Brass Final BBC Young Musician

Last week on BBC Young Musician 2012,

Yuanfan Yang's stunning performance clinched victory

in the keyboard category final.

But who will claim tonight's trophy?

Welcome back to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

in Cardiff

for the second of this year's BBC Young Musician category finals.

Tonight, the spotlight's on the brass category,

and there's a bit of history here.

Since the competition began back in 1978,

three brass players have won the overall title,

including Michael Hext, the first ever winner.

APPLAUSE

ANNOUNCER: Mr Michael Hext.

Four years ago, another trombonist, Peter Moore,

became the competition's youngest winner, aged just 12.

APPLAUSE

So this year's five brass finalists have a lot to live up to,

and it's not going to be easy.

Each has just 20 minutes to prove they've got what it takes.

That's a lot of pressure!

Four are going to go home bitterly disappointed,

but whoever wins tonight also bags a coveted spot in the semi final,

taking them one step closer to the main prize.

Probably the most important contest in the world for young people.

It gives these performers such a fantastic platform.

I remember watching it thinking, "It would be great to do that."

ANNOUNCER: Peter Moore.

The exposure provides many things.

It's an amazing experience.

It's a great start to your professional career.

-It really does open doors for people.

-My life has been changed.

It's a very important competition.

I wouldn't be here right now if I hadn't won it. It's amazing.

So, for any young classical player, this is the competition to win.

But BBC Young Musician isn't your average talent search

you've got to be grade 8 or above just to enter.

So, by this stage, the standard really is top class.

Here's a quick reminder of how the competition works

and how our five brass finalists made it this far.

Over 450 musicians applied.

Only 25 have made it to this stage - the category finals.

That's five for each of brass, woodwind, strings,

keyboards and percussion.

They now compete for a place in the semi final, bringing them

a step closer to the coveted title - BBC Young Musician 2012.

Just three will then make it through to the final,

which takes place at The Sage, Gateshead on 13th May,

broadcast on BBC Two.

There they'll perform full concertos with the Northern Sinfonia,

conducted by acclaimed maestro, Kirill Karabits.

In a short while, our first brass players will make this

nerve-wracking journey onto the stage.

It's the culmination of years of hard work and dedication,

not to mention the support of family and teachers

who'll be cheering them on tonight.

So, let's meet our five brass finalists.

First will be 16-year-old Jonny Bates,

an E-flat tenor horn player from Huddersfield.

To be here at brass finals is a huge honour.

To win would be stunning, but to not go through would be understandable

because you're up against some of the finest young musicians in the country.

Next, it's 16-year-old trumpeter Ela Young from Blackburn.

If I won it, then it would just be amazing. Yeah, it's very exciting.

I've never had the opportunity to do something like this before,

so it's all new, and good fun.

18-year-old Chris Dunn is next, a tuba player from London.

I'm hopefully going to play my best and not muck anything up too badly.

I've got relatively good at controlling my nerves,

so I think I'll just make myself enjoy it.

Then it's Lizzi Tocknell, an 18-year-old French horn player

from Church Stretton.

It's amazing to have got this far. It's a special feeling.

It's the sort of thing I dreamt about when I was nine or so.

I think if I won the brass category, I would be very, very happy.

And last on, it's 16-year-old Alex Kelly,

a bass trombonist from Altrincham.

When I first went in for the competition, I didn't give it much thought.

I just thought it would be a great experience.

But, as I've got further through, it's really become really important.

I'll be terrified when I first walk out,

but I'm hoping after the first passage, it should calm down.

Five brilliant young musicians.

Only one will go through to the semi final.

7.29pm. Musical battle is about to commence.

Preparations are over and our five finalists

are waiting nervously backstage here in the Dora Stoutzker Hall.

They know that to win, and make it through to the semi final,

they've got to pull out all the stops to impress those judges.

On the panel tonight, Gareth Jones, conductor and founder of Sinfonia Cymru.

It's the musician you're after rather than the technician.

You have to have a real conviction in the programme that you've put forward, and believe in it.

Naomi Atherton, winner of Young Musician's brass final in 1984,

now a soloist and Principal Horn at Manchester Camerata.

You can be the best player in the world,

but if that doesn't come across to the audience,

then there's no point, really.

So I'm looking for that person that's going to just grab me.

And David Childs, winner of Young Musician's brass final in 2000,

now one of the finest euphonium soloists in the world.

It's quite a physical thing to press a piece of metal

against the lips for 20 minutes

and deliver a musical performance, so I think stamina will come into play.

So, there they are, tonight's daunting jury.

Being former Young Musician competitors,

Naomi and David know what it's like to face the judges,

but tonight the tables are turned.

And with the unenviable task of starting the night off,

16-year-old tenor horn player Jonny Bates is waiting in the wings.

Here at Skelmanthorpe in Huddersfield,

Jonny Bates has played the tenor horn since he was a lad.

Music is, and has been for quite a while, my life, really.

You get such a rush when you're playing in concerts,

and you get a real buzz on stage.

16-year-old Jonny was born into the competitive world of brass.

Both his parents played in bands.

He first picked a horn up when he was 18 months or two years old,

cos I'm a horn player and there was always a horn in the house.

He could manage to produce a note,

but the horn was nearly as big as him at that time!

Over the years, Jonny's won shelf-fulls of trophies.

The Harry Mortimer Award is probably the biggest accolade

a young brass soloist can win.

It's a fantastic achievment to win this, so I was over the moon

and obviously when he got back, we took him out for a celebratory curry.

But not everyone thought Jonny's success was something to be proud of.

People did really take the mickey a bit

when I was at my previous school, because classical music,

amongst teenagers, it's not really a big part.

Most people like listening to pop, R&B, all the modern stuff.

But the more they tried to dig into me,

the more I thought I'm going to dig out, and actually prove that

classical music, there is a way for it in modern teenage life.

Ignoring the jibes,

Jonny's dedicated his life to the world of brass.

He attends Leeds College of Music and is already a published composer.

I'm working on a tenor horn concerto with orchestral accompaniment.

This is probably my favourite bit of the piece that I've written.

This is the theme that comes at the beginning of the second movement.

MUSIC PLAYS

The concerto would first be performed

if I got through to the Young Musician final in May.

To be able to stand there and play my own music

with an orchestra like that on TV

would just be an absolute dream come true.

Johnny's formative years were spent playing in the Thurlstone band.

Now, at just 16, he conducts their training band,

passing his love of brass onto a new generation of beginners.

Marching Saints, and I'm going to start at the top. One, two, three...

THEY PLAY "WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN"

Although he still supports the Thurlstone band,

Johnny's sights were set a little higher.

He always said right from the outset that he'd love to one day

play for Black Dyke Band, and as parents, you humour them

and you think, "If you practice really hard and do really well,

"one day that might happen."

But I think as parents we never really felt that one day he'd play for Black Dyke!

It's Sunday and the legendary Black Dyke Band is heading for Crawley.

This morning, a lot of us have been up since about 5.30am,

and we're only just getting down to the concert venue at about 12,

so you do spend quite a lot of time on coaches.

At the Hawth Theatre, over 2,000 fans have rolled up.

To be part of Black Dyke is a huge honour.

The buzz you get at concerts, you get full halls all across the country,

it's the stuff of dreams when you're a beginner, really.

Winners of 22 national titles and current English champions,

Black Dyke claims to be the most successful brass band in the world.

To be a Black Dyke, you've got to have a passion, and a real belief,

and the starting line is you've got to be a great player.

In the seven years that he's been playing,

Johnny has had a meteoric rise.

It's just as well he ignored those teenage sceptics.

What I'd say to people that really doubted classical music

when I was at school is that if you want to work for something,

it can take you anywhere.

APPLAUSE

So, has the competitive world of brass banding prepared Johnny for this?

It's only the second time a tenor horn has been featured in Young Musician.

It's not really an orchestral instrument,

but adjudicator David Childs will be familiar with it

as his roots are in the brass band world, too.

APPLAUSE

Really difficult task for anyone to open a category

like Jonny Bates has had to do on his E flat tenor horn,

but interesting to hear that instrument. It's such a rarity.

You definitely wouldn't normally expect it in this category,

and I think he made a pretty good start.

He looks pretty nervous, but maybe he'll settle into his next piece.

APPLAUSE

September Fantasy by Eric Ball, the Mozart of brass bands.

And Jonny is going to close now with a real challenge.

My finale is a modern piece by Philip Sparke called Capricorno.

The last note I play is the highest note I play in the entire performance,

so getting up to that top E flat right at the end, I'm dreading but looking forward to.

APPLAUSE

Well, Jonny certainly overcame his nerves there.

He must have done well in the note-per-minute count,

but what will the judges make of his performance?

Beautiful, beautiful sound he has. Really liquid sound.

What an amazing technique. He can certainly get around the instrument.

It must be very nerve-wracking to kick the whole thing off.

You were first up. Were you nervous beforehand?

Yeah, I was, but at least it's now over and done with

so I can go and relax now. It was a really good experience.

Just about perfect, really. Great experience for him.

You know, he's hopefully brought the tenor horn to the forefront

and people can understand what a wonderful instrument it is.

Absolutely delighted with the performance.

Well, the bar has certainly been set high by Jonny.

Stepping out next is trumpeter Ela Young.

Here in Lancashire,

16-year-old Ela Young is back from boarding school...

with her trumpet.

It's just lovely and bright and it's really clear

and it sounds, like, really beautiful when you're listening to it.

People do, like, kind of see it as a macho instrument,

but I've never really thought of it in that way.

It's just kind of been what I love doing.

I think women play just as well as men do on these kind of instruments

and there shouldn't be any kind of stereotypical view on it.

It's rather surprising that at Ela's house, a woman's place is in the kitchen,

but that's only because it doubles as a rehearsal space.

I play in the kitchen because the acoustics are the best place

in the house, and sometimes my mum will be cooking

or the dog will be there growling or barking when I play.

He's normally all right with that!

When she's in school for three weeks, I can't wait for her

to come home and start playing because it's so quiet.

I miss them playing, practising.

Especially Ela because she's always so loud.

Ela's family live in Blackburn.

But at the age of eight, she and her sister

set their hearts are going to Chetham's Music School in Manchester.

When I was younger, I hated going and boarding.

I was ringing home every night on the phone, just crying, "Take me home."

But it's probably a good thing

because I've learnt to be independent and absolutely love it there now.

In school, some traditions have been assigned to the past.

At the big band rehearsal, female trumpeters outnumber the lads.

I've been told that I don't look like a trumpet player,

but I think that once people hear me play then they realise

that it's not just how you look, like, what you should be playing.

And two, and...

A tempo.

Ela's teacher, Tracey Redfern,

took part in BBC Young Musician 18 years ago

and has first-hand knowledge of the pressures contestants have to face.

It's just that unknown, something you've never encountered.

One of the things I've been saying to Ela,

she thinks I'm a bit mad, but in her own practice,

try and put as much pressure as you come onto yourself.

Imagine, even if you have to play with your eyes closed,

that you have a camera here, a camera there and lots of hot lights.

To add to the pressure, Ela's doing a lunchtime recital for the public.

And her number one fan is in the audience - her dad.

Letting Ela live away at music school may have been hard,

but the rewards are certainly evident now.

My parents are incredibly proud of how far I've got,

and it's kind of an ongoing topic when I'm at home or over the phone,

we talk about it a lot and they're very, very proud of how I've done.

APPLAUSE

So, taking the stage now it's 16-year-old Ela.

I think going out onto the stage to play is going to be pretty nerve wracking.

I've had this kind of thought in my head

that if I just go out there and nail that first bit, the rest will follow.

So hopefully I'll be able to do that.

APPLAUSE

It must be very nerve-wracking for Ela out there,

but she has got moral support.

I've brought my mum with me.

She's in the audience, so, yeah, I think she's very excited about that.

She should be. I think she's going to be, hopefully, pleased with it.

I think she'll be pleased whatever I do, so... Very excited to be here.

APPLAUSE

Well, it certainly takes guts to stand there

and play completely unaccompanied, as Elzbieta's just done.

Again, she seemed incredibly confident and assured.

APPLAUSE

A proud day for Ela's mum, there.

In her 20-minute programme,

Ela also played Concert Scherzo by Arutunian,

but has she impressed the jury?

She picked out such a difficult programme.

I think any professional trumpeter

would struggle to have nailed that 100%.

I loved the way that she stood facing the audience.

She looked at everyone as if she really wanted to show us

exactly what she could do. It was great.

The last two pieces, the Enesco and the Arutunian,

were altogether much more successful and showed off her good qualities.

-It's over. How does it feel?

-Really good. It's quite nerve-wracking.

I was a bit shaky, but I'm really happy with it in general.

I don't think it could've gone better.

When Elzbieta stopped playing, when I saw big smile on her face,

I knew she did well

and that was enough for me, to see her smiling.

So, two of our brass finalists are breathing sighs of relief.

Three have yet to face the judges.

French horn player Lizzi Tocknell, bass trombonist Alex Kelly,

and up next, tuba player Chris Dunn.

The tuba's not exactly famous as a solo instrument,

so it'll be very interesting to see what Chris has up his sleeve.

18-year-old Londoner Chris Dunn

has been playing the tuba since he was 11.

Well, at that age it was big and shiny and it looked really cool.

'The size of the instrument didn't even cross my mind when I started.'

I've only realised in the last few years that I'm going to spend

the rest of my career playing the tuba

lugging things around the streets of London.

It is regarded as an oompah comedy marching band instrument,

but instruments like the tuba

that aren't considered solo instruments

can perform to the same ability.

Chris attends London's Junior Guildhall every Saturday,

where his tuba playing has won the gold-standard Lutine Prize.

'I couldn't really imagine life without music.'

It's become such an integral part of my life.

Even with other things I've been doing,

it's still the most important thing.

I'm just playing rubbish, aren't I?

Can we...? We may as well just go from double bar,

the key signature change.

Chris's teacher reckons a career in music could be his for the taking.

'He has got what it takes to be a professional.'

He's got the drive and attitude.

He's got a very level head

and he makes a great noise on the instrument.

Those are messy.

They need to be much more nimble.

HE WHISTLES MELODY

-Yeah.

-# Da, da, dee, dee... #

-Do you think doing it on third would work?

-Nah.

Back home, Chris duets with his mum Isabelle,

a harpist for the English National Ballet.

His dad plays violin at the English National Opera,

so music's in his blood.

I suppose he has assimilated a lot

of what we do as musicians ourselves,

and we've certainly encouraged and supported him as necessary.

I think it's wonderful that he's managed to get this far.

He's done marvellously.

# Hello, hello, hello, hello

# I've got a little baby, but she's out of sight... #

At Alleyn's School in London, Chris is a musical all-rounder.

If the 1900s had Westlife, we'd be that.

Yeah, we are the boy band of the school.

Yeah, definitely.

-It's cos we're the heartthrobs.

-Well, with a face like that...

LAUGHTER

-Never get paid for it though.

-No, we need to find something that pays.

With his tuba playing and singing, you'd have thought Chris

would follow his parents into the music industry.

But he's got a serious dilemma.

What we're going to do today

is look at the contraction of muscle fibres in practice.

Music isn't Chris's only love.

He's also studying for medical college.

Chris is at a really difficult crossroads in his life.

He is a unique talent within the school.

As well as being good enough

to go to medical school

and hopefully become a doctor,

he's going to have a lot of soul-searching to do in the next few weeks.

'My parents have been good because they've encouraged me

'in whichever direction I want to go.'

They've told me music is hard, it's not an easy option out.

Mm, decisions, decisions! Medicine or music?

It's a tough choice, and one which has caused Chris mixed emotions.

If BBC Young Musician goes well,

I'll definitely have to think hard

about what I'm going to be doing in my life.

It provides so many opportunities as a player

that I wouldn't get if I went to medical school.

So, it'll be a real decider if I do well.

18-year-old Chris about to play.

Could this performance change the direction his life is going in?

APPLAUSE

Very expressive playing

of that Vaughn Williams Romanza by Chris Dunn.

In terms of performance, for me, this is the best so far

because he is playing completely without music.

He feels much more connected to the audience.

Much more engaged, and although it's an incredibly difficult thing

for the bass tuba to really sing out as a solo instrument,

he's certainly giving it his all.

The next piece I am going to play for you is called Fnugg,

which is a Norwegian word meaning something small and weightless,

like a snowflake.

And...it uses two techniques on the tuba. One is multi-phonics.

Like a didgeridoo, you create chords.

And the other is a lip-beat, tuba beatbox.

Fnugg is probably, definitely my favourite.

It is a great fun piece to play.

I play it quite a lot and I know it really well.

I think it also really shows off a really interesting side

of the tuba, a really cool side, so it's definitely my favourite.

APPLAUSE

Wow.

It's bizarre enough to hear a bass tuba as a solo instrument,

let along one that's also being beat-boxed into.

But he did that brilliantly. It was clearly a complete tour de force.

Very strange sound for the audience, and certainly the judges

looked a little curious at certain points, but he did it beautifully,

and I really feel that his performance so far

is the most accomplished. He feels the most engaged with the audience.

In his varied programme,

Chris also played Sonata For Tuba And Piano by Salzedo

and Norwegian Dance by Grieg, but was it life-changing?

The unaccompanied piece Fnugg was terrific. It sounded damn hard to me.

And it was very, very impressive indeed.

He drew everyone in and he spoke, which was wonderful,

and he had no music, and I liked that.

I liked the way he communicated with the audience.

Talk about a contrasting programme.

-To go from the Vaughan Williams to the beat-boxing number.

-Yeah!

How does it feel to be out there? How do you think it went?

Terrifying, slightly.

It is scary out there, but it was really good.

I was generally happy with how I played.

A couple of duff bits,

but I think the programme on the whole came over quite well.

That he did everything from memory was such a great thing

and, yeah, I think we are all absolutely thrilled with him.

I think I was much more nervous than him.

Well, Chris certainly made an impression there.

He's going to be a tough act for 18-year-old Lizzi Tocknell to follow.

Here at Church Stretton in Shropshire,

the hills are alive with the sound of music

which is just the way Lizzi Tocknell planned it from an early age.

I was surrounded by music from when I was very young.

I'd heard the horn in a concert and absolutely loved it.

In year six, when I was leaving primary school,

we all had to stand up in assembly and say what we wanted to do with our lives.

I stood up and said I wanted to go to music college and be a horn player.

Nope, it's not the Von Trapps, it's the Tocknell family band.

Ever since primary school,

18-year-old Lizzi's worked tirelessly

to make her French horn dreams come true.

It's really nice to play with my mum and dad, and my mum's accompanied me

for quite a long time, so I've got used to working with her.

Probably, sometimes, we are not quite as polite to each other as you would be.

The Tocknell household is a very creative place.

Even the dress for Lizzi's Young Musician performance was hand-crafted by her sister Rachael.

Just putting a couple of adjustments on it,

cos you want it to be absolutely secure when she is performing.

Yeah. Cos I haven't played the horn in it in public before, so...

I am really pleased that she's chosen to wear it,

it's quite exciting.

It probably took a couple of weeks, I guess.

-It's pretty tightly stitched.

-Yes.

I think having the one shoulder is also quite good for horn playing

because that sort of fits in with the shape,

the way she holds the horn.

I really love this dress. It made me really happy when she made it.

Lizzi attends Wells Cathedral School in Somerset,

where the packed timetable suits her dedication to music.

I'd get up around seven, for early-morning practice

at eight o'clock in the morning, and on Tuesdays I have ensemble,

ten-piece brass ensemble and then wind ensemble.

It is not really a work ethic thing, it is just what I enjoy doing.

Which is just as well because, on top of all the ensembles,

Lizzi has three lessons a week with her horn teacher, Simon DeSouza.

That's brilliant. Make sure you play those semi-quavers just as neatly as you played the other ones,

leave a little gap before them. And it's like a little military fanfare.

She's got masses and masses of natural talent.

She is very determined.

And where she might sometimes come across as quite shy and reserved,

there's a tremendous core of steel in there.

Although Lizzi's very music focused,

she still finds time for a spot of "domestic science" with her mates.

Because it's boarding school, you make friends really fast

cos you're with them all the time.

You see all the musicians quite a lot more

-and you're in ensembles with them.

-The younger ones as well.

-Yeah.

Often that is good fun, so you get to know people through that.

CHEERING

-Oh, it's dripping.

-Does it taste good?

-Mmm. Definitely edible.

Just time for one more ensemble before lights out.

Really get that "da-da" really short.

Thanks to Lizzi's determination, the goal she set herself

way back in primary school is finally within sight.

I did music college auditions this year and I was really pleased.

I got a scholarship to the Royal College of music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama,

and Royal Academy and a place at Trinity College of Music.

It was quite overwhelming that they all wanted me.

Music is very, very important to me. I cant imagine living without it.

ALL: Oi!

That's more like it.

APPLAUSE

Well, Lizzi planned this moment five years ago, when she was just 13.

Her strategy seems to be working so far,

but one thing you can't plan is the jury's verdict.

PIANO BEGINS TO PLAY

APPLAUSE

A cheeky little number there, and something quite unusual coming up next.

'The second piece I'm playing is called Lamento d'Orfeo

'and it's by Kirchner. It involves playing into the piano.'

I sort of stand back and obviously because the horn's bell

points backwards anyway, I don't have to turn round.

I just point it into the lid of the piano and my accompanist

holds the sustain pedal down so that the strings are free to vibrate.

So whenever I play a note, it resonates within the piano

and it creates this quite eerie sound, really.

And if it works,

the sort of feeling of tension with the audience is quite special.

APPLAUSE

Very interesting choice of programme from Lizzi Tocknell.

She's very compelling to watch on stage.

She looks absolutely beautiful.

I know she's in her lucky dress that her sister made for her.

That's great to see in this brass category,

which is so often characterised by bruising lads,

if you know what I mean.

APPLAUSE

Lizzi's teacher, Simon DeSouza,

looks very pleased with her performance,

but will the jury be equally impressed?

Very, very assured playing and I liked the way she used the stage,

going to different places to play different bits of music.

I particularly liked her second piece, the contemporary work,

where she was utilising the resonance from the piano strings.

It made for a real contrast within her programme.

-Any particular highlights?

-The second piece, I think.

Why did you choose that piece?

It's obviously very dramatic in terms of the logistics on the stage?

I thought it was something a bit different and dramatic,

but still, it's a modern piece

and avant-garde, but it's still really great music.

It affects people, it affects everyone that hears it.

It was fantastic. Lizzie played superbly.

That's what we wanted to hear tonight,

hear her play her absolute best that she can

and I think that was it.

It was wonderful.

Well, if Lizzi can make the piano resonate,

there's a good chance our last competitor

will make the whole hall shake,

armed, as he is, with a bass trombone.

16 year old, Alex Kelly, is having a kick about with his mates,

but they're not your average bunch of teenagers.

We've got Dom Hayles, a trombonist, in net,

Patrick, who plays the cello.

Florian, who's also a cellist.

One sec...

Then we've got Mathis, who's a jazz pianist.

They're all from Chethams Music School,

where Alex is studying bass trombone.

Most of the time, we do live in a bubble at music school.

I'm not totally consumed in music.

I do have another life, a double life.

Alex may love his footie but, back at school, he's in work mode.

For budding musicians,

choosing which instrument to dedicate your life to,

can be an agonising decision, but, for Alex, it was easy.

I was six or seven.

I heard a big band on the radio and I loved the sound of it

and the swingy coolness of it.

One day, my parents and I went to the music shop

and I had a go on a saxophone but my teeth weren't big enough,

so, I chose the next biggest thing in the shop, which was a trombone.

I haven't looked back.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. There's so little for me to say now.

Alex, that was spot on with those little B flats.

Just what we want.

Let's do the start of that again, to get the idea of it,

then there's somewhere to go.

There's no shortage of role models for Alex.

He sits directly opposite Peter Moore,

winner of BBC Young Musician 2008.

He's an amazing player.

He can play things which no one else can.

Everyone tries but no one else can.

It's just awe inspiring to be in a group with him

and hear how he plays.

Alex's bass trombone is already in demand.

He's principal at the National Youth Orchestra,

but playing solos is something of a novelty for him,

because there's hardly any repertoire written specifically

for his instrument.

Always got a smile on his face.

We have a bit of a laugh in lessons but the serious bit,

he does really take seriously.

A model pupil.

Only place to watch is that ya-da-da.

Make sure you don't rush the quavers there.

Sit back on it a little bit. Give yourself more time.

Don't hurry through the phrase.

Alex boards at school,

but at weekends, he and his brother, who's also a Chets pupil,

swap musical excellence for ordinary life.

3 nil!

On a Saturday afternoon,

when they've finished rehearsals at school,

they'll leave their instruments there and then come back here.

We have Sunday as family day, don't we?

We try and do something that is more fun.

They'll chill out on the Xbox or will go for a walk.

There has to be another part of your life, as well.

They need to rest.

It's a rarefied atmosphere at school,

so they try and get normality when they come back here.

-Come on!

-Skill.

-Yes!

Although bass trombone hasn't taken over his life entirely,

Alex seems to be heading for music's Premier League.

I'm really, really pleased I'm in the category final.

It's a massive achievement and I'm really proud.

Just hope I play well, really.

Taking the stage now, it's Alex Kelly, our final competitor.

He'll be only too aware of how high the standard's been tonight

and what he's got to beat.

APPLAUSE

Really confident opening there from Alex Kelly -

I think, for my money, they've been very evenly matched so far in this category.

It's really hard for the judges to choose between them

but my money would be on him, because I feel like he's really got the perfect combination of...

He's very assured. He's playing a lovely programme.

He feels very engaged with the audience,

and he's got a really wonderful expressive tone from that bass trombone,

so...we'll see. I might be proved wrong.

APPLAUSE

That was Barcarolle et Chanson Bachique,

with Alex giving it his all, by the looks of it.

The last piece I'm doing is the Concerto in One Movement

by Alexey Lebedev. It's such a fantastic piece,

and it really brings out the bass trombone style, really.

It's quite low, loud and powerful. Just what a bass trombone is.

APPLAUSE

Well, Alex certainly worked hard out there -

but was it the winning performance the judges are looking for?

What a warm player. You just felt like he cared about every single note that he played,

and he had a lovely warm sound as well.

There's a kind of generosity to him as a performer -

it's big, warm playing, for one so young as well.

It was really amazing to me to hear

how expressive and how lyrical this instrument can be,

because you often don't think about brass instruments

in that sort of range. Was that a deliberate feeling for you,

that you wanted to show off what the trombone was capable of?

I really wanted to show off that the bass trombone can be really loud,

but it can also be really soft and lyrical.

I think it's a mistake if people think

that all brass instruments are just loud and brass... Brash, even!

There's a softer side to us as well.

-My foot was tapping all the way through it.

-Yeah. I thought it was really good.

Similar to giving birth. Just as agonising!

But, you know... OK, wasn't it?

Well, we've heard five terrific performances in tonight's brass category final,

but only one of them can go through to the semi-final.

And it's time now for the jury to decide.

Making the decisions...

So, a really high standard again this evening for the brass final,

and I think this is going to be quite a tough one to call, really.

Jonny Bates, who played first. Your thoughts?

Well, blimey, couldn't he get round the instrument?!

He went out with all guns blazing, didn't he, with the Ellerby?

MUSIC: Concerto for Tenor Horn by Martin Ellerby

I was really impressed with some of his lyricism as well.

Maybe the nature of the instrument, with its lovely velvety sound,

when it was in the sort of fast, rhythmical interplay

between him and the piano

sometimes I felt that we kind of lost him occasionally...

We then had Ela Young, trumpeter.

Boy, she chose a tough programme.

Unbelievably tough.

Yeah, and I think she did suffer a little bit from the nerves,

and I think it made it very difficult for her just to kind of relax and breathe.

MUSIC: Legende by Georges Enesco

What she did well, she did extremely well.

Fantastic projection,

and what a stage manner as well, she came on and owned the space.

I thought there was a lot to admire.

Then followed by Chris Dunn,

tuba player.

Lovely programme.

Yeah, I thought he did really well.

I particularly liked his Fnugg, that was a bit of fun.

He sort of drew you into his world, didn't he? His character really came out.

MUSIC: Fnugg by Oystein Baadsvik

But what knocked me out most was that he was the only player

that came on with no music this evening.

It was impressively secure.

It was, but it does make you more vulnerable to little mistakes

and memory lapses,

and maybe he was a victim of that at times.

We then had a horn player,

Lizzie Tocknell...

I loved the Kirchner, where she played into the piano.

It was very effective, wasn't it?

MUSIC: Lamento d'Orfeo by Volker David Kirchner

The Kirchner was the highlight for me

in that programme. It showed so many different colours,

not just with the hand stopping and the resonance in the piano

but everything else.

Do you think she maybe missed a trick by not going for something a little earlier somewhere in the programme?

-Yeah - I would have liked to have heard some Beethoven, or something like that.

-Yeah.

Finally Alex Kelly, bass trombonist.

I loved his playing, I must say.

Sort of big, generous, lovely warm sounds,

but never really compromised the actual tonal quality.

MUSIC: Concerto in One Movement by Alexey Lebedev

I was a little concerned, looking at the programme on paper,

that maybe it was within himself,

but he was all over the instrument, and real emotion as well.

It really grabbed you.

-I felt that he just really cared about the music. Every single note of it counted.

-Absolutely.

While the judges deliberate... the punters speculate.

I thought one and two performed rather than just played their music,

and they sort of lifted it and made me want to listen.

I'd say, the bass trombonist.

Just a fantastic technique, and amazing intonation.

Everyone's done really, really well, so they're all winners.

I know it's a cheesy phrase, but...they've all done ever so well.

Well, it's been another wonderful evening of music making,

thanks to our five brilliant young brass finalists,

all of whom are anxious to find out if they've won.

To put them out of their misery and announce the name

of the second of our BBC Young Musician 2012 semi finalists,

it's David Childs.

It's been an extremely close decision.

There really were two people that could have won this evening,

but of course there can only be one. So without further ado...

..the winner of the BBC Young Musician 2012 brass category final...

..is Alexander Kelly.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Alex, congratulations! That's fantastic. How does it feel?

-It's great!

-Were you expecting that?

-No.

It's great for bass trombonists everywhere.

Sounds really cheesy, but...

hopefully more people will take it up now. Really pleased.

Really happy.

You know, he's a young lad,

there's great maturity to his playing,

beautiful sound...

It was a really tough decision, because it was very, very close,

but I think in the end it was Alex's musicality that won out.

Just the warmth of the way he played. It was fantastic.

Well done.

You can take on the world now.

The way that he created the passion in the final piece he played, in the louder dynamics,

really drew you in.

Proud mum. How does it feel?

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

You just expect everybody's children to win, and when you hear your child's name it's just incredible.

How do you think you'll celebrate, you two?

I'm just going to go to sleep. I'm so tired!

Well, you deserve a good rest.

Enjoy this elating moment - I'm so happy for you. Congratulations.

Well, huge congratulations to Alexander who we'll be

hearing from again in three weeks' time,

when coverage of BBC Young Musician 2012 switches over to BBC Two, for the semi final.

But before that, don't forget to join me

here again on BBC Four next week,

when it'll be the turn of the strings category finalists

to show us what they're made of.

Here's a little taste of what you can expect.

Playing of astonishing maturity for one so young.

Well, she obviously loves playing the violin.

It was all wham, bam, out there.

Fantastic playing. Beautiful programme.

There were some really beautiful moments.

I was just on the edge of my seat for the whole performance.

He's a wonderful violinist, no doubt about it.

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