A teenage violinist has won the BBC Young Musician competition 2026, in the first all-female final in the competition’s 48-year history. The judges, Joanna MacGregor, Ben Gernon and Errollyn Wallen, hailed Sofia Demetriades’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto as full of insights, poetry and maturity. The 18-year-old is from Leicestershire, and in her first year of undergraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music.
The brainchild of Humphrey Burton, the biennial BBC competition was set up in 1978 and has produced finalists such as Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Alison Balsom, Stephen Hough and, in 2004, Nicola Benedetti, who was the last violinist to win. Demetriades was one of several hundred to send in a video application, before 40 young players were selected to attend live auditions in Bath Spa University to gain one of eight places in the quarter-finals – which took place on Demetriades’ 18th birthday. Among her fellow quarter-finalists was the first accordion player to reach the final stages, 14-year-old Sylvester Maschi.
Each of the three finalists performed a concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Alpesh Chauhan in a concert at Bristol Beacon. An 18-year-old saxophone player, Kezia Colton, performed Takashi Yoshimatsu’s 1994 Cyber Bird Saxophone Concerto, while 17-year-old recorder player Alma Nunez Debretzeni played Graham Fitkin’s Recorder Concerto. Fitkin’s virtuosic concerto involves six different recorders, ranging from the giant contrabass, about 1.6 metres high, to the tiniest sopranino.
It was originally commissioned by Debretzeni’s teacher, Barbara Law, and it was given its premiere performance in 2017 by 2014’s Young Musician finalist, Sophie Westbrooke. And there was a further connection this year to previous competitions – 2022’s overall winner, the percussionist Jordan Ashman, joined Kezia Colton onstage for Yoshimatsu’s concerto. It’s been literally life-changing.” Demetriades was acclaimed as a simply extraordinary musician by MacGregor.
In a competition full of gifted and dedicated young musicians, Sofia’s sensitivity and sophistication stood out in every round. I’m very excited to watch her musicianship develop even further in the years ahead.” The winner receives the trophy, a cash prize of £3,000 towards music studies as well as recording and broadcast opportunities on Radio 3, including with one of the BBC ensembles. All three finalists will work with Young Classical Artists Trust on managing their future careers.
I didn’t think I could top that, but to go on to be crowned winner is my absolute dream! It was pure delight to share the stage with BBC NOW, Alpesh Chauhan and my fellow finalists – I really hope to play alongside them again soon.”
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