Clubs search for more ‘Young Musicians’
Keighley and Skipton Rotarians are hoping to hit the top note again in next year’s ‘Rotary Young Musician of the Year’ competition.
This year the twin Rotary Clubs’ nominee for the competition, singer Matilda Hitchcock from Ilkley (pictured above), not only won the local, district and regional rounds but made it all the way through to the National Finals in Romford, Essex in March.
Now the two Rotary Clubs, who share the organisation of the tournament’s local round, have started their search for another talented young person to represent them in the nationwide competition.
Any musician aged 17 or under on August 31st from the Keighley and Skipton areas can enter this year’s local round which will be staged at St Andrew’s Church, Keighley on Saturday, November 1st.
Liz Joyce, President of the Rotary Club of Keighley, said: “We were thrilled to see Matilda go all the way to last year’s national finals and we’re now looking for another talented young musician to try and emulate her feat.
“It’s wonderful to see talented young people from our area strut their stuff and showing how they can perform at the highest levels.”
Matilda Hitchcock, the 2025 finalist, said: “I loved taking part in the Young Musician competition and still can’t believe I actually made it to the final, especially when the other singers were so much older than me.
“It was great to hear all of the other competitors and the different styles of music. I also loved having the chance to perform in front of some big audiences, and to meet lots of really nice people along the way too.”
If you know a talented young musician who would like to put their foot on the first rung of musical recognition you should contact Judy Hazlehurst from the Rotary Club of Skipton via email: judy@hazlelhurst.org or by phone: 07940 586456.
But, if anybody does fancy their chances, they need to get a move on as the deadline for entries is Friday, October 17th!