Young Musician Competition 2022

This year’s competition saw 3 entries from BGE. The preliminary round was held on the 25th February 2022 and entries were submitted online due to continuing Covid restrictions. We had 1 entry for the Junior Section and 2 entries for the Senior Section and they are as follows: Ema (violin); Adrian (saxophone) and Gabrielle (guitar). I am pleased and very proud to announce that Adrian and Gabrielle have made it into the finals which will be held on Sunday 12th March at Kenton College. Commiserations to Ema who faced fierce competition in her section.

A little more about our 3 contestants…

Ema is 13 years old and originally comes from Japan. She has been living in Nairobi for the last 3 years. She is currently studying with Mr Alfred Merisho and has been playing the violin for 4 years. This was her first experience of a music competition. She was inspired to play the violin when watching music assemblies at primary school. Other than the violin, Ema likes to draw and play netball.

Adrian is 17 years old and hails originally from South Africa. He has been living in Nairobi for the last 5 years. He is currently studying the saxophone with Ms Grace Chimba and has been playing this instrument for the last 8 years. This is Adrian’s first experience of a music competition. He has been inspired to play the saxophone by the music teachers he has been taught by over the years. Other than the saxophone, Adrian enjoys playing hockey and going kite surfing.

Gabrielle is 18 years old and hails originally from the Philippines. He has been living in Nairobi for the last 5 years. He is currently studying the guitar with Mr Alfred Merisho and has been playing this instrument for the last 7 years. This is also Gabrielle’s first experience of a music competition. Walking down music halls when he was little hearing all the instruments being played, the one he was most drawn to was the guitar. He also plays the bass guitar and the drum kit. Other than playing these instruments he enjoys playing basketball.

The Final - 13th March 2022

The final was held on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Kenton College. Schools represented were Kenton College, Peponi and BGE. This was the 26th annual competition and the first time ever that BGE students made it to the finals. The competition was fierce with the entrant from Peponi playing the Max Bruch violin concerto in G minor. Unfortunately, the performance lacked passion and that’s exactly where the BGE duo stepped up.

Adrian played his saxophone superbly, hitting all the high notes in ‘Mediation’ by Thais and giving a convincing rendition of ‘Take Five’ judging by the applause which followed.

Gabrielle’s performance was simply breathtaking. His highly complicated techniques on the guitar was unending as well as using the body of the guitar as a percussive backing. His performance was heartfelt and soared above the rest.

Making history, Adrian was placed 2nd and Gabrielle triumphed into 1st place. Well deserved for both these students and we are immensely proud of them!