Winners of BBC Young Musician: all the winners and runners-up from the history of the competition
Which famous musicians have previously won BBC Young Musician? We round up all the previous winners and runners-up from the BBC competition's illustrious past
1978 winner
Michael Hext (Trombone)
1978 runners-up
Michael Collins (Clarinet)
Caroline Dale (Cello)
Stephen Hough (Piano)
1980 winner
1980 runners-up
Clare McFarlane (Violin)
Ronan O'Hora (Piano)
Elaine Wolff (Cornet)
1982 winner
Anna Markland (Piano)
1982 runners-up
Paul Galbraith (Guitar)
Marie-Noelle Kendall (Piano)
Jeanette Murphy (Horn)
1984 winner
Emma Johnson (Clarinet)
1984 runners-up
Naomi Atherton (Horn)
Richard May (Cello)
Lucy Parham (Piano)
1986 winner
Alan Brind (Violin)
1986 runners-up
Fiona Howes (Flute)
Robert Markham (Piano)
Anthony Neal (Trombone)
1988 winner
David Pyatt (Horn)
1988 runners-up
David Horne (Piano)
Jennifer Sturgeon (Flute)
Paul Watkins (Cello)
1990 winner
Nicola Loud (Violin)
1990 runners-up
Leon McCawley (Piano)
Jeremy Pooley (Horn)
Jonathan Rimmer (Flute)
1992 winner
Freddy Kempf (Piano)
1992 runners-up
Rachel Barnes (Bassoon)
Thomas Carroll (Cello)
Kevin Norbury (Tuba)
1994 winner
1994 runners-up
Claire Allen (Trumpet)
Emma Bullough (Oboe)
Colin Currie (Percussion)
Stuart King (Clarinet)
Ruth McGinley (Piano)
Matthew Myatt (Piano)
Tracey Redfern (Trumpet)
1996 winner
Rafal Zambrzycki Payne (Violin)
1996 runners-up
Julien Cheriyan (Piano)
Ben Hudson (Bassoon)
Katy Pryce (Trombone)
Sam Walton (Percussion)
1998 winner
Adrian Spillett (Percussion)
1998 runners-up
Alison Balsom (Trumpet)
Juliette Bausor (Flute)
Alison Farr (Piano)
Marie Macleod (Cello)
2000 winner
2000 runners-up
David Childs (Euphonium)
Elizabeth Couling (Oboe)
Owen Gunnell (Percussion)
Tom Poster (Piano)
2002 winner
2002 runners-up
Angela Barnes (Horn)
Benjamin Bryant (Percussion)
Sarah Tandy (Piano)
Sarah Williamson (Clarinet)
2004 winner
Violinist Nicola Benedetti is one of BBC Young Musician's biggest success stories. She is now one of the UK's most successful soloists, with numerous award-winning recordings under her belt. In 2019, she was awarded a CBE for services to music, and has since founded the Benedetti Foundation to bring music to the lives of more children in the UK.
2004 runners-up
Lucy Beeson (Percussion)
Benjamin Grosvenor (Piano)
Daniel De Gruchy-Lambert (Trumpet)
Adam Walker (Flute)
2006 winner
2006 runners-up
Cordelia Williams (Piano)
David Massey (Guitar)
Toby Kearner (Percussion)
Huw Morgan (Trumpet)
2008 winner
Peter Moore became the youngest ever winner of BBC Young Musician aged 12. At 14, he released his first recording – a programme of trombone concertos by Edward Gregson – before later going on to join the London Symphony Orchestra aged 18. He was the youngest ever player to be appointed at the LSO, taking on the role of co-principal trombone.
2008 runners-up
Jadran Duncumb (Guitar)
Erdem Misirlioğlu (Piano)
Jim Molyneux (Percussion)
David Smith (Flute)
2010 winner
Having won in 2010 with her performance of Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Vasily Petrenko and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Ömeroglu joined the orchestra again in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20. Now known professionally as Lara Melda recently made her recording debut on Champs Hill in a programme of works by Chopin, which was awarded a four-star review by BBC Music Magazine.
2010 runners-up
Emma Halnan (Flute)
Callum Smart (Violin)
2012 winner
After her 2012 win, Laura van der Heijden went on to study music at St John's College, Cambridge. Despite a heavy academic workload, she released her debut album 1948 with pianist Petr Limonov in 2018, a collection of Russian works for cello and piano. It was widely acclaimed, winning her BBC Music Magazine's Recording of the Month and the 2019 Newcomer Award.
2012 runners-up
Charlotte Barbour-Condini (Recorder)
Yuanfan Yang (Piano)
2014 winner
It was Martin James Bartlett's second time on the BBC Young Musician stage, having reached the keyboard finals in 2012.
In 2015, he became one of the youngest ever soloists to perform at the BBC Proms, giving a fiery rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
2014 runners-up
Elliott Gaston-Ross (Percussion)
Sophie Westbrooke (Recorder)
2016 winner
Sheku Kanneh-Mason was 17 when he won BBC Young Musician in 2016. Since winning, he has made chart history with a UK top 10 album, partnered with designer Paul Smith, performed at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at their 2018 and has performed with his musically talented six siblings across the world. After his success, his younger sister Jeneba followed in his footsteps, taking part in the 2018 competition.
2016 runners-up
Ben Goldscheider (Horn)
Jess Gillam (Saxophone)
2018 winner
16-year-old pianist Lauren Zhang was crowned BBC Young Musician in the competition's 40th-anniversary year thanks to her astonishing performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto. In the summer after her victory, she joined a number of BBC Young Musician alumni at the 2018 BBC Proms in an anniversary concert.
2018 runners-up
Maxim Calver (Cello)
Robert Burton (Saxophone)
Top image: 2016 BBC Young Musician finalists with 2004 winner Nicola Benedetti
