Demetriades takes top prize

Sofia Demetriades has won the BBC Young Musician 2026 competition.

She is 18 years old and from Leicestershire. This marks the first all-female final in the competition's 48-year history. The contest was established in 1978 by Humphrey Burton. It has previously featured finalists such as Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Nicola Benedetti, who was the last violinist to win in 2004.

Demetriades is in her first year of undergraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music. She performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto for the judges. The panel consisted of Joanna MacGregor, Ben Gernon, and Errollyn Wallen. They described her performance as full of insights, poetry, and maturity. MacGregor called her a simply extraordinary musician who performs with her eyes while achieving dizzying technical feats.

The selection process began with several hundred video applications. Forty young players attended live auditions at Bath Spa University to secure eight quarter-final spots. The quarter-finals occurred on Demetriades' 18th birthday. Among the other quarter-finalists was 14-year-old Sylvester Maschi, the first accordion player to reach that stage.

The three finalists performed with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor Alpesh Chauhan led the ensemble at a concert in Bristol Beacon. Kezia Colton, an 18-year-old saxophone player, performed Takashi Yoshimatsu’s 1994 Cyber Bird Saxophone Concerto. Alma Nunez Debretzeni, a 17-year-old recorder player, played Graham Fitkin’s Recorder Concerto.

Fitkin’s concerto requires six different recorders. These range from the giant contrabass, which is about 1.6 meters high, to the tiniest sopranino. The piece was originally commissioned by Debretzeni’s teacher, Barbara Law. It received its premiere performance in 2017 by Sophie Westbrooke. Jordan Ashman, the 2022 overall winner, joined Colton onstage for her concerto.

Wallen noted that Colton plays with incredible verve and spirit. Gernon described her performance as sassy and cool, while noting her intimate playing is incredibly strong. The judges praised the electricity, aliveness, and beautiful intensity that Debretzeni brought to her piece. Wallen stated that she took the audience on a musical journey and that they were inside every note.

The winner receives a trophy and a cash prize of £3,000 towards music studies. She also gains recording and broadcast opportunities on Radio 3 with a BBC ensemble. All three finalists will work with the Young Classical Artists Trust on managing their future careers. Debretzeni said she had not planned on being a musician before the competition and wanted to study psychology. She called the experience literally life-changing. Demetriades said she was honored and thrilled to share the stage with her fellow finalists.

Demetriades expressed hope to play alongside Colton and Debretzeni again soon. She described the experience as pure delight. The competition concludes with the announcement of the winner and the distribution of the prizes. The finalists have now completed their performances for the judges.