Outstanding oboist takes Perse Musician of the Year title
Gifted oboist Isabel (Lower Sixth) blew away tough competition to be crowned Perse Musician of the Year 2025.
She came out on top in the elite grand final, which was adjudicated by acclaimed trumpeter and conductor Chris Parsons, following her exceptional performances of Handel’s Oboe Concerto in G minor and Paul Pierné’s work Fantasie Pastorale.
As well as Isabel, the elite final featured an array of talented musicians, including pianists Junqing (Year 9) and Jeffrey (Year 8), violinist Kazuki (Year 9), trumpeter Logan (Upper Sixth), baritone singer Rory (Upper Sixth) and percussionist Yoodan (Year 11), who played both marimba and vibraphone, with all the musicians having qualified from individual instrumental/vocal finals during Lent term.
Isabel, who began playing oboe in Year 4 at The Perse Prep, said: “I was happy with how I played, but I wasn’t expecting to win because there were so many good players, so it was an amazing surprise and I felt really proud. It was definitely an honour to be picked as the winner.
“I had quite a lot of nerves in the previous round (woodwind final) because I really wanted to win it, so this time I just decided to enjoy it and treat it more like a concert rather than a competition and I think being more relaxed helped my performance.”
Reflecting on her choice of programme, Isabel said: “They are both pieces I love. Handel’s Oboe Concerto in G Minor is quite refined, whereas Fantasie Pastorale is a much more free, flowing piece, but they are both pieces where you’re able to convey emotions.
“Handel is Baroque, while the second piece was Romantic and I felt it worked well playing pieces of contrasting styles. Knowing the pieces really well also meant I could focus on the musicality rather than simply the notes.
“On the day, I was just focused on expressing the emotion of the pieces to the audience. I had a couple of rehearsals with the accompanist (Erdem Misirioglu) as you need to communicate with them during the performance because there’s quite a lot of interplay in the two parts, so it’s nice to show that when you’re playing.”
Highly commended were Kazuki, with recitals of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 4 in D major and Introduction and Tarantella by Sarasate, and Jeffrey, who performed the second and third movements of Mozart’s Sonata No 12 in F major.
Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield said: “All seven performed with aplomb and musicianship in abundance. Chris’ job was certainly a difficult one.
“For him, Isabel managed to capture his attention most with a well-chosen programme of oboe music, communicated with impressive poise and sensitivity. Well done to all our performers on a brilliant celebration of their talent.”
The elite final is not the end of the story for the 2025 Perse Musician of the Year competition as for the first time, there will also be finals for beginners, intermediate and advanced instrumentalists and singers on Friday 16 May.