Bethany Reeves from Putney High wins the award

Year 12 musician Bethany Reeves has won the Grand Final of the Wandsworth Young Musicians of the Year. She now progresses to the District Round of the Rotary Young Musician Competition on the 28th February 2016 in Dulwich and will also get the opportunity to perform at the Wandsworth Young Person of the Year awards on the 19th April.

Bethany, who has played the piano since she was two years old, auditioned for the competition, organised by Wandsworth council, in December 2015. The competition was open to everyone aged under 18, living or attending a school in Wandsworth; she played the Debussy Toccata, and was selected for the Grand Final where she performed the Khachaturian’s Piano Sonata and Chopin’s Posthumous Nocturne in front of judge and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson.

Thrilled about winning the award, she said:
“I was very surprised because of the quality of the other performances, but also extremely happy! I am now excited to progress to the next stages of the competition.”

This was the first music performance competition outside of Putney High School that Bethany has entered. This is despite being an accomplished musician; she writes music and plays no less than eight instruments (piano, cello, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, organ, accordion and recorder; six of which are grade 8 standard), with piano and clarinet being her favourites.