The national final of the RIBI (Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland) young musician competition was held at Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford on May 4.

Fifteen young musicians representing all areas of the UK and Ireland competed to become Young Singer or Young Instrumentalist of 2019 and organisers said that the standard was extremely high.

Rotary Clubs Loddon Vale and Reading Maiden Erlegh held their joint local heat in March, with the two winners then going on to win in the District and Regional rounds to compete in the National.

Singer Florence Cain was chosen to be RIBI Young Singer, and cellist Oliver Simpson was placed second in the instrumentalist section.

This was an unprecedented result: never before have two such successful winners come from a single club heat.

Florence sang an aria from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, a song by the French composer Poulenc, and finally Don’t Rain On My Parade, a witty piece from Funny Girl, which was famously sung by Barbra Streisand.

Oliver played Bach’s well-known Arioso, a romantic piece by Schumann, and ended with the lively and exciting second movement of Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata.

Loddon Vale Rotary Club’s Anne Coulson helped organise the local and district heats and was delighted with the success.

She said: “It was a privilege to sponsor such wonderfully gifted musicians and we wish them well in their musical careers.”

She now plans to get Woodley Stars, a satellite club of Loddon Vale, to organise a concert for Florence and Oliver, so that they can exhibit their virtuosity to a wider audience.

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