Page 192 - FINAL_Guildhall Media Highlights 2019-2020 Coverage Book
P. 192
11 May 2020
Oboist Ewan Millar wins 2020 BBC Young
Musician Woodwind Final
18-year-old oboist and Oxford University student Ewan Millar becomes the second category final winner
By Freya Parr
May 11, 2020 at 11:23 am
18-year-old oboist Ewan Millar has won the woodwind final of this year’s BBC Young Musician. Miller is from Reading
and is currently in his first year at the University of Oxford, where he is studying music.
Not focusing exclusively on classical repertoire, his hugely varied winning programme included Jeffrey Agrell’s Blues
for DD, Peter Facer’s The Praying Mantis and the second of Schumann’s Three Romances.
16-year-old flautist David Noton from Hastings was up first, playing Tchaikovsky’s Lensky’s Aria, a movement
from CPE Bach’s Hamburger Sonata and the opening movement from Ibert’s Flute Concerto. She studies at the
Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music on Saturdays and is a member of the National Youth Orchestra.
18-year-old clarinettist Marian Bozhidarov played Messager’s Solo de Concours, the third movement
of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time and Paganini’s Caprice No. 5. Originally from Bulgaria, Bozhidarov studies
at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
16-year-old recorder player and Wells Cathedral School student Eliza Haskins returns to the competition, having
reached the category finals two years ago. She performed Schmelzer’s Sonatae unarum fidium 1, a movement of
Chédeville’s Sonata in G minor from Il Pastor Fido and Ende by Louis Andriessen’s for two recorders.
The final performance came from 18-year-old bassoonist Alice Gore, who studies at the Junior Department of the
Royal College of Music. She rounded off the woodwind final with the second movement of Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto
and Miroshnikov’s Scherzo.
Angela Dixon, chief executive of Saffron Hall, took up the position of chief judge again, this time joined by Amy
Harman, principal bassoonist with the English National Opera and the Aurora Orchestra, and recorder player Piers
Adams.
The programme was hosted by organist and conductor Anna Lapwood, who was joined by flautist Katherine Bryan.
This week’s ‘In Conversation’ with 2016 finalist Jess Gillam featured oboist and previous BBC Young Musician winner
Nicholas Daniel, who reflected on his time in the competition. He remains the only oboist to have ever won the
competition.
The brass final will be broadcast on Sunday 17 May at 7pm. The broadcasts on the following two weekends will be the
percussion and string category finals respectively.
Watch the highlights of the woodwind final here and watch the complete performance here.
