FLAUTIST Jennifer Anne Scholes was named a clear winner in the Kirklees Young Musician of the Year competition.

The 24-year-old Huddersfield University student fought off competition from six other talented players to take the JW Pearce Trophy and £1,000 in prize money at St Paul’s Hall in Huddersfield town centre yesterday.

Jennifer, who comes from Doncaster and is studying music, was competing for the first time.

“It’s amazing, I can’t really believe it,’’ she said.

“I felt I performed to the best of my ability. I tried to treat it just like a concert and just give it a go.”

Jennifer performed Mozart’s Rondo in D-Dur and Chaminade’s Concertino Op 107. She played the second piece from memory.

Adjudicator Prof David Hoult – a professional horn player, singer and conductor – said deciding the winner was a “relatively easy task”.

He praised Jennifer’s “very stylish phrasing and articulation” and her “real technical control and musicianship”.

Prof Hoult told the Examiner: “She’s a very impressive player. The fact that she played her second piece from memory is a great credit to her.”

There was a double success for Doncaster as 21-year-old soprano Maxine Taylor, who is studying music performance at Huddersfield University, took the £500 second prize.

“I’m really happy,” she said.