story by: bill campbell and jannine birtwistle

Seventeen-year-olds Charlie Boax and Elizabeth Knowles were crowned Rotary Young Musicians of the Year after winning the national finals in Manchester.

Charlie, who was supported by Kilmarnock Rotary Club in District 1320 (Scotland South) won the instrumental section playing the baritone horn.

Accompanied by Darren Ramsey, Charlie enchanted the audience at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester by performing two pieces composed by Peter Graham – ‘Turbulence, Tide & Torque (Movement 3)’ and ‘The Holy Well’.

Charlie is a student at the Grange Academy in Kilmarnock.

Elizabeth Knowles, supported by Maidstone Dawn Patrol Rotary Club in Kent, part of District 1120 (Rotary South East), was the winner of the vocalist section.

A pupil at The Kings School in Rochester, she was the first of the performers ​delivering a trio of winning songs, accompanied by Estelle Roux. They included ‘O ​Del Mio Dolce Ardor’ by Gluck, ‘Tales of the Oyster’ by Cole Porter, and ‘Think of ​Me’ taken from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production, ‘Phantom of the Opera’.

Speaking after being crowned, Elizabeth said: “I started when I was 12-years-old ​and I got to the district final. It was my dream to win the vocalist final when I was ​older and here I am, which is amazing!”

“I love performing and introducing the audience to what I can do.”

“A famous person once told me ‘believe’. That’s all you have to do is believe and ​you can do whatever you want to do!”

Speaking after the final, instrumentalist winner Charlie was asked what the competition does for young people who enter, “It can build your confidence. You get performance etiquette from it, young get stage presence, you get so many benefits.”

“Rotary was definitely a major part in my playing here. My message is go for it. Sign yourself up because the worst that’s going to happen is you won’t get placed, but you still get to perform and show people what you can do.”

The finals of Rotary Young Musician featured vocalists and instrumentalists from across Great Britain & Ireland who had won their way through District and Regional heats.

They were put through their paces by judges, who were pianist and Royal Northern College of Music lecturer John Gough (chairman), renowned opera singer Linda Robertson, and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra’s Ronan Dunne in front of an audience of 80 people in Manchester.

The judges described the finals as featuring “outstanding performances from all of the competitors who were a credit to themselves, their schools, teachers and family.”