IT IS the trophy every young musician in Huddersfield wants to win.

And on Sunday, another gifted singer or musician will be named Kirklees Young Musician of the Year.

If you want to hear some of the area’s best young musicians compete for over £1600 in prizes then St Paul’s Hall in the town centre is the place to be on Sunday afternoon.

Over the years some remarkable musical talent has emerged at the Kirklees Young Musician of the Year contest, seen by many as one of the highlights of the Mrs Sunderland Music Competition.

This years looks set to offer a similarly high standard of competition with a dozen young performers battling it out to take this top trophy.

For the second year the competition is being run separately from the Mrs Sunderland as a stand-alone contest. It will be held at St Paul’s Hall on Sunday from 2pm.

It was a big step last year for festival organisers to make the break but the Kirklees Young Musician of the Year/J W Pearce Prize proved a popular curtain-raiser for the eight day festival which runs from February 19 to 27 at Huddersfield Town Hall and at venues at the university.

Sunday’s competition, which will be judged by Marilynne Davies, will be opened by 16-year-old Andrew Robinson who plays violin. Andrew goes to Honley High School and is a member of the National Youth Orchestra.

The competitors include a group of students from the University of Huddersfield who are all aged 22.

They are soprano Lorna Bursell, music graduate Greg Dembizky, who is a violinist, flute player Charlotte Ferry who is studying for a master’s degree at the university and third year student Elizabeth Hayward who plays the organ.

Jennifer Hewitt, who plays clarinet, is a graduate of the university and currently studying in Huddersfield for a master’s degree.

At 17, Katrina Lee is one of the younger competitors. She plays violin and is studying with Ralph Barker at Kirklees Music School.

Rebecca Robinson, 17, plays both piano and flute though she will be competing as a flautist. Rebecca is a student at Greenhead College.

One of the few competitors born in the area but who studied outside Huddersfield is soprano Jenny Stafford.

Jenny, 22, is from Kirkburton and studied at Birkbeck College, London after gaining a music degree at King’s College, London.

Another of the soprano competitors is 20-year-old Maxine Taylor. Maxine is a second year student at Huddersfield where she specialises in music performance.

Of all the instruments being played in Sunday’s competition, perhaps the least often seen is the harp which is the choice of Fleur Wain.

Fleur, 21, is another of the talented stream of students at the University of Huddersfield where she is in her third year.

The winner of the Kirklees Young Musician of the Year title will appear in the gala concert at Huddersfield Town Hall on the last night of the festival.

The concert, which will be compered by Kirklees Borough Organist Dr Gordon Stewart, will feature top performers from throughout the competition.

For further details go the festival website: www.mrs-sunderlandmusic.org.uk