conditions.
1st Prize: £400 and the Gordon Brown Trophy
2nd Prize: £325 and the Yorkshire Building Society Trophy
3rd Prize: £250 and the H R Taylor Charitable Trust Trophy
All other competitors receive a cash prize of £125.
Information about the 2024 competition can be found here.
Click here for the names of previous winners and adjudicators.
The Most Promising Young Singer Award is open to all singers aged 16-25 years who enter any vocal class in the festival. The winner is chosen by the committee after recommendations from the adjudicator, notified in December and invited to sing at the prestigious Young Musician Competition Concert in February, when a cheque for £200 is presented, together with The Wendy Cane Memorial Prize, given by the Cane family in memory of Wendy ‘who worked tirelessly for many years to make our Festival a success.
The Most Promising Young Actor Award is open to all performers aged under 19 years who enter any speech and drama class in the Festival. The winner will be chosen by the committee after recommendations from the Adjudicator, notified in December and invited to perform at the prestigious Young Musician Competition Concert in February.
In order to recognise the outstanding talents of many of our younger musicians we are pleased to present these major awards.
The recipients are chosen from performers 14 years and under on the recommendation of the adjudicators. They will be notified in December and required to perform at the Young Musician Competition concert in February when they will be presented with the awards.
The Chamber Music Award will be chosen by the committee after recommendations from the adjudicator for the best performance of chamber music. The winning ensemble will be notified in December and required to perform at the Young Musician competition in February
All the performers who are invited to compete in the Young Musician of the Year and the winner of the Most Promising Young Singer award have the opportunity to apply for the Woking Music Festival Summer School Bursary. This is a contribution towards the costs of attending a music summer school. The awarding committee meets before the competition and its decision is not, therefore, based on the competitors’ performance at that event but on the merits of the application received.
The Dame Ethyl Smyth Award, which was donated by Woking Borough Council in recognition of the the noted suffragette and composer who lived, worked and died in Woking, is given to the best performance of a work by a female composer in the music sections of the Festival. It rotates from year to year.
The Grace Wright Memorial Rose Bowl will be awarded at the discretion of the adjudicator and committee for the best overall performance in the choral section. The winning choir will be notified in December and required to perform at the Young Musician Competition Concert in February, when the award will be presented.
The Keswick Cup: Schools Choirs – under 9yrs (A1b)
The Millennium Shield: School Choirs – under 11yrs (A2)
The Oakfield Shield: School Choirs – under 13yrs (A3)
The Swallow Shield: School Choirs – under 15yrs (A4)
The Page Cup: School Choirs – under 17yrs (A5)
The Ford North Cup: School and College Choirs – under 19yrs (A6)
The Du Bochet Shield: Madrigal Class – schools (A7)
The Thompson Cup: Chamber Choir – under 15yrs (A8), 15yrs and over (A9)
The Roberts Cup: Carol Composition (A10)
The Russell Cup: Church Choirs and Music Groups (A11)
The Margaret Walker Cup: Junior Choirs and Choirs from Youth Organisations (A12)
The Radbone Cup: Adult Choirs – open (A13), Ladies’ Choirs – open (A14), Men’s Choirs – open (A15)
The Merrow Chimes Shield: Barbershop Choirs (A17), Barbershop Quartet (A18)
The Rush Cup: Boys and Girls – under 10yrs (B2)
The Constance Shacklock Cup: Boys and Girls – under 13yrs (B3)
The Mansfield Cup: Boys and Girls – under 16yrs (B4)
The Grace Wright Cup: Junior Folk Song – under 13yrs (B5b), Junior Folk Song – under 16yrs (B5c)
The Nancy Leigh Cup: Musical – under 13yrs (B6b), Musical – under 16yrs (B6c)
The Hilliger Memorial Cup: Solo – under 19yrs (B10)
The Gordon Maxwell Cup: Lied (B11)
The Byfleet Cup: Women’s Challenge (B12)
The Driver Cup: Men’s Challenge (B13)
The Borrell Cup: English Art Song – under 19yrs (B16), English Art Song – 19yrs and over (B17)
The Newman Cup: Folk Song – under 19yrs (B18), Folk Song – 19yrs and over (B19)
The Timbury Cup: Oratorio – under 19yrs (B20), Oratorio – 19yrs and over (B21)
The Halsey Cup: Opera – under 19yrs (B22), Opera – 19yrs and over (B23)
The Ryde Cup: Musical – under 19yrs (B24), Musical – 19yrs and over (B25)
The Beecham Cup: Vocal Ensemble – under 19yrs (B27), Vocal Ensemble – any age (B28)
The Kathleen Grainger Cup: Piano – primary (C13)
The Meredith Cup: Piano – junior (C14)
The Cheung Cup: Piano – intermediate (C15)
The Croft Shield: Piano – advanced (C16)
The Olive Croft Memorial Trophy: Piano – senior (C17)
The Peter Newman Cup: Sonatina – under 14yrs (C18), Sonatina – under 17yrs (C19), Sonatina – 17yrs and over (C20)
The Oliver Atkins Cup: Bach – under 13yrs (C21a)
The Ena Margaret Churchill Cup: Bach – under 17yrs (C21b)
The Surrey Music Store Trophy: Bach – open (C21c)
The Laredo Trophy: Chopin – open (C22)
The Delta Cup: 50yrs and over – open (C24)
The Lomax Cup: Piano – Challenge – under 11yrs (C25)
The Barber Cup: Piano – Challenge – under 14yrs (C26)
The Woking Opinion Cup: Piano – Challenge – under 17yrs (C27)
The Fedder Cup: Piano – Challenge – under 20yrs (C28)
The Askew Bowl: Piano – Challenge – open (C29)
The Buzzard Cup: Piano Recital – under 14yrs (C30a)
The Penny Bazire Memorial Cup: Piano Recital – under 18yrs (C30b)
The Cavenham Cup: 30c and 30d, Piano Recital – under 20yrs (C30c), Piano Recital – open (C30d)
The Hilda Spencer Cup: Sonata – under 19yrs (C31)
The Mongor Cup: Sonata – open (C32)
The Allenby Silver Jubilee Cup: Piano Duet – under 12yrs (C33)
The Primo Secondo Award (presented by Margaret Bolt): Piano Duet – open (C37)
The Kirkman Cup: Piano Duet – family, adult and child under 16yrs (C38a), Piano Duet – family, under 16yrs (C38b), Piano Duet – family (Any age (C38c)
The Hewlins Cup: Strings – junior (D5)
The Acklima Cup: Strings – intermediate (D6)
The Mora Ker Quaich: Strings – advanced (D7)
The Readings Cup: Strings – senior (D8)
The Karin Polak Cup: Sonata for stringed instrument and piano – open (D9)
The Unwin Cup: Woodwind – senior (D18)
The Rotan Cup: Brass – senior (D23)
The Crane Cup: Sonata for brass/wind instrument and piano – open (D24)
The Pauline Brown Shield: Recorder Groups – under 12yrs (D29)
The Ackroyd Cup: Concerto – open (D53)
The Kingdon Cup: Group Music Making – under 13 yrs (E1), Group Music Making – under 17yrs (E2), Group Music Making – 17yrs and over (E3), Group Music Making – any age (E4)
The Burch Cup: Family Group Music Making (E5)
The Woking Herald Shield: Chamber Ensembles – under 13yrs (E10a), Chamber Ensembles – under 17yrs (E10b)
The Balfour Cup: Chamber Ensembles – under 20yrs (E11a), (Chamber Ensembles – 20yrs and over (E11b)
The A G Walker Cup: School Orchestra – under 12 yrs (E13)
The Burch Cup: School Orchestra – under 14yrs (E14), School Orchestra – under 19yrs (E15)
The Othon Polak Cup: Verse Speaking – 9yrs (S3)
The Bradly Cup: Humorous Verse Speaking – 12-13yrs (S11a), Humorous Verse Speaking – 14-15yrs (S11b), Humorous Verse Speaking – 16-18yrs (S11c), Humorous Verse Speaking – over 18yrs (S11d
The Boroughs Cup: Prose Reading – 10-12yrs (S12)
The St Teresa Cup: Group or Choral Speaking – 6-9yrs (S27a), Group or Choral Speaking – 9-14yrs (S27b), Group or Choral Speaking – 14-18yrs (S28)
The Mansfield Speech and Drama Cup: Group Drama – 6-9yrs (S29a), Group Drama – 9-14yrs (S29b), Group Drama – 14yrs-18yrs (S29c)
The Speech and Drama Duologue Shield: Duologues – 10-14yrs (S30b), Duologues – 14-17yrs (S30c), Duologues – 18yrs and over (S30d)