Percussion Final BBC Young Musician

Last week, BBC Young Musician 2014 began

with a high-quality strings category final...

..but deciding on a winner gave the judges a bit of a headache.

-Oh, it's hard, isn't it?!

-Oh, boy.

It's going to be a long night.

It's really, really difficult,

because the level of playing today has been really fantastic.

It really was incredibly tough.

All five, we would love to hear again.

In the end, it was 19-year-old William Dutton's electrifying

performance that won the day.

APPLAUSE

Tonight, it's the percussion final,

from vibraphones and marimbas

to drums, bells, gongs and timpani.

These five fabulously young and gifted players

have an army of instruments at their disposal.

Whose performance will convince the jury

to put them through to the semifinal?

Welcome to the percussion final of BBC Young Musician 2014.

It is 20 years since the percussion category

was first included in the BBC Young Musician in 1994.

In the year I competed, just four years later,

my good friend Adrian Spillett became the first

and, to date, only percussionist to win the overall title.

APPLAUSE

And tonight, five more young players

are hoping to follow in his footsteps.

The last two years have been a rollercoaster ride.

It was the biggest musical experience of my life.

Nicola Benedetti. APPLAUSE

The BBC Young Musician's the most important competition in the UK.

These competitions are for people

who want to be the best at their instrument.

It just lifts your playing to a different level.

It gives them a sense of what it is

to be a professional percussion soloist.

I'm extremely grateful to the competition

for making my dreams a reality.

This is really, really quite something.

If you can cope with it, then you can cope with anything.

It will be an unforgettable experience for them,

which will make them love music even more.

It's been the most amazing start to what

I hope will be a long career in music.

BBC Young Musician demands its contestants perform

to the highest standard.

Just to enter, you have to be Grade 8 or above.

In just a moment, we will meet our competitors, but first,

let's have a look how they got this far and how the competition works.

Nearly 500 entered this year's competition,

with 25 musicians chosen through a tough selection process.

Those 25 are divided into five categories.

Strings...

percussion...

woodwind...

keyboard

and brass.

One winner from each category will progress to the semifinals

to compete for just three places in the BBC Young Musician grand final.

The three finalists will perform a concerto

at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, on May the 18th

with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

under the baton of Kirill Karabits.

Only one can be named BBC Young Musician 2014.

Now, as a trumpet player, I'm used to simply turning up to a venue,

taking the instrument from its case, and playing.

But, for our percussionists,

every performance is a major logistical operation,

so while we wait for their instruments to be put into position,

let's meet our five finalists.

Elliot Gaston-Ross, from Lancashire.

At 15 years old, our youngest percussion finalist.

A few years ago, I never thought, ever, that I would be good enough.

This year I thought, "I'll give it a crack, and I'll go for it."

I feel really privileged to be a part of the occasion.

I'm just really, really excited, and just want to get out there

and perform now.

Aged 18 and from Ipswich,

it's Matthew Farthing.

It's been at least 30 years, you know?

It's really a great tradition to be a part of.

Really looking forward to performing the pieces which I've worked on.

Really exciting to perform them for the first time in public.

17-year-old Tom Highnam from Dorset.

It's something you watch growing up, and you see all the musicians,

and then you see them after the competition, and they do so well.

They're respected among all the musicians.

I wanted to give it a go, see what happened, really.

Jess Wood from Lancaster, aged 16.

It's a real dream of mine to get to this stage, definitely.

It's a great achievement that I've wanted for a long time.

Having the audience there, it's just thrilling.

The adrenaline running round makes you perform more, I think, yeah.

Definitely.

And finally, from Kent, the eldest of tonight's competitors,

Stefan Beckett.

Making it through to the semifinal

would just be an amazing opportunity, I guess.

Of course, then making it to the final to play a concerto

would be awesome, really, really amazing experience.

Well, preparations are over for our five finalists,

who are now backstage at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama,

waiting to perform.

They know, to win this category and make it through to the semifinal,

they're going to have to dig deep to impress the judges.

On the panel tonight...

percussionist Simone Rebello...

I will be looking very much for the performance element,

how they use the palette of sounds, basically,

to put themselves across in their programme the best way that they can.

..Owen Gunnell, who was a Young Musician finalist back in 2000,

and knows exactly what it feels like to face a jury...

I've never been so nervous in my life, up to that point.

My knees were shaking, I think my whole body was shaking -

I was so nervous.

Hopefully, the competitors tonight won't let the nerves take over,

and they'll just enjoy it for what it is, which is just performing.

..general Adjudicator Meurig Bowen,

director of the Cheltenham Music Festival...

I think I'm going to be looking for somebody who's really

compelling on stage, somebody who's got charisma,

and somebody who's prepared to take some risks.

So, it's time. The stage is now ready, and it's a full house.

This category is like no other in the competition.

The repertoire is mainly contemporary,

so expect the unexpected.

Anything from digital backing tracks to Japanese and snare solos.

First up is Elliott Gaston-Ross from Lancashire.

He's only 15 years old, and our youngest competitor.

Elliot Gaston-Ross lives with his mum and dad

in a small town near Preston.

My mum and dad first bought me a drum kit when I was seven years old.

Well, the drum kit came about, really,

because he used to drive us a bit nuts.

He used to tap and bang and knock everything.

They were getting a bit fed up, so they bought me a drum kit,

and then they said, "Tap on that," basically.

And so then I got a local drum teacher,

and I just really enjoyed it.

At school, Elliott gets involved

with as many musical activities as possible.

I play in the school swing band, which is fun.

It's a little bit jazzy, and jazz piano.

THEY PLAY SWING MUSIC

My piano lessons, I only really study classical music,

so it's good to get wider variety of styles of music to play on the piano.

It gives me a lot of opportunities, as well,

to play different styles and maybe a little bit of improvising.

After school, Elliott goes straight to practising at home

on his various percussion instruments

squeezed into the lounge.

Practising for four hours a day,

it's the feeling after you've done it, and during doing it...

Whilst you're practising, it's just brilliant.

You can feel yourself improving.

I don't understand how he doesn't go to bed

with the music in his head going over and over again, because I do.

I have the music as a background to my dreams,

because I hear it so often.

And yet Elliott seems to be completely oblivious,

he sleeps perfectly soundly, gets up in the morning

and is ready to do it all over again.

My dad does sometimes mention,

you know, "You have practised quite a lot today,

"are you sure you don't want to do any more?"

So, to get Elliott away from the marimba, vibraphone and drums,

keen climber Dad takes him down to the local leisure centre.

'The problem with music is that it can be very consuming for kids,

'especially if they're at the top of their game,

'and you have to battle with them to get them

'to do things that are not music, so take them out to play tennis,'

running, or here at the climbing wall,

it's important that he keeps a balance.

Well, I feel quite comfortable when I perform

whereas when you're high up on a mountain,

not in a very good hold, your legs just shake

and that's a different sort of scariness, it's like,

"Oh, no, I think I'm going to slip and hurt myself."

Playing percussion requires many different skillsets

and every weekend, Elliott is able to hone them

further at Manchester's Junior Royal Northern College of Music.

When I first met Elliott, I was immediately struck

by his natural talent, his enthusiasm,

and he's just a really nice, all-round guy.

He's got a great sense of humour, he's never been arrogant,

'he's just quite confident in what he does,

'but he laps up all the instructions that are given to him and it's just

'been a natural progression from week to week that he's gone from strength to strength.'

OK, nice.

Now, something I would suggest you do here is,

you actually play that louder for that mezzo forte.

It's wonderful to see that he actually achieves success

in the way that he's doing for the BBC Young Musician competition.

'It's really good because I get taught class tuition with my piano

'and percussion studies.

'There's also theory lessons, musicianship, composition,

'conducting, ensembles.'

So, it covers a lot of aspects of music.

It was only seven months ago when my teacher asked me,

"Would you like to go in for it?"

I never thought I was really good enough, but I did it anyway

and it really has done wonders for my playing.

I've improved massively because of the competition.

So, here is Elliott Gaston-Ross.

His first piece, Dave Maric's Trilogy.

APPLAUSE

The first movement of Trilogy, I'll be using a backing track

and I think it'll be really exciting

because it's definitely the biggest set-up I've ever played on.

There's just so many instruments and it's crazy, basically.

You can really just run around and, hopefully,

I can make it a really energetic performance.

APPLAUSE

Next, it's a piece called Land,

written by the Japanese composer Takatsugu Muramatsu.

I thought I'd have a contrast after that and I've chosen Land.

'I chose it because it's very peaceful.'

APPLAUSE

Elliott's going to end his programme

with a piece by the world-renowned marimba player, Keiko Abe.

I wanted something really fast, something that I could really, really

show off on to end the programme,

so I thought Prism would be a great piece.

APPLAUSE

Elliott's opening this competition in an electric fashion.

Well, Elliott, there were so many highlights for us.

-Tell us how you felt.

-I thought, on the whole, I played all right.

There were a few slip-ups in a couple of the pieces

but I tried to put in a good performance.

I really enjoyed Elliott's programme.

It was beautifully structured.

We really heard, in his pieces, the full range of his capabilities.

I learnt a lot about him as a musician and, it sounds deep,

as a person.

He really wants you to enjoy the performance

as much as he's enjoying the performance.

Nerve-racking, terrifying, absolutely fantastic

and I've never been more proud in the whole of my life.

Next is the 18-year-old Matthew Farthing from Ipswich.

Matthew Farthing is one of four children who live at home

with Mum and Dad near Ipswich.

The brothers and sisters all play instruments and

so it was only natural they formed a family band called The Farthings.

# See the light falling

# Through the trees above me... #

Playing with a family band is something else.

We have a connection that I feel is second to none, really.

We've been to America a couple of times and we've experienced

that music in the place it was formed and that was really inspiring.

Matt's very focused when it comes to performing.

If he's got something coming up, he works so hard all the time

because he loves it.

It's very noisy when everybody comes back from school,

that's when it comes to life.

Matthew goes straight in to practise marimba and Peter's on piano.

It's awesome. It's crazy, but it's awesome.

I started piano lessons with my sister

when I was around about age six and from there, my interests

developed into a drum kit and all sorts of different genres of music.

It's the dynamics of the percussion I really enjoy.

I feel, standing up as well, more free to move.

The movement is one of the most key things about percussion.

You can really make a performance out of it.

I love gongs, I love all sorts of instruments.

It's the variety that really spurs me on.

There's always different sounds, play around,

experiment with different sounds

and that's what, really, makes me enjoy percussion.

In the week, Matt studies for his A-Levels at his local school

but every Saturday,

he travels to London to attend the Junior Royal College of Music.

I've been going down to the Royal College of Music

for the last two years.

It's been a great inspiration for me to see

lots of other really accomplished musicians in an orchestral setting.

One of those accomplished musicians is 2012's Young Musician winner

Laura van der Heijden.

The standard of the symphony orchestra at college,

it really astounds me. It's really professional,

the way that we handle every aspect of the playing.

In the rehearsals, we're always on the ball

and the performances are top quality.

As well as playing in the Junior Royal College symphony orchestra,

Matt also has lessons

with one of the UK's leading percussionists, Cameron Sinclair.

What makes Matthew stand out as a musician for me

is his ability to think through a piece.

Rather than just taking a piece of music,

he will actually look at it quite forensically

and think about the colour and sounds that he's going to create

and then create the drama around that.

You are surrounded with lots and lots of other people who are

really, really good and everybody here is incredibly dedicated.

So, it's a wonderful community of musicians.

Matt's proficiency as a percussionist has led him

to an important role amongst another community of young musicians.

This year, I'm principal percussionist with

the National Youth Orchestra. This is my fourth year now.

This year, the extra responsibility of that is quite fun.

It really gives you an opportunity to express who you are.

While music takes up most of Matt's time,

he does get the opportunity to relax on the driving range.

Excellent.

-Brilliant.

-Golf is one of my main interests outside of music.

I started when I was about eight years old.

-Now, if you swing through...

-'In golf, you can be really focused.

'It's a mental game as well as a physical game,

'just like music, really.'

My whole life, I'm thinking of music. It's taking up my head all the time.

It's just a matter of controlling the concentration,

but music is always there, it's a part of me and a part of myself.

APPLAUSE

As a musician,

I really want to communicate my openness to the percussion world

and I think with percussion, you're exploring different sound worlds

and I think I'm trying to convey that to the audience, really.

'I've chosen a varied programme, the first half being a tuned

'percussion piece and with the piano as well, it's a great combination.

'I find it's a force to be reckoned with.'

APPLAUSE

Matthew's final piece

is a multi-percussion composition by Philip Cashian.

The second piece will be a taiko drum on my left

and a big orchestral bass drum on a little cradle and a pedal bass drum

and I explore different combinations of sound with these three drums.

APPLAUSE

A very mature performance there from Matthew Farthing,

with what I thought was a rather bold choice of repertoire.

Matt, fantastic - you looked like you were really enjoying yourself right from the start.

-Tell us all about it.

-Thank you, Alison.

I had a ball out there.

I completely focused on my performance,

did the best I absolutely could.

Such great atmosphere, great stage, full house - felt great.

I thought he worked with his pianist incredibly well

in the Psathas piece.

Two very challenging pieces, for him and the audience,

and possibly, that may be a misjudgement.

He was very measured.

I felt like I just wanted to find out a little bit more.

It was just amazing - it all came together very well.

Very proud of him.

Wonderful, really - wonderful to have reached that point where,

with all that hard work and dedication,

you reach that goal.

We've now heard from two of our percussion finalists.

Still to come, Stefan Beckett from Kent,

and our only female competitor this evening, 16-year-old Jess Wood.

But next to perform, it's Tom Highnam.

LIVELY RHYTHM PLAYS

Tom is the only competitor in this final

who studies at one of the UK's specialist music schools.

He's been attending Wells Cathedral School since he was 12 years old.

We're very lucky, because we have everything all in one place.

We've got people who play in orchestras,

we've got famous musicians and things, all teaching us.

Because we're a small department,

we can have close relationships with the teachers,

where we understand each other,

and they're really helpful in choosing the pieces,

helping choose the programme.

Although his mum is a piano teacher,

it was percussion that grabbed Tom's attention at an early age.

While I was at primary school, I wanted to start drum kit -

because I played drum kit, there was a concert which happened

where these two percussionists came, called The Drum Blondes,

they came and gave us a concert at the school.

And he didn't move - he just did not move.

They were playing marimbas,

lots of percussion instruments, and I just thought,

"Hm - this looks like something he's interested in."

And then we made some contacts with the teacher,

a lady called Jan Faulkner,

who then started Tom off on the percussion path

and it was really quite instant then,

that it was the instrument and the discipline for him.

I think I was just drawn to the diversity of percussion, I think -

the options, what you could play, what you can do on each instrument.

Tom is a terrific young man.

He's...he's very engaging as a student.

He's a very popular young man at school.

I think one of the reasons so many students learn percussion at Wells

is because there are students like Tom.

He has a way of bringing students into the department

and he loves to play.

As well as classical percussion lessons,

Tom has formed a rather unusual ensemble with his schoolmates.

THEY PLAY AN UP-TEMPO BEAT

I think he combines working really hard with having a good time,

and that really comes across in his music,

where you can tell he's enjoying it.

Go.

He actually gives a performance -

you get other people who just learn the music and play what they see.

Tom makes it his own.

The ensemble has given Tom the opportunity

to broaden his musical experiences outside of the school.

We're at the Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education

and we're here to do a few workshops with the kids here,

cos we're going on tour to Budapest at the end of the year.

We'll be working with a deaf charity out there,

so to prepare us for that, we've come here.

I think with deaf children, rather than violin or something,

I think percussion, it's something they can feel more than just play,

so they don't necessarily have to hear it.

Yeah! That's our band, that's our band.

With Wells Cathedral on the school's doorstep,

Tom has plenty opportunity to perform to large audiences

in a grand setting.

It's nice to have something to work for,

so when there is a concert, I like it.

It's just a nice chance to show off what you've been doing.

Brass and percussionists go in there,

we all do performances from different parts of the cathedral,

with the lights off, really dimmed lights, so it's black,

then you just walk around the cathedral and the music...

..it echoes all through the cathedral, which is really nice.

And then I'm playing a solo on marimba.

MARIMBA PLAYS

Tonight, though, Tom is hoping to win

for one special person - Jan Faulkner,

Tom's percussion teacher since he was eight years old,

sadly passed away just before he made it through

to the category final.

She was a real inspiration in my life, and she still is.

You know, it's...it's hard, because it's strange not having her around,

and it's hard.

She really was - and is, I think - his inspiration, his mentor.

She was a great friend, she was wonderful to us as a family.

She has a little phrase that she always used to say to Tom -

"I'm just tucked up your sleeve" -

when he came to play, and I know she'll be there.

She was a big part of my life

and, um...she's the one that taught me everything I know, really,

so...I want to do her proud.

APPLAUSE

This is a piece which has been commissioned for me,

so it's going to be a world premiere tonight,

composed by a girl in college called Dani Howard,

so that's very exciting.

APPLAUSE

Ameline is by Eric Sammut.

It's a solo piece for marimba.

There isn't a lot about it that I could find, programme notes,

but my interpretation of it is that it's a love story.

APPLAUSE

Such an elegant performance of Eric Sammut's Ameline, there.

Tom's mum clearly enjoyed it, too.

I arranged this prelude from Bach, Partita No. 1, for the vibraphone.

It's a really sweet melody,

and I think it's a really nice end to my programme.

For Bach to be played on vibraphone is quite unusual as well,

so I'm looking forward to it.

APPLAUSE

17-year-old Tom Highnam, playing for us a wonderfully varied programme,

concluding with his own arrangement

of Bach's Prelude from Partita No. 1.

Congratulations, Tom -

to me, that just seemed like it was so fresh and exciting,

right from the first note.

It must have been amazing, playing your friend Dani Howard's piece

as a world premiere - how was it?

Yeah, it was amazing -

like, I've never done anything like that before

and I think for her, as well, it's an amazing thing

for the first time for it to be played on BBC Young Musician.

Tom's another player who's very clearly

attractively and comfortably within his skin when he plays.

It's so lovely to have a piece of music written for you

and I felt that he really played that

with real panache and real aplomb.

I have not breathed since 9 o'clock this morning.

And I'm an exceptionally proud auntie,

and it was the most nerve-racking thing,

sitting next to her through his whole performance.

Well, this percussion final

is developing into another close battle.

Three really engaging performances so far.

Next is our only female competitor, 16-year-old Jess Wood.

On the northwest coast of England,

16-year-old Jess Wood was brought up in a musical family.

Her mum Ann is a piano teacher

and dad Dave owns a music shop on the seafront in Morecambe.

Jess works there part-time.

Having the shop has been a really big help, cos you get to have a go

at all the different instruments, see what you feel comfortable in.

And obviously, having this great room makes me realise that, yeah,

drums is something I'm really interested in.

The shop has allowed Jess to build up

an ever-expanding collection of percussion instruments,

which can cause problems back at the family home.

I think I realised when...

You know, we have a vibraphone and a xylophone and a glockenspiel,

and then a marimba.

She wants timps at home - she ain't getting them.

We had to get rid of the settee to get the marimba in.

Thanks to being exposed to all types of instruments at the shop,

and many hours of practising at home,

by the time Jess joined secondary school,

she was already an accomplished musician.

Three, four...

# La, la-la, la-la-la-la... #

'I first met Jess in Year Seven.

'It was really obvious how talented she was, she had Grade Six'

and Grade Seven on various instruments already.

And obviously, amongst 11-year-olds,

that really stood out.

Jess's Lancashire comprehensive specialises in the performing arts.

She's the first-ever pupil to make it through

to a Young Musician category final.

School have been very supportive of my music, in any type of way.

They allow me to play in assemblies or in front of classes

to really build my confidence

and give feedback on what I could improve.

Like tonight's first competitor, Elliott,

16-year-old Jess perfects her percussion skills

at Manchester's Junior Royal Northern College of Music.

I started at RNCM when I was...ten, so this will be my seventh year, now.

They've really supported me,

being able to perform in their informal concerts and such things,

and I've got an amazing teacher who's really pushed me.

That's it - I think if you use your fingernails,

dig in a little more on the finger bit,

it matches the brush sound better...

'One of Jess's biggest strengths is in her mature choice of repertoire,

'in the pieces that she picks.'

She's gone for a very, very mature programme,

with really musically and technically challenging pieces.

Jess's musical maturity is further increased by influences

outside of the classical world.

Well, my mum is a songwriter, so she's really inspired me

to try and write some songs and perform vocally as well.

# Ooh

# The pictures in the sky are days and times when

# We held the candle flame... #

'I mostly just do it in my bedroom,

'but I'm going to try and start getting some gigs'

to push my songs and see if people like them, and maybe go from there.

Jess simply loves to perform,

and a charity talent evening at Lancaster's Grand Theatre

gives her a chance to swap the marimba and snare

for a guitar and microphone.

'I think I get more nervous doing voice and guitar,

'just because I don't do it as often.'

In percussion, I don't know why,

but I kind of relate to it more than singing a song.

Despite these other musical interests,

Jess is very much focused on preparing

for the percussion category final.

I think she's just really dedicated.

In fact, the schedule for the practising

-was written down, and...

-Yeah.

..where she wants to be at a certain time, week, whatever.

It's all very organised.

-It's like a military campaign.

-Yeah.

I think being the only girl does give a slight advantage.

If you see a girl behind a kit, in control, you think,

"Wow, yeah, she can really give it some."

I've had a few comments, saying,

"But you're a little girl, you can't pull off that kind of instrument,"

but I'll try and show them.

SHE LAUGHS

APPLAUSE

The first piece, Asventuras, very groovy piece.

A lot of hand percussion on the snare drum, so it really grooves along.

And then the main part, with the sticks on the drum,

just shows the technical side

and all the rudiments that are involved in the piece.

Really brings across my performing side, as well, to the audience.

APPLAUSE

Next, Jess is playing an ensemble piece,

accompanied by multi-percussion and piano.

The Prism Rhapsody, by Keiko Abe, is mainly for solo marimba,

but we also added in a percussion section,

which I do with my accompanist.

It's a very contrasting piece -

it shows all different sides of my musicality.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

16-year-old Jess Wood finishing off with a fantastic ensemble piece.

It's incredible how much energy seems to be coming out of every cell

of her body, and it certainly looks like she had the time of her life.

She really takes command of the stage, whatever she is playing,

whether she is playing just the snare drum on her own

or whether she is leading her ensemble.

A great performance from Jess, the snare drum piece,

I couldn't really fault it.

What was your highlight of the performance?

I did a jump that I wasn't expecting to do.

So that, for me, kind of brought the spark to it.

-I thought, "Yeah, let's go for it."

-Absolutely.

She's just upped her game since the last performance,

and is really, really enjoying it, it's great.

She enjoyed it, you can just tell.

Bringing this percussion category final to a close,

it's our eldest competitor, Stefan Beckett.

Stefan is our only competitor this evening

that's studying music full-time.

He's in London's prestigious Royal College of Music.

It's the dream, what I've always wanted to do.

When I was at school, there was always a part of me

that just wanted to do music all the time.

And having to spend six hours of my day sitting in maths lessons

was not the dream, it was the opposite, in fact!

Stef's love of music began at a young age,

but it was the drums that really captured his imagination.

I built a drum kit step by step.

I started off just with a snare drum that cost about £10, off a friend.

And then I got a new one when I started getting better.

Then I decided I wanted to do orchestral playing,

so I got a marimba, and a concert snare drum,

and all the other gear, bits and bobs.

The house is now just full of stuff!

Now at music college,

Stef is able to spend all of his time

improving his percussion skills.

One of his favourite pursuits is a duo he's formed

with best friend, Will.

We're writing a multi-percussion set-up piece, which we share,

so it sort of works like a drum kit, but we share the same instruments.

It's quite tough to organise sometimes,

because we end up, like, crossing over sticks and stuff.

Repertoire for the marimba and vibraphone is relatively modern.

Stefan's real passion is arranging older

pieces for these 20th century instruments.

He's playing two of those arrangements in this final.

So, there isn't any sort of romantic or classical music.

Chopin never wrote anything for marimba.

So I have to adapt it for marimba myself.

All this music-making takes up most of Stefan's time,

however, he does allow himself to relax

over a few drinks with his friends.

The rest of the percussionists at the Royal College

are all really nice people, we're all like a big family.

And after a day of practising, we will all sort of sit around,

"Let's got get a pint in the bar", playing some pool together,

going to a nicer pub, or just going out for a meal together.

It's not all about the work, with Stef.

It's all about having a good time and just being a nice, nice guy.

He's an inspiration to me as well.

Because, like, without him, erm... I wouldn't really do that much!

Stef's family have been a huge support

in his quest to be a professional percussionist.

My family's great.

They help me out with everything, from emotionally supporting me,

when, I guess, through audition time, things get tough.

And also in a very manual sense.

Every percussionist's father could say

they get a bad back from carting their kit around!

I don't think that's an exception.

Whatever needs moving, I end up lumping it around for him.

Stef, his brother and sister now live away from home.

But Dad's legendary Sunday dinner brings them all back together.

You sit around the table and have a good roast together.

We get to catch up and see how everyone's doing.

We're all sort of separate lives but when we come back together,

we're still sort like the eight-year-olds we once were!

THEY TAP OUT BEAT

That's it, all he does, every day, is music.

All he thinks, dreams, sleeps, is music. So it's right for him.

And he loves it.

He calls me up, I'm like, "How's college?"

He'll say, "It's easy, it's great, I'm doing what I love every day."

Every time I came home,

there would always be this noise in the background,

this constant drumming.

Then it just got to a point where you had to start listening,

it got that good.

It's just incredible to think that this little kid

that was running around at my heels when I was growing up

has now turned into someone with such a big focus.

As a fan of Young Musician since he was a child,

Stefan hopes the percussion category will produce another overall winner.

Percussion is a lot more respected than it used to be.

People seem to include it into the competition.

There is a real possibility

a percussionist will win the whole competition again.

APPLAUSE

The first piece I'm playing, and opening with,

is an arrangement of Rachmaninov's Prelude In C# minor.

And it's a piece which has always just been a favourite, really.

APPLAUSE

Next, Stefan brings a bit of rock'n'roll to the college hall.

I'll also be playing a drum solo,

a transcription of one of Steve Gadd's drum solos.

I've put it in the programme to show off my sort of ability

to get round the drum set, and show off what I can do.

APPLAUSE

I'm playing a vibraphone piece

which is an arrangement of a Tchaikovsky piece from his set of

piano works called The Seasons. It's the movement called October.

It's an autumn song. It's a really lovely piece, very moving.

APPLAUSE

Stefan finishes his programme with a snare drum solo by

the award-winning American percussionist Casey Cangelosi.

Meditation no.1 for snare drum by the composer Casey Cangelosi, really

has found these amazing sounds which he can get from the snare drum.

Playing it with your hands, playing it with your fingernails,

fingertips, on the side of the sticks.

APPLAUSE

Stefan Beckett closing our percussion final.

Demonstrating his awesome skills as a performer and arranger.

The audience seems to be completely in awe of him,

but do the judges feel the same?

Amazing. Fantastic. Well done.

He's obviously an excellent drum kit player.

I wish he let his hair down a bit more.

It was a programme of contrast for contrast sake.

But still very enjoyable in many respects.

The Rachmaninov, I thought, showed an unbelievable technical skill,

as did the snare drum piece at the end,

which really ended the whole night with a real flourish.

Stefan, what were your overall highlights of your performance this evening?

I thought the start with the Rachmaninov was really thrilling,

going on stage with that initial buzz. And then playing that piece

which I've always wanted to really play in this sort of situation.

As soon as that last note was played,

it brought the house down, I think.

So, he was really exciting to watch and I can only hope

and wait for the result now with bated breath.

So all five of our finalists have now performed

and it's been another evening of extraordinary musicianship.

Sadly, only one of them can go on to win the percussion category final

and progress through to the semifinal.

It's decision time for the jury.

They are...

..former Young Musician finalist, Owen Gunnell.

Percussionist and educator, Simone Rebello.

And our General Adjudicator, Meurig Bowen.

We've had five incredibly varied, ambitious, bold programmes,

massive colour and texture.

So, Elliott, for me, it was the most satisfying

and enjoyable rounded programme, and particularly the choice of pieces.

I think technically he's very strong,

and he can cover the range of instruments very well.

Maybe a little bit in the solo marimba pieces,

maybe his technique there needed just a little more

so that we got more of the quieter sounds.

-Over-exuberant perhaps.

-Yes.

-The performance, like you say, he performed...

-He did.

-..didn't he?

-He did.

Matthew, completely different programme, as we know.

Two pieces rather than four, so we got less range from him.

-Do you think that counted against him in the end?

-Possibly.

I suppose you have to be careful not to mark the repertoire,

but then you do need, you know,

you have to think of it as a performance.

In a competition like this, you want to find out as much about

the player in their tiny little time.

I felt that I've got probably a few more questions than answers.

Obviously very neat technically, very musical.

I enjoyed Tag because we saw a little more of him there

and I liked some of the sounds he picked for that.

So, Tom, another very varied programme,

including a piece that was actually written for him

which I think was quite an ambitious start for him, wasn't it?

I think that's always an exciting thing to happen for a young musician,

to have a piece written for you.

And I thought that he approached it with real confidence

and really went for it, and it was his piece,

-so it seemed a very personal affair.

-Yeah.

In a piece like that where you've got the tuned percussion

and then the multi-percussion around it, you've got to play it

almost like an ensemble, so you've got to really think of balance.

Some of the instruments were...

It just wasn't quite balanced quite enough for my liking.

I think possibly Jess' performance was the most controlled

and in control of the night.

Yeah, it wasn't so controlled that I was bored. I mean, it was exciting.

The ensemble piece, they really played it as a trio,

with her being the leader, obviously.

I was quite impressed with how she led that.

I liked her honesty in her performance, it's very slick,

it's very controlled, but there's still a sense of panache,

sparkle in her eyes and wanting to lift the music off the page.

Stefan, crazily varied programme,

going from a well-known Rachmaninov piano piece to rock drums.

Didn't really let his hair down in the rock drums

and maybe just wanted a bit more.

It felt, to me, like it was a bit of a technical exercise, a reproduction

of something rather than an actual interpretational performance itself.

Cos he's obviously really good on the drums,

but I wanted to be a bit more wowed.

But the snare drum piece at the end...

As a percussionist myself,

I had to look a couple of times as to what on earth he was doing.

I got really impressed here.

Great. Well, now we have to make our final choice.

It is only the second night of the competition here in Cardiff

and the level of talent has been extraordinary.

20 years on since the very first percussion final,

we can confidently say that the music-making

has been going from strength to strength.

But sadly there can only be one winner

and only one person will go into the semifinal.

To announce who it is - Simone Rebello.

We've seen a really high standard of performance,

some very interesting repertoire

and we've had a very tough decision to make.

But we have made a decision and it gives me great pleasure to say that

the winner of the BBC Young Musician 2014 percussion category final is...

..Elliott Gaston-Ross.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Well, a very deserved winner in a category that, to me,

seemed a tough one to call,

so it's huge congratulations to Elliott

and also really well done to the other four valiant competitors,

Matthew Farthing, Tom Highnam, Stefan Beckett and Jess Wood.

He's the youngest.

It could have gone another way very easily, but in the end,

there's something very special about him

and I think he's really got something.

The programme, the way he shapes his performance,

he looked like he was enjoying it.

I don't know if he's ever been nervous in his life,

he didn't look like it. He went for it.

I thought it would be a lot easier making the decision tonight,

but it was bloomin' difficult.

He is a really fantastic performer,

so honest and so true and totally 100% believing in what he's doing.

So, Elliott, you killed it tonight.

I thought you were in your element on the stage.

-What do you think gave you the edge?

-Oh, thank you.

I thought it was just a really enjoyable experience.

It was so great to see your face when they'd said you won.

How was that? Can you remember that initial...?

It's so unreal, unreal sort of experience. It's absolutely amazing.

Over the moon. Can't believe it.

How he managed to beat off that competition, I have no idea.

I'm sure the judges will explain it to me later.

So, many congratulations

to 15-year-old Elliott Gaston-Ross as he wins the percussion

category final in its historic 20th anniversary year in the competition.

You'll be hearing more from him in the semifinal.

Join us again next week right here on BBC Four

when we will have five more incredibly talented young players

competing in the woodwind final.

But for now, we'll leave you with a little taster

of what you can expect from next week's Young Musicians.

-Good night.

-Good night.

I'm going to do my best to concentrate on the music.

I'm going to give it everything I've got.

Every chance to perform is a golden opportunity.

Performing it and sharing it with people is what I love to do.

I'm waiting for it to hit me that I'm actually here.

I don't just want to be a showing off, I want to have some integrity.

-That was absolutely amazing.

-I was pretty spellbound.

She doesn't want to be anywhere else except on stage.