12 February 2026
Just before our musicians took to the stage for the final of Woldingham Young Musician of the Year, our guest adjudicator, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason (pictured), said that, while "competition" can be a scary word, “we often do our best work under pressure”. Twenty nine marvellous performances by our young musicians demonstrated the truth of this, as well as the hard work and skill they and their teachers put into their craft as vocalists, pianists, organists, percussionists, strings and woodwind players.
Before announcing this year’s winners, Isata thanked all our performers for “a truly inspiring and wonderful evening” and for making adjudication so difficult. Mrs Baillie presented the trophies and shields to the winners, who were:
| Woldingham Young Musician of the Year Cup - Overall Winner | Lilico U |
| Woldingham Young Musician of the Year – Best Ensemble | Mathilda U and Lilico U |
| Most Promising Musician Shield – Senior | Elodie R |
| Most Promising Musician Shield – Junior | Olympia T |
| The Elizabeth Cup for Best Vocalist | Sophia T |
| The Musgrave Trophy for Best Pianist | Theodora P |
| Woldingham Young Musician of the Year – Wind Player | Lydia N |
| Woldingham Young Musician of the Year – String Player | Lilico U |
| Woldingham Young Musician of the Year – Organist | Mio T |
| Woldingham Young Musician of the Year – Percussionist | Bebe D |
Director of Music Mr Hammond-Hall thanked Isata for her time and expertise in making those difficult decisions, as well as Miss Wang for her wonderful accompaniment, parents for supporting their daughters on their musical journeys, and everyone else involved in making this lovely event happen. His biggest thanks, however, went to the performers, saying on behalf of the Music Department, “When the alarm goes off, you inspire us to get up and come to work.”