A YOUNG musician is through to the semi-finals of a prestigious national competition for the second year running.
Jonny Bates, 15, will compete against five other under-21s for a place in the final of the BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Soloist Award.
The Skelmanthorpe teenager, who plays tenor horn, narrowly missed out on the title in last year’s final.
He hopes to go one better this year, starting with the semi-final on Saturday January 22 at the BBC studios in Manchester.
“The standard is always incredibly high,” he said. “I felt like I put in a very good performance last year. Hopefully I can go one step further this year.
“The prestige that comes from winning is immense.”
Jonny, a former Shelley College student who now attends Leeds College of Music, comes from musical stock.
His dad Graham, a percussionist, and mum, Debbie, also a tenor horn player, have both been in brass bands.
Jonny, who has played tenor horn for about six years, is already the youngest member of Bradford’s Black Dyke – widely regarded as one of the best in the world.
He said: “I practise for about two hours a day, plus rehearsals and concerts. I suppose you could say I’m a full-on band geek.”
The six semi-finalists in the competition will be accompanied by the Rothwell Temperance Band for a recording of up to 10 minutes.
A panel of judges will then select four performers to play in front of an audience at the final, presented by Radio 2 DJ Frank Renton, at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester on February 19.
The winner will be invited to perform as a guest soloist with one of the UK’s top brass bands and make a guest appearance on Radio 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night – Britain’s longest-running live music programme.
Jonny added: “It can be quite nervy standing up in front of 500 people, but I have quite a lot of experience now and I’m used to the pressure.”
Highlights of the semi-final will be broadcast in Frank Renton’s Listen To The Band programme on February 3.
